Bummer

While we were away on our anniversary trip, Jacob had a football game. We were in the air heading east and he was playing football. While we were flying and he was playing, he got hit hard in the rib cage. It hurt, but he didn't think too much about it. He didn't really mention it to my mom and, since we were on the other side of country, no one said anything to us either.

The last game he played in pre-injury

After we'd been home 4 or 5 days, Jacob got up one morning and said, "Can you make me a doctor's appointment?" I replied, "For what?". "My ribs.", he answered. "What is wrong with your ribs?" I countered. That's when I heard, for the first time, about the injury that had happened about 10 days prior. All the while, stubborn #19 had continued to practice and play in games. So I took him in to get him looked at. The doctor that we saw figured that he had some deep bruising and said that he should take Advil regularly to manage the pain and listen to his body as far as what his limits should be. So for another week or so he went on pretty much the same as before, although with significantly more ibuprofen in his system. Then he woke up one morning later that same week in significant pain and not being able to breathe comfortably. So we went back in and saw a different doc (since we were a walk-in appointment). This second doc examined him and pushed and poked, eliciting quite a bit of pain from her patient. They got an x-ray, and though his ribs didn't appear to be broken (though ribs aren't the easiest bones to x-ray), she decided this was his body's signal that he needed to stop everything. Heartbreakingly, this was the day before the Homecoming football game of his senior year! To say he was pretty bummed when she told him to completely stop doing anything that required him to take a deep breath or caused him to breath heavily or exert himself, for at least a month, would be a major understatement. It's hard to watch your kid be in physical pain, but it might be worse to see them in emotional pain. In one moment he lost the rest of his senior football season, pep band, band class, weight lifting class . . . all the things he loves most and is most passionate about in life right now.

He he has done pretty well. He still goes to practice and stands on the sidelines of the games in his jersey (sporting jeans, rather than pads and a helmet), but it's not the same.

"Togo Tuesday" when all the seniors wear a toga to school

He is feeling better all the time these days and is hopeful that he might be able to play again before the season is done. But it was a tough blow.

I'm crazy about that kid and can't believe in less than a year he will be taking off to spread his wings and won't live in our house with us anymore. I just sent in a baby picture and special message for him to be put in the yearbook. As I looked through the pictures in attempt to choose one and wrote the note, it seemed surreal. How can he be this old? What on earth happened to my precocious preschooler who knew every make and model of car and talked "car talk" with anyone who would listen? And, at the same time, he is ready to take this next step and we know it. We are so proud of him and the man that God is molding him into. I can't wait to see what God has in store for him in the future! What a blessing he is to our family.

Senior football guys dancing at the homecoming pep fest

Jacob and his team after their homecoming WIN!
Jacob is the one in the jeans.

Praying he can suit up for a game again before the season is over!

All Clear (or pretty darn close)

We had our follow up at the orthopedic doc on Friday and there was good news. I don't have a Twitter account and am not much for hashtags, but just for fun let me say :: #allclear, #batterup, #happyboy, #activerestdidit'sthing!

The doctor did advise that he ease back in to throwing with his right hand, so he suggested not pitching or catching, since that would involve way more throwing than any other position. But he can rejoin the batting order and start fielding as a righty again! His first game after the all clear is tomorrow night and he is pretty pumped!

Active Rest

Early in June our sports-loving, baseball playing kiddo told me, before bed one Friday night, as we were praying together and I was tucking him in, that his elbow really hurt. This kid has a pretty high pain threshold, so I probably should have taken it a bit more seriously right off the bat (no pun intended), but in true "seasoned mom" fashion, I told him to take it easy and see how it felt in a couple days. I promptly forgot about it and started thinking about all the other things taking up mental space in my brain these days. Well, a few days later he told me that it still hurt. And I could tell he meant it. So I made him an appointment at the pediatrician for the next day. She looked at it, asked him some questions and got him an x-ray. Since there are growth plate issues to consider with an elbow in a pre-pubescent kid, and since she is a pediatrician and not a radiologist or orthopedic doc, she said she'd have to consult with a radiologist and get back to me with the verdict. I got a call the next day that the radiologist wanted us to head to an orthopedic clinic to have him seen by a specialist there because it looked like the bone had pulled away from the growth plate. (Sounds super painful to me!) So we we made an appointment at the orthopedic clinic with a guy who specializes in elbows and works quite a bit with baseball players. In the hours between the explanation of the concerns of the radiologist and the appointment with the orthopedic doc, I googled a bit about elbow growth plate injuries. That was probably not the best idea! It just got me worried and certain we would have surgery, or at the very least be down for the count for the rest of summer. And this was approximately 2 hours into summer vacation (quite literally -- school got out at 11 for the year and the orthopedic appointment was at 1:30)

