Sondheimer: A family turns to high school sports to reduce stress from tragedy

What should a journalist do when a mother breaks down crying on the phone during an interview?

This came up when Erin Brande was asked why she couldn’t rent, lease or sell her home to satisfy CIF transfer requirements after the family moved from Palm Desert to Temecula following the death of her youngest teenage son, Johnny, from cancer in December?

“Because everything there reminds me of Johnny,” she said.

My reaction was silence and determination to ensure that common sense prevailed so that his eldest son, Jake, a top pitcher who transferred from Palm Desert to Rancho Christian, would have that lingering stress resolved after an already horrific ordeal that engulfed him and his parents for months.

Rancho Christian’s 6-foot-7 pitcher Jake Brande throws a pitch during the game against Linfield Christian School. He pitched four scoreless innings Monday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

Fortunately, the Southern Section was successful and deserves credit for finally confirming eligibility, as the circumstances clearly did not involve any falsification of addresses, no movement for sporting reasons and it was a genuine change of residence to give a fresh start to all involved.

Imagine the level of stress this family endured going from doctor to doctor, hospital to hospital, all while doing everything possible to find a cure for their son. And how about the oldest, Jake, a 6-foot-7 senior pitcher who went to Cal Poly, using sports to distract himself from the pain of watching his brother fight to the end.

“Take it one day at a time, wake up and do everything I had to do,” Jake said.

On Monday, Jake made his first baseball start of the season on the mound at Rancho Christian, playing the sport he hopes to continue playing for years to come. He struck out seven in four scoreless innings. He’s such a good athlete that he was a star on the Palm Desert basketball team until he shut everything down after the family moved.

Rancho Christian pitcher Jake Brande with a Long Live Johnny tattoo on his left arm.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

Now he will be able to remember his brother as a motivation and inspiration and the family will be able to rally around him as they try to recover from a tragedy they had no control over.

Every time he steps on the mound, “it’s like an exit, a place to go that takes you a little bit away from reality,” Jake said.

Illness comes whether you are poor or rich, whether you are good or bad. You’re looking for answers, you’re trusting your faith, your world is turned upside down, but you’re looking for ways to continue in the face of terrible adversity.

This is the sport that will give this family a path to travel while remembering the good days of the past. Jake has a tattoo on his left arm, “Long live Johnny.”

The family is grateful that UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky wrote Johnny’s initials on his cleats. They had met at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center while Johnny was undergoing treatment. Erin said she was honored by “how great Roch was to him.”

This is going to end well despite the devastating days of December and before. Adolescents are resilient when they are supported by people who love them unconditionally.

The lessons learned and fond memories of brother helping brother will make Jake even stronger as an adult and beyond. The brothers played golf together and Johnny kept beating Jake.

“He was amazing,” Jake said.

Jake will have many people supporting him, including his parents, who have done everything in their power to help their children through good times and bad.

Thank goodness for sports. It is a vehicle that can produce moments of happiness for families who need a respite from the problems of real life.

“It took his mind off cancer,” Erin said of Johnny, who threw out the first pitch at a Dodgers game for cancer awareness. “It helps balance a life of sadness.”