Father with terminal illness fights to attend MHSAA championship to see son play
Alan and Carter Barefoot
In this courtesy photo, Carter Barefoot poses with his father, Alan, at the MHSAA Class 4A Baseball Championship. Although in hospice care, Alan made the journey to Pearl to see his son, who plays for the Mooreville Troopers, win the state championship.
TUPELO — From the time Carter Barefoot, 17, could walk, he was playing baseball, especially with his father, Alan Barefoot, who played Division I baseball in college. But illness has limited his father’s ability to enjoy the game they have shared throughout their lives.
Carter’s father attended every game, coaching or supporting from the sideline.
“He never missed a game,” Carter said.
After doctors diagnosed Alan, 55, with terminal cancer and admitted him to Sanctuary Hospice, he physically could not be there for most of Carter’s junior-year season.
“This year, it was hard throughout the season,” Carter said. “I wasn’t sure he was coming (to the playoff game).”
Sanctuary made it happen, arranging for Alan to attend the playoffs in Pearl, where he watched his son’s Mooreville team become Class 4A state champion.
It meant the world to Carter to see his dad there.
“It was great,” Carter said. “Seeing him made it feel exciting and a lot easier to play.”
Carter is the youngest of six between his father, who has three daughters, and his late mother, who had two daughters. His mother died suddenly. On his father’s side, there is Katelynn Lewis and Taylor Bishop, and on his late mother’s side, there is Maddi Blanchard, Emma Blanchard, and Bailey Hardin.
Carter joked that his sisters “keep him in line”, with Maddi sharing her strong faith and Emma checking on him “constantly” to ensure he’s OK.
Familial bonds have become more important to Carter throughout his father’s illness. He now lives with his sister Hardin and her husband, Hunter.
The Hardins were at every game this past season, serving as Alan’s stand-ins.
“They were both very supportive of me, and when times got hard, they just kept pushing me harder and instilling confidence in me because they knew how much my dad loves watching me play baseball,” Carter said. “Throughout the baseball season, they went above and beyond to make sure I was able to do what I love the most.”
Carter Lewis and sisters
In this courtesy photo, Carter Barefoot, center, stands with his sisters, Katelynn Lewis, left, and Taylor Bishop right while on vacation following the MHSAA Class 4A Baseball Championship and the end of the school year.
As for the game day, Lewis said she couldn’t thank Sanctuary enough for facilitating the trip for their father, noting that it lifted his spirits and gave him something to look forward to.
When they returned, the staff had decorated his room in Mooreville Trooper flair.
“Sanctuary has really provided a lot of comfort for our dad,” Lewis said. “It was a pinnacle moment in the baseball season. (Sanctuary) going above and beyond to make it happen was really incredible.”
Sanctuary Hospice Chief Operating Officer Tiwana O’Rear said the organization was happy to accommodate Alan’s trip, adding that it was a challenge, but it was a task worth accomplishing.
“Our role is to support him and make a way for it to happen,” she said. “These are memories they will carry with them for a lifetime. He put a lot of effort into going so that he could be there for his son.”
Carter, meanwhile, said while he knew it was possible that his dad could go to the playoffs, it wasn’t a guarantee. When his father called him that morning, it motivated him to play his best.
“It fired up my teammates and me,” he said. “He gave all of us a reason to play.”
Alan Barefoot and Mooreville Troopers
In this courtesy photo, Alan Barefoot poses with the Mooreville Troopers team at the MHSAA Class 4A Baseball Championship in Pearl, Miss.
The Troopers won the MHSAA Class 4A baseball championship in a final 4-2 game against Poplarville following a 15-8 win in Game 1. This was the first championship the team has garnered since 2017.
While the future is uncertain, Lewis said she and her family will enjoy the time they have with their father for as long as it lasts.
“(We’re) enjoying the time we have left together and making as many memories as possible,” she said.
