Watching high school volleyball is so much fun! Sadly, two of the JV girls got injured. We wouldn't wish that on anyone. Kate has had to step up and play more. Much more. I think she is taking the responsibility really well and I am thrilled to see this team come together in such a short amount of time. I can't say enough about how much Kate is enjoying high school and I think volleyball is a huge part of that. I'm always glad when I can go support the team. Hubby and I take turns going to the games while the other parent drives Danny (flag football or baseball), Michelle (theater or dance), and Natalie (softball) to and/or from their own activities. It was his turn to attend when our high school's arch rival arrived at our gym. He got there when the C team was playing and some of the girls on the other team shouted out that he was there. So many of the girls from Kate's club team were on the opposing team it took him quite a while to get to his seat in the appropriate seating designated for our high school parents. He said it was a little embarrassing and he had to explain that our team was playing against Kate's club teammates from last spring. Oh, to be so popular with the travel team crowd. But if you see any pictures of her that means it's a game it was my turn to go to. lol.
On Mondays and Fridays (when Danny doesn't have football or baseball practice) he likes to invite friends over. Maisie hasn't quite gotten used to it yet. Here she is wondering if she can come outside with me to check on the rabbit with all those middle schooler shoes and backpacks as a backdrop.
Danny isn't the only one to allow invasions. Natalie regularly has the neighborhood girls over but I invited all 15 of our Activity Days girls to have a manners night at our house with my mom's fancy dishes. With my mom's and Natalie's help we were able to get ready just in time (since our late team meetings have moved to Wednesdays). Sister B and I had our hands full when all the girls were around so here's a photo of the table setting. I think they had a good time but perhaps they were simply practicing being polite. lol
I wrote the above on September 2nd as I waited for Danny and his friends to be ready to go to the trampoline park. I took six of them in my car and a dad took four in his. On the way there I got a phone call from another mom saying she really wished her son had asked permission to go to Get Air instead of just saying he was leaving our house to go there. I offered to drive him home but she said she and her husband would come talk to him there instead and that she would pay me back. I thought it was all worked out and that I would get a phone call to come pick kids up in a couple hours when they were done having fun. They had been planning this for days.
When I got a phone call from his phone an hour later I was surprised he was asking for a ride home so soon. But it wasn’t Danny. It was his friend calling to tell me Danny had gotten really hurt. J noticed Danny was really hurt and got him to a bench. They thought it was a concussion and we should come right away because Danny wasn’t talking. I asked Hubby to go since he had taken concussion training as a coach. Natalie had overheard our quick conversation and was worried but I told her Dad would know what to do.
Danny doesn’t remember what happened but his friends were able to fill us in. While Danny was jumping up and down on a trampoline S (the boy who had gotten in trouble for not asking) threw a basketball at the wall and when it bounced it hit Danny in the center of his forehead right above his eyes. The combination of the velocity of jumping plus the ball hitting him just wrong and it turns out it got pretty hurt. While Hubby was on his way Danny began to show signs of a stroke so according to the Get Air manager that is when his employees called 911 but the kids told us it was another mom that dialed 911. In either case Hubby beat the ambulance there and if someone hadn’t called yet he would have. With Danny’s symptoms that sound kind of like a seizure plus only getting about one out of ten questions right, it was obvious the injury was severe and that he might even have a broken neck. Hubby followed the ambulance in his truck while I got Natalie settled into to bed and let Kate know what was going on. Michelle was sick and already asleep so she didn't find out what happened until the next morning.
Kate stayed up to babysit while I drove to join my guys in the ER. I remember exactly what Danny looked like, propped up with a towel around his neck and his eyes closed. He was so confused when his dad told him I was there. "Mom?," he said when Hubby asked him if he knew who I was. After a bit he managed to say "Where's Michelle?" and "Where's Natalie?" before we realized he was asking who was taking care of his sisters. I let him know that his little sister were in bed and that his big sister was going to babysit. Hubby seemed so relieved to hear Danny talking. I knew it had been really bad to see that this boy that could barely talk was already improving so much. I literally walked over to the trash can in the ER room and bent over, thinking I was about ready to puke. On the way there I had a moment of panic but I just knew that if my son was going to die that night the Holy Ghost would have warned me not to take him to the trampoline park that night. But seeing what bad shape he was in made me wonder if the boy I loved so much would ever be the same. Every time the medical perssonel would come in and update us on something I took a walk back to the trash can. I had to talk myself out of vomiting more than once. I labeled it as fear, acknowledged that this was a scary situation, and that we didn't need to lose our dinner because it would not be helpful. The CT scan results were the worst. The official report says, "13-year-old male with head injury is found to have hyper dense foci in the frontal lobes consistent with either trace subarachnoid hemorrhage or hemorrhagic contusions." I really didn't like the word hemorrhage. But as time went by Danny could speak a little easier and it was decided that if he could walk down the hallway he would be allowed to go home instead of spending the night at the hospital. Danny was adamant even in his slow speech that he was not going to stay in the hospital and that he would walk home if he had to. He failed the first walking test but insisted he could walk if the doctor let him try again. This athletic kid was able to pass the walking test the second time and was very happy to be heading home. As I drove him home I was as careful as I could be. The doctor, the nurse, and the discharge nurse all told us that if Danny got knocked in the head again in the next two weeks he would die instantly and there would be nothing they could do to save him. So no car accidents on the way home but I did let him talk on the speaker phone to his two best friends who were worried sick about him. One blessing that I got to see that night was that when my son's brain was barely functional he asked about his sisters and wanted to let his friends know he was ok. "Heart of gold" would be an understatement. I still get choked up remembering that ride home. I am so very lucky to be this boys mom. My parents came over and my father gave Danny a priesthood blessing (which Danny had said yes to at the ER) and even though my dad didn't know the details until after that blessing, he said exactly what needed to be said. He was shocked when he filled him in afterwards while Kate made sure her brother was really ok and answering his questions based off of what some of their mutual friends who were at Get Air that night had told her. I am so grateful for their friendship. That night we placed Danny's mattress on the floor of his room and put an inflatable mattress for me on top of his box springs. The dog and I did not sleep well watching over our boy, waking up to every sound that might be what the doctors said meant a return to the ER. But Danny made it through the night just fine and spent all day Saturday resting and getting back to normal. For 72 hours his only job was to heal and our job was to help him do so.
We then began the game of trying to help Danny follow the concussion protocol. On Tuesday I took him to the pediatrician and she cleared him to go to school but that the next two weeks the teachers should take it easy on him. Every day around 1:30pm he would have to go home to rest after school induced headaches. My mom would be stationed at the house on days I worked so that I could take my afternoon break by dropping him off at home and returning to work. Keeping Danny away from sports and video games was pretty much impossible for such a physical kid/gamer but I did things like hide the skateboard and the remotes so that he couldn’t use his own equipment at least. After that two week mark things were less scary but he isn't all the way back yet (at least that's what his grade in Algebra is saying) but I'll give an update in the next post as well.
Somehow life kept on going with things like a campout for our younger girls and two of their favorite friends on Labor Day weekend, volleyball, softball, dance and Activity Days. Our annual trip for ice cream was a hit once again! Would 100% recommend. We felt like we had a lot to be grateful for.
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