At this point we are now about a week out from the first complaint about elbow pain and, tough, determined kid that he is, he has played in 2 baseball games since the pain started. At the appointment with the elbow guy we got a diagnosis of Medial Epicondyle Apophysitis, which meant nothing at all to me, but sounded like something you should take seriously! The lay term for what was causing the pain is "Little Leaguer's Elbow". Sometimes it comes on all at once, with one long throw of the ball or swing of a bat . . . but this case seemed to be more of the repetitive use version, since there didn't seem to be one particular "event" that prompted the onset of the pain. Thankfully there was no splint, cast, or surgery required. Just "active rest". No throwing. No batting. Less strenuous activities like swimming and biking were fine, but I assumed that the baseball season was pretty much over at that point. Turns out that was a naive assumption on my part. I should have known better, after all the years I have known this particular child!

A few pre-injury baseball pictures :: 

Within 24 hours of the diagnosis, we were at a sporting goods store buying a glove for his right hand, so he could learn to play as a lefty. Without missing a beat (or a game) he continued playing. (No batting still, though.) Even though he was out of the batting order, he was fielding with surprising accuracy and power as a lefty. I guess it is advantageous to have a left-handed first baseman, so that is what he has played most in the games since his injury. He is one determined kid. As hard as that particular trait can be to parent, at times, I know it will serve him well in life. He made up his mind to do something and he did it. (Hopefully with no life-long damage to an important part of his body that he would appreciate having full use of for the rest of his days!)

We are coming to the last week before our re-check. We have an orthopedic appointment again at the end of this coming week. New x-ray and exam. I know it will not go smoothly if anything less than an "all clear" is given at this appointment. So we are hopeful that time and rest would have done the healing work that is needed to get back into life at 100% (if not a bit more!).

But the past few weeks, I have been giving extra thought to the idea of "active rest". I think there are some areas of my life that could use a bit of active rest. Not completely down for the count across the board, but intentionally avoiding some things in areas that are "injured" in my life and giving them the time and space to heal a bit. Maybe you have areas that could use some active rest too. Think on it a bit and see.

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that I read each day. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

1839. sickies home from school playing board games together
1840. preschool Christmas programs {our 9th one at RLNS}::1841. going to the mailbox to find it FULL of Christmas greetings
1842. seeing and catching up with old friends {all the more fun when it's completely unexpected}
1843. successfully finishing all my Christmas crafting {and not a moment too soon, I might add!}
1844. no major injuries for Sara after her run-in with a flight of stairs::1845. how quickly kids heal! {praise God!}
1846. Jacob all snuggled up on the couch reading this book :: warms this math geek's heart!
1847. Christmas program at Seabury {Kirb on trumpet, vocals and reading from Luke 2, Jacob on trumpet and piano, Rebekah on piano and Lydia on piano and violin. Joe passed out the song sheets and Anna did a few unscheduled piano interludes!}
1848. the joy of giving!
1849. a fun, new game
1850. FAMILY!::1851. 11pm candlelight Christmas Eve service {Beka was the only Stoll kiddo to stay awake until the end :: she was rewarded by holding her very own candle as we formed a circle around the sanctuary to sing Silent Night}
1852. going to church on Christmas morning sans coat :: in Minnesota! so very weird!
1853. a walk with "the littles" to the park on a glorious {although it would be so pretty with a bit of snow!} Christmas afternoon
1854. a Christmas day nap
1855. much-appreciated, much-loved, heartfelt gifts::1856. my newly outfitted winter-proof workshop in the garage {new propane heater, shop light and workbench :: thanks Kirb for the set-up!}
1857. a clean basement

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.

thankful thursday

Today I'm super thankful for my 3 March birthday kids! 12, 10 and 3. My, how time flies!

