Come next week, Mark Burgess might be the only angler ever to go into a tour-level event hoping to finish in 11th place. Not among the Top 11, but 11th on the nose. In his unique best-case scenario, one spot out of the cut at the Old Hickory FLW Series would be perfect.
His body will likely be stuck in Gallatin, Tenn. next Friday evening, but his mind and heart will be at home in Norton, Mass. If he can figure out a way to traverse the nearly 1,100 miles between those cities within a very narrow time window (assuming he misses the Top 10 cut on day 3), he'll jump at it. But in
reality, he'd probably need someone to offer him the use of a private jet and a pilot.
He's caught up in the most wrenching time conflict of his life. At 47, he's living his dream as a professional angler. But it's about to cause him to miss a very significant event – the graduation from high school of a special young man.
"We've been trying to work something out so that I might be able to get back, but it's an extreme longshot," he said. "Everything would have to line up perfectly."
If his longshot doesn't come through, he'll address the graduate – his stepson, Jamie Boulanger – over the Internet from the weigh-in (via FLW Live). Or at least he'll try. "There's no way I'll be able to keep it together for that," he said.
A Medical Marvel
Jamie was 2 and his older brother Ben was 4 when Burgess began dating their mother Lisa. Jamie's 22 now, and a week from tonight, he'll receive his diploma from Norton High School. To say that the road to this point has been rocky is akin to describing Death Valley's climate in July as a tad on the warm side.
Jamie has been admitted to Boston Children's Hospital more than 400 times and has been clinically dead twice. He wasn't supposed to see his third birthday.
"At the risk of oversimplifying it, Jamie has an immune-system problem that has led at various times to the complete failure of one or more of his major organ systems," said Dr. Michael Rich, his primary physician at Boston Children's. "His heart has stopped, he's stopped breathing, his kidneys have quit working.
"He's had more near-death events than anybody I know and he's really a miracle child. He's much more stable now than he's been in the past, but it's still a day-to-day thing. This is a kid with a three-page medication list."
Burgess entered the relationship with Lisa with his eyes wide open. They spent their second date taking Jamie to the emergency room because he'd stopped breathing.
"It didn't really seem to faze him," Lisa said. "Most guys would have run for the hills right then.
"I really don't think Jamie would have come this far if it wasn't for Mark. Maybe (Mark) looks at things differently since he lost his mom to cancer when he was 16. To him, this is just our family – it's our life.
"He willingly took this on, and 20 years later, he's even more committed. That just doesn't happen."
For his part, Mark (who married Lisa in 1991) said Jamie has been a lot more of an inspiration than a burden over the years.
"I feel absolutely blessed to have been a part of his life," he said. "He's always got a smile on his face. If you think you're having a bad day, just hang out with him for awhile.
"If everybody I know put all their bad days together, it wouldn't equal what he's been through. But he's the happiest person in the world."
Jamie Boulanger has been admitted to the hospital more than 400 times in his 22 years of life.
A Fishing Family
Mark, who's perhaps best known as the only current tour pro running an aluminum boat full-time, fished the FLW Tour in 2001 and finished 128th in the points. Shortly thereafter, he became the northeast regional sales manager for Skeeter and G3 (the manufacturer of his boat).
His prior FLW Tour campaign qualified him for the new FLW Series. He's 120th in the points through two of five events.
"I've fished my whole life," he said. "It's what I do. My whole family fishes."
That's why not fishing at Old Hickory isn't among his options. Sure, he feels an obligation to G3 and Yamaha, his primary sponsors (he has not discussed his situation with them). But mostly, he has to fish because he's a professional fisherman.
"Just because I want to be there for Jamie doesn't mean that I don't want to fish," he said. "I do want to, and I will. It's just one of those things where you wish you could be in two places at the same time."
Jamie is quite the angler himself. He fishes with Burgess each year in a local Paralyzed Veterans of America tournament and has caught a 7 1/2-pounder.
"We spend a lot of time on the water together, and he understands what I have to do," Mark said. "But that doesn't make it any easier."
His wife doesn't think that even she can fully grasp the inner turmoil Mark is going through.
"I can't imagine what this is doing to him," Lisa said. "It has to be the biggest conflict he's ever had. When it comes to decisions, Mark is very black-and-white and family always comes first. But it's very important to all of us that he fulfills his dream."
A Logistical Nightmare
The Burgesses have explored every possibility they could think of to find a way for Mark to get back for the ceremony. Friends have said they'll take care of his boat and equipment in Tennessee and a Yamaha representative has offered transportation directly from the weigh-in stage to the airport.
But there are no direct commercial flights between Nashville and Boston or Providence, R.I. Even if there were, everything else would have to run like clockwork down to the minute. That would include Mark weighing in as part of the first flight and Jamie being one of the last graduates to receive his diploma.
Lisa looked into chartering a private jet, but the best price she could find was $13,500. They can't fit that into their budget.
In the worst-case scenario, Mark will be back for the family party on Sunday.
"Jamie told me the most important thing was the party," he said. "He said maybe his graduation would turn out to be a lucky thing for me at the tournament."
Notable
> The Burgesses have an 11-year-old son, Dakota, who's autistic.
> Lisa said Jamie is a "huge NASCAR fan" and he's met Jeff Gordon (his favorite driver) and Rusty Wallace at the annual race in Loudon, N.H. He also met late Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams, who was in one of the hospitality suites at the Loudon race in 1998.
> After graduation, Jamie will enter a day program. He'll be accompanied by an emergency medical technician and will do volunteer work at the YMCA and a local fire station.
> When the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl for the first time in January 2002, Jamie had casts on both arms from fractures suffered in a fall. He painted them in Patriots colors. "He thought that's why they won," Lisa said. "I told him that we shouldn't test that one out again."
> In 2003, Lisa spoke on Capitol Hill about funding for special-needs children. Mark said the speech brought Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) to tears. "She's very politically active. She pretty much singlehandedly got a fire station opened in Norton, and she made sure the right police chief got elected. She picks her battles and she definitely fights them well."
