All the Football

Since I last updated, they boys played several flag football games. I'll start with the most memorable one . . . Graysen played QB, as he always does, for the duration of the out-of-town JV game. Graysen was well on his way to hitting his normal 36 attempted passes, when a player from the opposite team got a little pushy and sent Graysen crashing out of bounds. G$ was a bit slow to get up and had to take a pause because his shoulder didn't feel right. Buck had to hold me back. I was going to go get that pushy kid! :)

Our team led most of the game and was up by five points in the fourth quarter. A few plays later, Graysen launched a ball into the end zone. We all watched as his teammate tried to snag it, but it was just out of bounds. Then we looked back, and Graysen was on the ground for real this time. Nobody saw what happened because we were all watching the play. 

As everyone took a knee and coaches started pouring out onto the field, Buck said, "Just wait." He saw Graysen rolling in pain and said, "Okay, go." I basically dropped the stats board and ran out onto the field. He was in soo much pain. The ref tried to get him to calm his breathing and started asking him questions. Graysen was able to say that when he thew the ball, someone crashed into his right knee with a shoulder. It hyperextended it backwards or sideways, not really sure, exactly. Two nurses from the other team's bleachers ran out to do an assessment. We had a PT an EMT and our own team medics all evaluating. Gosh it was scary. I'm in tears again thinking about it. It seemed like he laid there in pain for 30 minutes, but it probably wasn't that long. He couldn't put weight on his leg, so Buck and one of the coaches helped more or less carry him off the field.

Our team medic set up his own chair (which was an amazing luxury cushioned thing), for Graysen to sit in. We did a group prayer, got ice wrapped around his knee, and gave him 800 mg of Ibuprofen (that's more than he's had in his lifetime :). His teammates came over to check on him individually and in pairs, all wishing him well and asking him how he felt. Not great, especially since the opponent ran the ball down the field and scored, putting them just ahead of our guys. Our back-up QB made a valiant effort to get the ball downfield in the final seconds, but a jersey tug put an end to our runner's attempt to reach the end zone. After all the Falcons did the traditional end-of-game sportsmanship line of "good game" high-fives and knuckles, they all ran to Graysen's chair to do the same for him. I was super impressed, that was pretty thoughtful!

By halftime of the Varsity game, our medic needed to leave. Caelan and Noah were going to bring over one of the chairs they were sitting in, but Graysen's pain meds had kicked in and he wanted to try to walk. And he did! He limped down to the halftime meeting on the far end of the field and then gingerly walked around the remainder of the game. That was a huge Praise God moment!

And believe it or not, that wasn't the worst of the day's injuries. Another really sweet young man on their team got mixed up in a pile of other guys. He cracked his head, but thought he was okay. By the end of the game, the Varsity's first loss, he couldn't hear out of his ear and was disoriented and dizzy. They called an ambulance for him. It turns out he did indeed suffer a concussion, plus hearing loss from a ruptured eardrum, gasp!! This game is so physical! Thankfully, he's doing okay.

A few highlights from that game for Brennen . . . he reached out and grabbed the ball with his fingertips, which should have resulted in a touchdown. Actually, he did "almost a touchdown" plays several times. The refs were a little flag happy and called so many penalties on our side, even focusing on a few rules we hadn't heard before. So, yes, the first loss, is always a bummer, but the boys played well. And my NGF got some great pics of B during the Varsity game, which I will share now . . .

After the game, our head coach and his wife invited all of the players and their families to his house for a hot dog roast. It was a beautiful evening, and lots of the guys could make it. They played volleyball and, of course, football in the giant yard. Graysen mostly sat, which seemed wise :) We enjoyed getting to know some of the other parents better and of course decompressed by discussing the day's injuries and their mostly positive outcomes.

With only Sunday off before the next game, Graysen took it slow in the morning, missing his scheduled Sunday school supervising duties. He did want me to come back and pick him up for church, though, and he sat in the audio booth with his buddies. He went to a car show with some of the guys and a youth leader right after church. After that, he and Brennen stopped home to catch up on some chores, before heading to their youth leader's house to put up Christmas lights with some of the other guys in their small group (Graysen just watched). After all that, they drove to get chicken, then went to a movie night with a couple of other student ministry leaders and friends from church! Super fun day, super limpy G$ :)

Buck had Monday off, so he went to our chiropractor's office and brought home a brace for Graysen's knee. Graysen has been wearing it pretty much ever since, when he leaves the house. He decided that he could play his final JV game Monday night. I was a little iffy about this, but Buck made sure he was good. Also, it was freezing. Absolutely bonkers cold! Graysen played the first half of the game but kept getting stuck into running plays . . . by halftime he was limping badly, so coach pulled him from the line-up. We are glad that he doesn't seem to need any further medical attention. If he's still hurting in a week, we'll probably take him in for a scan or some PT. We're just thankful he was not injured more than he was. Because as you probably all know . . . I CAN'T do knees, blech!