"Third time's a charm" right? Not for Zachary!!
He attends the Youth Group at our church every week and really enjoys going. I love that he's learning about Christ and that he brings home some valuable lessons, but there are a few things I'd rather him leave behind at church....all his injuries!
The first time he got hurt it was a fractured finger. The second time he got hit in the face with a ball and got a very bad bloody nose. OK, we dealt with both of those...life went on and he healed pretty quickly from both incidents. Well, the third time happened just less than 2 weeks ago....
He was playing Dodge Ball with all the other teens...not a bad sport, but...they do NOT play like I remember playing it when in Grammar School!!! These kids play to win, they play hard! They are out for blood and they love every minute of it. It's really all 'innocent' fun, but as they say (whoever 'they' are) "
Keep fooling around...and somebody's going to get hurt!" That somebody was Zachary!
Somehow he managed to hurt his knee. It wasn't bad the first night, but as he kept walking on it, the pain began to increase. Long story short...when he was playing Dodge Ball, he tore the cartilage in his knee. The medical term: Discoid Meniscus
I so lovingly decided to share my crutches with him (the ones I used when I injured my foot doing Wii-Fit - don't ask)!! He used them for a couple days and we headed to the Orthopedic Doctor for an exam. They took x-rays and sent him for an MRI. They both revealed a tear in his knee, and that he'd need surgery to not only repair the tear, but to shave down, reshape and reposition the cartilage in the knee. OUCH!! His knee was a MESS...all from playing a
simple viscous game of Dodge Ball!!!
Two days ago he had that surgery. Here he is the morning of...notice the shirt. Yeah...he really is a 'Fun-Guy'...
It was pretty much uneventful as far as surgeries go, minus the 5 tries it took them to get the IV in his arm!! The operation took a bit longer than they anticipated, but after an hour or so, he was in recovery.
Here he is, just coming out of surgery - in recovery. Every Mom hates to see her children like this...and I'm no exception. I knew he'd be fine, but it was still hard to see him laying in a hospital bed with oxygen on. Sigh...
After only an hour, he was sitting up. He did feel nauseous, but he was able to eat a bit before going home. He doesn't remember, but he was asking for Rob and I right after surgery...see...He really DOES love his Mom and Dad!!! ha ha
When we arrived home, there was a package for him on the front porch from our dear friends. Thank you K, M, T, L & J, what a wonderful surprise for Zachary!!!!!
A closer look at his leg post-surgery.
Fortunately the anesthesia worked well and he felt pretty good the whole afternoon. When evening came, he started with the pain meds and is still taking them. He's had a rough couple of nights, but he's getting better each day.
The next day we went back at the surgeon's office for a post-op visit. The large bandage came off and he was able to put little ones on. It's pretty amazing that only 1 day after surgery, they can do this. These days you don't get to wallow and enjoy being waited on in the hospital...it's in-and-out..."drive by surgery" as I call it!
Today Zachary started with Physical Therapy. The evaluation was quite difficult as the PT had to measure how much he can stretch and bend his leg. I could see pain in Zachary's eyes as he went through the motions. Hopefully with each day he will improve and get full range of motion back. They say that with this injury/surgery you go back to 100% which is a blessing!!
So, there you have it...our lives the past couple weeks...the reason I haven't blogged in a while. I know I really need to get back on here more often. Hopefully I'll be more faithful....unless something else comes up! Hmmmm, maybe he should stay home from Youth Group for a while. Ha ha!
Please pray for quick and complete recovery for Zachary. Pray that the pain will decrease and that he will feel better. Thanks so much!!
Woo hoo, today is Lionel's 15th birthday!! I can't believe how quickly the years are passing by. The older he gets the quicker they go too. In just 2 years he will be graduating. We are confident that whatever he does, (which at this point is to pursue his dream and enter the Air Force Academy), he will spend time in prayer about it first, asking God to lead and guide his every decision.
