A heroin baby at birth, EJ Bade is thankful for adoptive parents and life in Spokane

Mead senior running back EJ Bade is grateful that his life isn’t defined by its beginning.

His birth mother was a heroin addict and as a result, Bade battled the addiction.

“He went through (heroin) withdrawals his first year,” said Greg Bade, who along with his wife, Terri, adopted EJ at three weeks old. “He would shake. He was a mess getting the drugs out of his system.”

Still, he’s thankful that his mother put him up for adoption and didn’t abort him.

“How I am today is just a miracle,” said EJ. “I literally should have health issues.”

The Bades knew EJ was special from an early age.

“He was born able to do anything physically,” Greg said. “He could climb at an early age. He was doing one-handed pushups when he was 2 years old. You could see he was a gifted kid.”

Greg Bade understands his son has had a few difficulties growing up. But far fewer had they not adopted him.

“There’s a gift that comes with this large family,” said Greg, the father of 10 adopted children. “Yes there’s inconvenience and you have to share. You may not have the nicest home. He learned very early on that he wasn’t the center of the universe. And the needs for other people are just as real as yours. That applies to others in life, too.”

EJ’s siblings span the globe. One is from Romania, another is from Bulgaria and three are from Ethiopia. The youngest, who is 12, was the lone child born in Spokane.

Bade has never had any contact with his birth mother. All he knows is her name is Rose Lee. He has a sister from the same father and mother who lives in Florida. Her name is Sierra Eklund and EJ has been in contact with her since fourth grade. He hopes to meet her in the next year.

EJ appreciates both the pros and cons of living in a big family.

“Raising 10 kids isn’t easy,” EJ said. “We haven’t always been the best kids either. We were a handful at times. Living in a blended family brings out the real you,” Bade said. “You’re not going to always get your way. You learn to be patient. I’ve learned to be a leader and work hard.”

Bade has also learned to value money from hard work, working many odd jobs during the summer to pay for things like car insurance and a cell phone.

He doesn’t know where his work ethic comes from. It spilled over into his summer workouts with his team. Mead football coach Benji Sonnichsen requires a player to make 25 of 30 workouts to be eligible for varsity. Bade made 29.

Bade is Mead’s primary running back. But he knows that if he achieves his goal to play in college, he will likely be a safety or cornerback.

When Sonnichsen arrived at Mead, he asked the players what positions they wanted to play. EJ initially lined up at wide receiver.

“I saw his straight line speed and put him at running back,” Sonnichsen said. “It took us half the season last year to see that he was our guy.”

Bade had a breakout game in a loss to Coeur d’Alene two weeks ago, rushing for 141 yards including a 62-yard touchdown.

Bade started playing in the eighth grade under current Mead counselor Dave Vaughn.

“It took him about three games to get a feel,” Vaughn said. “He broke a long run and had this look on his face. The light went on. He was very excited and became more of a force to be reckoned with. I still see EJ as a work in progress.”