On Jan. 28, 2024, a freezing-cold night in New York, Kevin Eriksen made a commitment to himself: He was going to walk one-fifth of a mile, no matter what it took.
Cerebral palsy had always made walking somewhat difficult, but it was the debilitating bouts of ulcerative colitis that had turned Eriksen’s life upside-down. The impact of his medications and a lack of activity had caused his weight to double in just 3 1/2 years. Always fiercely independent, Eriksen couldn’t make it one block without stopping to catch his breath.
“I kept talking the talk, telling everyone, ‘Yeah, I'll fix this. I'll get to work,’” he said. “And then I figured it was literally time to walk the walk.”
A year ago, Eriksen committed to changing his life. The result, 366 days later, is a scene that should inspire others.
On Tuesday, Eriksen -- who works in the Yankee Stadium operations departments as coordinator of disabled services and guest relations -- walked through the 100-level concourse at the ballpark. He was joined on his journey by family and friends, and his path was lined on both sides by team personnel who were there to cheer his every step.
That was just the start. Eriksen walked from the concourse down to the field and into Monument Park. Then all along the outfield warning track. He just kept going. All the while, there was a message on the Yankee Stadium scoreboard in center field:
“Congratulations Kevin!”
“It was just amazing to see him go the entire length and not even wobble,” said Cindy Eriksen, Kevin’s mother. “It was so heartwarming to me.”
Cindy and Kevin’s father, Jim, remember the days when their son would come home from school and complain about how teachers kept offering their help as he tried to walk.
“He said to me, ‘Mom, you’ve got to tell those teachers -- they're trying to hold my hand when I’m trying to walk,’” Cindy recalled. “‘Just tell them to let me go.’”
There were a lot of falls, but Kevin always got up and just kept going. He rarely used a wheelchair. He wanted to be involved in every activity. He wanted to be treated like everyone else.
“Growing up, they never stopped me,” Kevin said of his parents. “They let me do everything I wanted to do. Whether there was some hesitancy or not, they kept that to themselves. There were obstacles, but there was nothing that I wasn't allowed to do. Anything I set my mind to, they let me try it. Most of the time, I wind up succeeding.”
By 2019, Kevin had earned a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees from Binghamton University. It took him seven years to finish his undergraduate degree as bouts of colitis would upend a semester and force him to start over. He just kept going.
But in November 2020, Kevin was hospitalized with a severe bout of ulcerative colitis. He spent a month bedridden. As his 30th birthday passed, Kevin saw his weight fall to 120 pounds. The lack of movement led to muscle atrophy, and those muscles broke down further under the corticosteroids that were prescribed to get Kevin’s condition under control.
That medication also contributed to significant weight gain, and Kevin weighed 240 pounds by early 2024. He started his job with the Yankees during that three-plus-year period, but Kevin was now almost entirely reliant on a wheelchair. Even the walk from the driveway to the front door of his parents’ house in Baldwin, Long Island, was a struggle.
On that freezing night a year ago, Kevin watched an NFL playoff game with longtime friend Derek Faske and drove back to his apartment in Harlem. As Kevin got out of his car, he decided to go for a walk. It was one-fifth of a mile.
He walked one-fifth of a mile the next day. Then he did it again and again and again. No matter the weather, no matter where he was, Kevin found a way to reach his desired distance. He just kept going.
“He's the type of person that when he sets his sight on something, you know he's going to do it,” Faske said of the friend he has known since first grade.
Every walk built up Kevin’s leg strength, and he ultimately burned off about 70 pounds. Now when he’s not working for the Yankees, he performs stand-up comedy.
He has walked more than 500 miles in the past year.
Kevin called his lap around Yankee Stadium on Tuesday a “surreal” experience. It was the celebration of one man and his boundless determination.
“You can have large goals in mind,” Kevin said, “but also keep in mind that there are many steps to get there. Just keep pushing every day. You might have some setbacks, but that's all they are. Maybe you go back a step or two, but just make sure to make that up and keep going.”