Bishop Moore baseball player Joe Skinner passes away at 17 – Orlando Sentinel
Bishop Moore senior Joe Skinner passed away in the arms of his parents and older sister at a hospital in Dallas early Saturday.
Skinner was scheduled to take part in an experimental treatment aimed at fighting off cancerous cells in his bone marrow. He was never afforded the opportunity, though, as he succumbed to a non-cancer related infection.
Skinner was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a rare form of leukemia on Dec. 8, just weeks after signing a baseball scholarship with UCF. He was set to turn 18 on May 13.
“Judy, Molly and I were fortunate to hold Joe and tell him how much we love him until his final breath,” Scott Skinner said in an email to the Orlando Sentinel early Saturday. “Although we are heartbroken, we know Joe is in heaven and will see him again one day.”
Skinner was admitted to the intensive care unit at Arnold Palmer Hospital on April 4, just days after undergoing in-patient chemotherapy. A port infection had led to septic shock, which required breathing assistance through the use of a ventilator during the ensuing weeks.
After arriving in Dallas by way of air ambulance April 14, a liver biopsy resulted in internal bleeding and blood buildup in his stomach. A swollen abdomen was still causing breathing issues this past week.
Those complications delayed scheduled CART T-Cell Therapy, during which millions of his own genetically altered immune cells were to be inserted into his body in hopes of fending off the leukemia.
Skinner was named to the Orlando Sentinel All-Area team last year as a junior after leading Bishop Moore to the region finals.
He regained enough strength following initial chemotherapy treatments to step into the batter’s box one last time during a home game on Feb. 13.
“That meant a lot, because every day you just want to live a normal life because everything else is completely abnormal,” Skinner said in an interview two weeks later. “When you get to step in the box like that and get to do something you haven’t done in such a long time, that you’ve been longing to do, it was a great feeling.”
The Hornets host Lake Highland Prep in a region semifinal on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Faculty, staff and students at Bishop Moore will gather in the gymnasium Monday morning for a moment of prayer for the Skinner family.
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