Ball State University Athletics
Women's Golfer Serving as Ambassador at PGA Event
October 18, 2011 | Women's Golf
Ashtyn Brown, a freshman member of the Ball State women's golf team and a 2010 Riley Champion, was selected as the ambassador for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic, the final stop of the PGA Tour.
The 18-year-old from Richmond, Ind., will travel to Walt Disney World from October 18-23 for the Classic, where she will compete on the national stage as an amateur with PGA Tour players in the Pro-Am golf event, and spread hope to pediatric cancer patients. On Thanksgiving, her story is scheduled to be aired on the Golf Channel.
Through her accomplishments, Brown reflects and acknowledges other champions who shared her long, tough journey.
Brown has fought acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) twice. She was first diagnosed in July 1999 and again three years later. In both cases, her treatment at Riley Hospital for Children involved two-and-a-half years of chemotherapy, plus radiation after her relapse. A life-threatening fungal infection prevented Brown from undergoing a bone marrow or stem cell transplant, although many matches were found. A trial medication proved to be a miracle drug that helped her overcome daunting odds.
Brown never forgets the champions in her life - the staff at Riley Hospital, especially the late Dr. Jeffrey Goldman, and the other Riley kids who became her close friends, some of whom lost their own battles against leukemia.
One of those patients, former Ball State men's golf student-athlete Justin Cross, became the inspiration in Brown's life. Cross, also from Richmond, was diagnosed with leukemia one year after Brown, and they often crossed paths during treatment. He was a senior golfer at Ball State University when he died. He provided Brown with his scorecard keeper and a card depicting a monarch butterfly. To this day, Brown does not play a round of golf without the memento or seeing a monarch butterfly. She dedicates her opportunity to play golf at Ball State to Cross.
"She is who she is because of the people who have crossed her path," said Kerri Brown, Ashtyn's mother.
In Riley Hospital circles Ashtyn Brown is known for her honorable character, determination and zest for life off the golf course. In 2010 she was honored as a Riley Champion, which honors patients for their courage, strength and philanthropic heart.
Now she has the opportunity to serve on a national level.
Riley Children's Foundation supports Riley Hospital for Children, Camp Riley and the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home. As Indiana's only comprehensive hospital dedicated exclusively to the care of children, Riley Hospital has provided compassionate care, support and comfort to children and their families since 1924. Each year children from all 92 Indiana counties turn to Riley Hospital and its regional clinics throughout the state more than 350,000 times. Riley Hospital's partnership with IU Health and its strong affiliation with the Indiana University School of Medicine make Riley Hospital for Children the leader in pediatric care in the state and the region. Riley Hospital is Indiana's only Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals) partner.
Players Mentioned
