From day-to-day, Jack Asbury acts the role of an everyday hero as a Spring Hill EMT. Yet sometimes, Asbury dons a costume and becomes a hero of another sort. He is known as the Batman of Spring Hill.
“I would like to nominate the Batman of Spring Hill for this year’s Hernando Hero. If you have met him then you are truly fortunate,” writes Lori Drew, in her Hernando Hero nomination letter. “You see, he visits with children in need of a superhero. He volunteers his free time to spend it with children who are battling terminal illnesses and little ones who just need to be reminded that they have super powers of their own to win any battle they may be facing. He sat with the little ones and consoled parents whose children are actively dying. He’s not just visiting terminally ill children, he also shows up to support children who have lost a parent or have been bullied in school. He has traveled throughout our state as well as traveling as far as he possibly can to console a weary little one and offer encouragement. The Batman puts his heart, soul, time and personal funds into making these moments a reality for the children in our community. He not only volunteers his time to visit with the children, he also campaigns and fundraises for the families as well. He truly is a superHERO.”
The Batman of Spring Hill has lost count of the number of children he has visited dressed in his signature Batman costume. But he remembers each of their stories very well. “I’ve visited children with cancer, heart conditions, burns, kids in hospice,” he said. “When a girl was being bullied, I gave her a Wonder Woman costume and escorted her to class dressed as Batman.”
Aside from visiting local children in need of bat-magic, the Batman of Spring Hill travels out of state, often at his own expense, to visit kids in need; including Bridger Walker; the Wyoming boy who, at age 6, saved his 4-year-old sister from an attack by a German Shepherd by stepping in the dog’s path and sustaining severe bites himself. His heroic deeds drew the attention of a number of famous actors who portray superheroes on the big screen–along with the Spring Hill Batman. “I told Bridger’s parents, ‘I’m no big time movie star. I’m just a guy in a Batman suit. But I would love to visit your son and spend time with him,’” he revealed. “They said, ‘Absolutely’.”
A parent himself, Asbury credits several highly personal sources of inspiration for his role as the Batman of Spring Hill.”I’m the father of two daughters, both of whom have had medical conditions,” he explained. “When I visited All Children’s Hospital, I saw that no one smiled or laughed.”
Asbury got the opportunity to make a child smile when, while dressed in a Batman costume he wore originally as a Comic Con cosplayer, he visited and comforted a friend’s ill child. “Then I just started getting request after request to be Batman for children in need,” he said.
To expand his work and service to others, Asbury is now starting his own nonprofit organization called Masked Miracles (https://www.maskedmiracles.org/), which will both expand his work as the Batman of Spring Hill and support sick children and their families.”Many in our community have also reached out to help support him in his quest to nurture his passion to reach out to these families. Local businesses here have even donated their time and expertise to manufacture a batmobile for him to be able to increase his super hero status on these visits,” Drew wrote. “The Batman of Spring Hill has a family and a full time job, he works as a paramedic here in the community. He is truly a superhero to many and I would love to see him recognized for his efforts, I know he doesn’t volunteer for any type of accolades, he is
genuine in his quest to bring even just a sliver of strength to the little ones who need it most.”