A not-so-great picture of the birthday kids with their respective cakes::

A cheesy picture of the "twins"::

Anna twirling down the block on an afternoon "walk"::

How old are you?
"I'm this many!"::

"I'm this many!" {that's all 10 fingers and 2 big toes, in case you needed a translation}::

Putting 3 candles on her cake at school::

And, just in case you wanted to see the ear injuries, here's the view from the back {she whacked her head and cut all the way through her ear}::

And a not-so-great shot of the front view::

{both taken about 48 hours post-injury}

thankful thursday

Today I'm so thankful for my birthday kids. Yesterday was a big day around here. Jacob turned 12 and Rebekah hit double digits. How on earth did they get so old? Does that make me old too? Yikes! We had a fun family birthday celebration dinner at Red Robin on Tuesday night {Joe asked this morning if we could have dinner there again tonight . . . um, no! buddy. Sorry!}, fun birthdays yesterday and we're looking forward to a little more celebrating over the weekend. There are both fabulous kids and I'm so thankful to have been chosen to be their mom.

I'm also thankful today for a super kind neighbor -- who also happens to be an ER nurse -- who will come right over and consult on a possibly ER-worthy injury on a certain almost-birthday-girl. No ER visit needed! Dan thought ahead and brought the super glue and glued her up right there in the kitchen. House calls and no co-pay . . . who can beat that? This is not the first {nor, I'm sure, the last} time we've taken advantage of his services. I'm pretty sure I owe him at least $500 by now! But instead from time to time I drop his kids off at this or that, his daughter gets off the kindergarten bus with Joe and eats lunch here, his girls come over here to play, we invite their family over for grilled hot dogs or whatever. It really does take a village! In case you're curious, the patient seems to be doing fine this morning. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go attempt to get all the blood out of her dress. I know, I know, I should have done it right away, but there were a few other things to attend to last night :: a hungry baby, a bleeding Anna, 2 birthday kids, dirty dishes on the table, 2 non-birthday, non-bleeding, non-baby kiddos who needed a hug and story before bed.

flashback friday

I thought today for "Flashback Friday" we would continue in the spirit of last week by highlighting Joe's unfortunate, unique and quite random nose injuries::
{This is a fabulous picture. One that I would say is worth your time to click on so you can see it really big. Joe might possibly be the most facially (is that a word?) expressive kid I've ever met!}::

February 2009::

This particular injury happened EXACTLY one year after last weeks highlighted nose injury. {We got through February of 2010 without a nose injury, so hopefully we'll be safe this February too}.

This one left quite the scar.
Are you wondering what happened to him?
Well, I was standing right there, so let me tell you::
He was standing on the floor.
Pretty much just standing still.
Then he fell.
On the carpet!
There was nothing sharp anywhere near him.
There was nothing at all anywhere near him.
Weird!
And this is how he looked when he got up from his fall {except right then it was gushing with blood}::
I have no idea how the soft-ish carpet sliced through his nose like that. But it did! Only Joe, I tell you. Only him! {I also have no idea why this is such a terrible picture. He hadn't been drinking. Or smoking anything. Despite how it looks. It's just a bad picture. However, it does show his nasty boo-boo quite well. Or at least better than any other pictures I had -- click to see it big to get the full effect!}

Enjoy the weekend!

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here.

"One Thousand Gifts":

774. how quickly kids heal
775. a REALLY clean garage {thanks babe!}
776. fallish weather {my favorite, by far!}
777. the state fair
778. dry diapers in the morning
779. dry Elmo undies all day long
780. cough syrup with codeine
781. the return of wearing skirts and boots {and even some long sleeves!}
782. thoughtful friends who bring extra folders and take a couple kiddos for most of the day
783. my mom!
784. a perfectly-timed puke bucket brought bedside
785. a day off with only 2 things on the "to do" list {ok, maybe 3}
786. sibling love
787. my dad's safe arrival home {he's been gone again}
788. tom thumb mini donuts . . . the perfect way to end a day!

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.

never a dull moment!

After feeling yuckier and yuckier for nearly a week, I finally went to the doctor {on my last week off -- starting next week I have weekly doctor appointments for the baby anyway!}. The narcotics they gave me seem to be helping already and hopefully I'll feel {and sound -- ask anyone who has been around me in the past 3 days or so. I sound like I'm near-death} close to normal again soon.

