Corey's Story

 

Corey, a left-handed pitcher, had always dreamed of being a professional baseball player and worked extremely hard to accomplish his goal.

​

In August, 2020, right out of high school, he signed a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies as an undrafted free agent.

​

                                                 “Beyond blessed to have my life-long dream come true and be part of the                                                           Philadelphia Phillies Organization,” he wrote on his Instagram page on                                                               August 12, 2020. 

 

                                                  Corey made his professional debut in the summer of 2021 with the rookie-                                                          level Florida Complex League Phillies and posted a 0.93 ERA over five relief                                                      appearances.  He was full of life and fulfilling his dream. 

 

                                                   But, on April 14, 2022, while preparing for spring training, all of those dreams                                                     came crashing down as Corey passed out in the shower, called 911, and was                                                     taken to the hospital by ambulance. After completing a CAT scan, the doctors                                                    told Corey he had a 9-inch mass in his chest.  

 

​

On April 17, Easter morning, Corey had surgery to drain fluids building up around his heart and in his lung.  During the five hour surgery, doctors removed a piece of the mass to biopsy it.  While Corey was still in the operating room, a doctor came into the waiting room and told us that it was cancer.  

 

When Corey was finally out of surgery and back in his room, he asked us, “So, did they remove the tumor?”  We told him, “They did not and they can not, it is cancer.”  Corey said, “Are you sure?”  We said, “Yes.”  He sat on that for a few minutes and replied to us, “It’s okay, GOD HAS ME!”  A feeling of comfort came over us as he was ready to give it all to God and follow God’s Plan.  His unwavering faith was very admirable.

 

Preliminary results diagnosed Corey with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, only to learn later on that it was indeed worse than that.  After multiple tests, bloodwork, and failing treatments, Corey was diagnosed with T-Cell ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia). 

 

After a brave and courageous brief battle with cancer, Corey lost his fight, just a few days short of six months after diagnosis. 

 

Corey never gave up and continued to trust in God’s plan throughout his journey.

​

- The Phelans

​