We had quite an ordeal this week but the crisis is now averted. My nine-year-old daughter had a bicycle accident on Saturday at around 3 pm. She was riding her bicycle in the backyard and fell after going over a tree root. She fell onto the bicycle handlebar, in the left lower abdominal area, and came in crying. We had her lay down and put ice on it for about an hour. After dinner, she vomited around 9 pm. We decided to take her to the emergency room at our local Catholic hospital. They took a chest x-ray and put her on an i.v. for a cat-scan with contrast. The i.v. needle was uncomfortable but she was very brave. We watched some Peanuts and Winnie-the-Pooh videos. We had some good much-needed laughs, enjoying the videos together. She finally got into the cat-scan at around midnight. The doctor looked at the results right away and said it was just a contusion, to take ibuprofen, rest, and eat a mild diet until she is feeling better.
She has stayed home from school and has been lying down most of the past week, subsisting on ginger ale, bagels, and Cinnamon Life cereal. She is in good spirits and says it is feeling better but still hurts. There is no school Thurs. and Fri. in the Catholic schools here.
Tonight she was on the “injured list” and sat out for the softball game while her almost-eleven-year-old sister played. She had a really bad first inning pitching. The umpire had measured out 45 feet to the pitcher’s mound. Minors ball is supposed to have a 30-foot distance. She threw a slew of ground balls, and soon the bases were loaded with walkers. She was so embarrassed!
She came running to me after the inning and burst into tears. The other children and parents were quite sympathetic. After she went back to the dugout, I said, “It never hurts a kid to have a small dose of humility on occasion.”
The coach was very supportive and let her pitch the next two innings. She did better, but she was still disappointed.
Meanwhile, my toddler was all over the field. She explored several acres of property there, getting herself hurt several times. It was past her bedtime and I was ready to hit the hay myself.
I have had one minor miracle this ball season. Last year, about a third of the games for my son’s baseball league and my daughters’ softball league were at the same time. This put me in the position of having to be literally two places at the same time on weeknights. My husband is able to help out on Saturdays. This year I carefully compared schedules and was amazed to find I had not a single conflict during the week! I was so thankful!
My husband got home shortly after we did and I complained about his work schedule, threatening to never go to a game again. But I was just letting off steam, and I will be happily back in my camp chair (or running after the little one) in a few days.
Painting by Greg Fetler
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