Adding to the Scenario – Joshua’s Injury

Joshua had a junior varsity football game on Monday, September 20.  Mark went up to the high school to watch Joshua play.  Joshua plays tight end and defensive end.  Mark calls me during the games to give the play-by-plays and highlights.  Joshua was having a great game until he called to tell me Joshua was hurt.

 Andrew, our team trainer, thought he probably sprained tore his MCL.  He is also probably out for the rest of the season.

 This is very disappointing and we feel bad for Joshua.  He has tried to do the things he was expected to for the team.  He is a wonderful team player and he is good at football (of course I have been accused by one of the coaches that I look at Joshua’s athletics through “momma glasses”).   He is faithful to practices and team meetings.  We have sold so many of those football fundraiser cards.  Mark and I try to support the team through the Touchdown Club, activity attendance and support.  The church provided the pre-game meal before the first home game against PC West.  I also designed a new website for the CHS football program. 

 By the way, I will always look at Joshua through “momma glasses.”  He is a wonderful young man with outstanding character.  He has endured a very complicated family atmosphere his whole life and it is becoming even more difficult again.  We are very proud of him!

Adolescent Clinic Appointment

Micah had been running a low grade fever and been very tired all weekend.  So we decided he should see the doctor to see if he needed an antibiotic for an infection or something.  The doctor ordered blood work, urine cultures, and stool cultures.  She didn’t want to prescribe an antibiotic because there was no obvious infection (sinus, respiratory, etc.).  We were sent home to wait for the results.

Micah was to throw out the first pitch at the CHS Softball Game.  It was Win-Win Cancer Awareness Week for the Oklahoma Secondary School Athletics Association.  He was really looking forward to the event but we thought he should stay home considering how he felt and still not knowing why. (This becomes very ironic later)

The doctor’s office calls early evening with results from Micah’s blood work.  His blood counts – white, red, and platelets were low.  Their suggestion was to follow with the Oncology Clinic.  WHAT?

We contacted our oncologist.  She encouraged us not to panic that this could still be a virus but that if it wasn’t it could be very serious.  She also instructed us to go to the Emergency Room if his fever became 101°.

The Days Leading Up to Today:

On Thursday, September 17th, Micah played with the Choctaw High School Band during the Yellowjackets football game at Putnam City. Because it was an away game, the band was to perform their halftime show after the game. As we neared the end of the game Micah was looking really tired so we opted to go on home instead of staying.

Then on Friday, Micah chose to stay with Mark instead of going to school. This is extremely unusual. Micah loves school. He thrives in the atmosphere of school with all of his faculty and student friends.

During these days, our family has experienced multiple stressful circumstances. The first involved Tanya’s husband Doug. A week earlier, Doug found out he had a large brain tumor. Two days later he had surgery to remove the tumor in an attempt to prolong his life. Unfortunately, Doug slipped into a coma on Saturday and by Friday, September 18th, he lost his very short battle with cancer.

Micah and I stayed home over the weekend while Mark helped with the grief process and funeral preparations. However, to add to our emotional load, my dad called late Sunday afternoon to tell me my mom had had a stroke. Mark stayed with Micah Sunday evening while I drove to Enid to check on Mom.

My mom was at Bass Integris Hospital in Enid. She was suffering from slow mental processing and difficulty speaking. She was also experiencing weakness on her left side. I stayed the night at the hospital with her but drove back home early Monday morning. But before I left I told her, next time you need some mother-daughter time let do something fun!

By the time I had returned home Mark had scheduled a doctor’s appointment for Micah in the Adolescent Clinic at OU Children’s Medical Center. So before we headed to the hospital , I went up to the school to organize lesson plans for a substitute for Monday’s doctor’s appointment and the funeral on Tuesday.

By the way, Mark was supposed to be gone to New York City on a church mission trip with several other adults from our church.