“Eric is our son, but he’s everybody’s son"
/Emily J. Minor files a stunning profile of The Dolch's for The Palm Beach Post, with an update on the health of Eric and the angelic sacrifice of his father, Craig, former PB Post golf writer and still a fine contributor to publications and radio.
Eric, you may recall from past posts, contracted encephalitis, a crippling, mysterious and utterly cruel disease.
A golf writer at the time for the Post, Dolch had been covering the U.S. Open in North Carolina. Tournament play had actually ended the day before, but Dolch and a few other Florida golf writers were taking advantage of a rare treat: playing 18 holes at the magnificent Pinehurst Resort. They had just made the turn on the 9th hole when his flip-top phone rang. It was his daughter, Alexandra.
“Dad,” she said, practically breathless. “The doctors say Eric has encephalitis.”
That was Monday, June 20, 2005.
The handsome kid with the paintball addiction would never make it to his freshman year at Cardinal Newman High School. “He went to the hospital and that was the end of it,” says his sister.
Today he can’t walk. He can’t talk. He can’t feed himself. Cumulative costs for his medical care are approaching $5 million. His dad’s 401(k) is gone. His sister graduated a year early from high school, IB program, second in her class, then went and got herself a college degree. “That’s how she dealt with her stress,” Van de Water says.
- See more at: http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/lifestyles/understanding-eric/nbDgk/#sthash.1Y9uYDVY.dpufA golf writer at the time for the Post, Dolch had been covering the U.S. Open in North Carolina. Tournament play had actually ended the day before, but Dolch and a few other Florida golf writers were taking advantage of a rare treat: playing 18 holes at the magnificent Pinehurst Resort. They had just made the turn on the 9th hole when his flip-top phone rang. It was his daughter, Alexandra.
“Dad,” she said, practically breathless. “The doctors say Eric has encephalitis.”
That was Monday, June 20, 2005.
The handsome kid with the paintball addiction would never make it to his freshman year at Cardinal Newman High School. “He went to the hospital and that was the end of it,” says his sister.
Today he can’t walk. He can’t talk. He can’t feed himself. Cumulative costs for his medical care are approaching $5 million. His dad’s 401(k) is gone. His sister graduated a year early from high school, IB program, second in her class, then went and got herself a college degree. “That’s how she dealt with her stress,” Van de Water says.
- See more at: http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/lifestyles/understanding-eric/nbDgk/#sthash.1Y9uYDVY.dpufA golf writer at the time for the Post, Dolch had been covering the U.S. Open in North Carolina. Tournament play had actually ended the day before, but Dolch and a few other Florida golf writers were taking advantage of a rare treat: playing 18 holes at the magnificent Pinehurst Resort. They had just made the turn on the 9th hole when his flip-top phone rang. It was his daughter, Alexandra.
“Dad,” she said, practically breathless. “The doctors say Eric has encephalitis.”
That was Monday, June 20, 2005.
The handsome kid with the paintball addiction would never make it to his freshman year at Cardinal Newman High School. “He went to the hospital and that was the end of it,” says his sister.
Today he can’t walk. He can’t talk. He can’t feed himself. Cumulative costs for his medical care are approaching $5 million. His dad’s 401(k) is gone. His sister graduated a year early from high school, IB program, second in her class, then went and got herself a college degree. “That’s how she dealt with her stress,” Van de Water says.
The piece is accompanied by this heart-wrenching Bruce Bennett shot and produced video. You can read more about the foundation set up in Eric's name and supported by some of golf's biggest names, and also contribute here.
