Hockey game hoped to give a local boy a lift
By Caitlyn Kelleher Journal Reporter

(L. to r.) Pam, Cris, and Jim Rasmussen are new to Ashburnham but they have already felt the community's warmth as they receive support to buy a wheelchair lift for their car from the sixth annual Community Benefit Hockey Game. Journal Photo/Caitlyn Kelleher

Cris Rasmussen, a fourth grader at John R. Briggs, will celebrate his tenth birthday this week with a birthday party at a bowling alley.

But life isn't completely easy for this boy and his family who will be the beneficiaries of this year's sixth annual Community Hockey Game. Cris has spina bifida and hydrocephalus and is confined to a wheelchair.

In the annual game the Ashburnham, Westminster and State Police compete against the regional school district's employees. Former NHL Star and USA Olympian Scott Young will be playing for the police team this year and FINZ the mascot from the AHL Worcester Sharks and Twister the mascot for the Worcester Tornados will be at the game.

The goal of this year's benefit game is to help raise money for the Rasmussens to offset the cost of a wheelchair lift for their car. Eventually the family wants to purchase a van to accommodate the lift.

Cris works on his homework at his Fitchburg Road home. Journal Photo / Caitlyn Kelleher

The vans with the chairs range in cost from about $28,000 to $48,000 depending on the technology involved and the car associated with it, said Cris's mother, Pam.

The family currently drives an SUV but Pam said, "it's a lot of lifting several times a day."

A new van would allow Cris to be more self-sufficient because he could get himself into the vehicle. Today, Pam or Jim must lift Cris from his chair to the car's seat and the place the wheelchair in the back of the SUV.

Spina bifida is a birth defect in which the bones of the spine do not form around the spinal cord correctly.

Cris has no feeling below his thighs and will need a back brace to control the scoliosis in his back. He wears leg braces to help control the muscles there.

Hydrocephalus is a build-up of excess fluid in the brain at birth, which requires a shunt to drain. Cris still has a shunt to drain the fluid.

"We treat him as much like our other kids as possible," Pam said. "He doesn't complain and he doesn't let it get in his way."

Cris loves to play baseball and is part of an adaptive children's league in Fitchburg,

He used to do therapeutic horseback riding lessons, but it is no longer covered by the family's insurance.

The Rasmussens moved to Ashburnham about 18 months ago from Lafayette, Ga. Cris was born in San Antonio, Texas but has also lived in Hawaii as well as Georgia.

He dreams of being a pilot and hopes the technology will enable him to fly with hand controls. His yearning to fly comes from his father, who served 22 years in the Air Force before retiring in 1999. Jim Rasmussen now works for a Maine-based company but serves clients in the Central Massachusetts area.

Their older son, Eric, is a graduate of Oakmont Regional High School (he attended when the family lived in the area, while Jim was stationed at Fort Devens).

Eric and his sister Cristy are both married with children of their own. Cris is an uncle to four-year-old Rebecca and one-year-old Elizabeth.

Cris enjoys science and is part of Mrs. Thomas's class at Briggs.

This week the class began learning about electricity and Cris could already explain about the direction of flow to get a light bulb to illuminate.

Cris is on par with his classmates but spends a couple of hours in physical and occupational therapy every day.

"We've done a few modifications to the house since we moved into the house," Jim said.

The family has installed a motorized lift in their house as well as a ramp in the garage and a doorway into the house.

Just after celebrating his birthday, Cris will enter the hospital for his 11th surgery, Pam said. But Cris's overall health is good at this time.

The tickets cost $5 for both adults and children, and they will be sold at Ashburnham Wine and Spirits, through Officer Rob Siano at the Ashburnham Police Department, through Officer Jason Wetherbee at the Westminster Police Department, and through Assistant Principal David Uminski at the Oakmont Regional High School.

Donations can be sent directly to the Athol State Police Barracks in the name of Cris Rasmussen.

The Sixth Annual Ashburnham- Westminster Community Benefit

Hockey Game will be Saturday,

March 31, at the Iorio Arena of Cushing Academy in Ashburnham.