As the World Series gets closer and closer there is such an excitement in our family we can hardly stand it. Just the other day I was SO excited and almost sat down to Facebook to declare to the world that there were only 10 days left until the big day and I could not wait. I decided to spare everyone my overzealous baseball enthusiasm. I still think about the World Series all of the time but now in a little different way.
August 12th will remain a day that Douglas will forever want to forget but most likely never will. He slept in a nice part of the morning, mowed the lawn and then headed out the door for a last chance trip to Raging Waters. He has had a season pass and with school and the World Series approaching it was his final hurrah of the year.
An hour after he left I received a phone call from his cell phone. I had asked him to check in periodically throughout the day and was surprised that he was calling so soon. A female voice on the other end informed me that she had Douglas in her first aid office and believed him to have a broken collar bone. Tears instantly filled my eyes as I told her I would be right there. "It couldn't be," I thought. "He is playing in the World Series in 10 days." Although the news could have been worse, it was a blow to say the least. I cried and prayed all the way there. "Please Heavenly Father, he has worked so hard. Please let it be something we can fix." I was hoping for a dislocated shoulder or a very bad bruise. Anything but a brake! When I first saw him the devastation on his face was heart breaking. He knew it was serious.
I took him to a medical clinic to confirm that he had indeed broken his collar bone and they advised me to immediately go to the ER where they would most likely perform surgery that evening. Thanks to a quick thinking and very wise friend in a moment of foggy mindedness on my part she told me to get a second opinion before I went scurrying to the ER. Our sweet bishop was able to recommend someone with whom he has trusted family members with and got us an appointment the next morning.
Douglas had a long night where he felt he would wake any minute from his dream and realize that he was still whole. It broke my heart to hear him say that. I remember times in my life where that hazy, heavy, this-is-just-a-dream feeling takes over and it is so hard to feel like there will ever be happiness again. It is heart wrenching to watch your child go through that and I felt the same feelings right along with him.
Dr. Walters was wonderful. He was optimistic the bone would heal well and there would be no complications there. What he was not so sure about was the 4-6 inch sag his left shoulder had below his right. He has never seen such a thing. There is such a crookedness to Douglas' posture right now and that might fix while the bone healed but it most likely wouldn't. The plan: surgery to pull the bone back together fastened with a plate and some screws. Pros: we know it is fixed and there should be no long term affects from the break, Douglas is on a quick road to recovery. Cons: general anesthesia, incision and scar, a plate that will most likely bug him in the future and need to be removed, a nerve that could be damaged during the drilling process. I really hate the list of cons but they always have to give you the worst case scenario. We all agreed that surgery would be the best choice. That will take place on Monday.
The mood around our house has been a somber one. It seems whenever we talk to someone about it or discuss it as a family all of us get a little teary. Douglas has been a real trooper. He has attended practices, Court of Honors, & presidency meetings. I am pleased with the way he is handling this trial. He received a priesthood blessing and we all know that for some reason, he is supposed to be going through this at this time during the most important and looked forward to event of his life thus far. It would be so easy to say it is not fair, why do bad things happen to such a great kid, God must hate him. But, we know that is far from the truth. Heavenly Father has a plan for this fine young man. He knows him and his struggles at this time and I know he will be blessed. His shoulder will heal, time will heal his broken heart (and ours) and he will emerge a stronger person. Of this I am certain!
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Get well soon!