Anna's face {and arms too, although you can't see those in the picture} had a little run in with the cement steps last night and so Kirb made his 2nd ER run {different ER though . . . you know, to add a little variety to our lives} in less than 2 weeks to get her cleaned up. 6 stitches {1 internal and 5 external} later and she'll be ok, but they said that she'll probably have a visible scar. Hopefully she'll look good with bangs! After her x-ray, although not 100% certain, the doctor was pretty sure she doesn't have a skull fracture. So, that's the good news, I guess. Neither of us thought to change her into a diaper before leaving for the hospital, so, even with all the trauma, and after using the facilities at Children's Hospital a few times, she still stayed dry in her Elmo undies the entire day {she's been doing quite well in that area and even wakes up with a dry diaper most mornings!} even through stitches, x-rays and lots of excitement. Good job, Banana Boo! It was after 10 when Dad & daughter got home from their little "date night" so she was kinda loopy, all things considered, and wound down with some lemonade while watching Tinkerbell on Mommy's lap.

I was awake about 2 o'clock this morning {shifting positions is a pretty big ordeal at this point!} and Kirb was snoring {he has a cold too; it seems we all have it to some degree}, so I gave him an elbow in the side and said "Babe, you're snoring." His usual response would be to roll over or move or do something and then the snoring would stop. This time, rather, he said to me. "No, I'm not!" I didn't feel it was a good use of time time and {limited} energy to argue with a sleeping 36-year-old, so I let it go. But just for the record . . . um, yes, you were!!

I coordinated and hosted breakfast for the entire staff of the kids' school on Thursday morning. It's usually something I look forward too, but being pretty sick, quite pregnant and having to lug 4 loads of stuff from my van into the building in the rain at 7 am made it not-quite-as-fun-as-usual. Hopefully it will be fun again next fall!

It's Labor Day weekend! Kirb and I are planning to make one final trip to the fair, just the 2 of us, for a little date on Sunday night. I'm looking forward to a date and also looking at all the stuff I enjoy looking at, that isn't real possible when you've got 5 kiddos along -- all 7 of us spent about 8 hours at the Fair on opening day and had a great time {for the most part}. We ate 3 bags of mini donuts, a HUGE order of "World's Greatest French Fries", a few large sodas, 3 large Hawaiian Shaved Ice, 3 pickles on a stick, a bucket of Sweet Martha's Cookies and, I'm sure a few more things that I can't remember at the moment -- plus lots of snacks brought from home!

Jacob's asthma is always at it's worst at this time of year. He coughs almost constantly and can't breathe, so that's fun!

I have about 90% of our needed school supplies. I packed them up and was all organized over 2 weeks ago, but there were those last few things that I didn't have. So, I was trying to wrangle them up yesterday while filling my prescription at Target, but, as it turns out, Target is out of pretty much everything! Um, HELLO! School didn't even start yet! I asked the guy in the school supply section, "Where do you have plain folders?" and he answered, "We don't have any of those." Also missing from inventory were dry erase markers and glue sticks . . . those were the 3 things I needed more of. {Well, that and 1 box of quart-sized Ziploc bags . . . but those, miraculously, were in stock}. Believe me, I had dry erase markers, glue sticks and folders all in my big box o' school supplies, but it would seem I didn't have enough for 4 children to go back to school. I still need 3 more large glue sticks, about 20 color-specific 2-pocket folders and a pack each of thick and thin dry erase markers. Then I'll be done. I guess I'll hope for the best at Staples some time today! We'll see.

My grandpa would have been 99 today. Miss you, Papa!

I guess that's it for the moment. Have a fabulous Saturday!

flashback friday

the other major Stoll head injury:
Joe's stitches, October 2008
{his hair still doesn't grow in that spot}

This 'n that

Here's a few new things going on around here::

• My friend christened our van "The Stoll Haul". Pretty cute, huh? Maybe that will be enough of a hint that people will stop mispronouncing our name so that it insinuates that I take things that don't belong to me . . . I guess that means I'd rather have my name bring people mental images of a stinky, smallish section of a barn that needs to be mucked out! {no, our van doesn't actually say "stoll haul" on the side . . . you can do amazing things with photo editing!}
  
• Rebekah fell off the monkey bars at school on Thursday. I got the call from the nurse {she's my buddy . . . we often have reason to chat on the phone . . . unfortunate as that often is!} while in Target with the two overtired and ready-for-a-nap "littles". We checked out, called the pediatrician's office on the way to pick her up to tell them that we were headed their direction. We, then, spent nearly 2 hours at the clinic getting x-rays and finding out that Rebekah potentially chipped the bone in her elbow. We don't know for sure because they didn't intentionally x-ray her elbow . . . she was complaining of pain in her forearm, so they x-rayed that, but got her elbow in the picture as well {bonus!}. The forearm looked beautiful, but -- unfortunately -- there seemed to be something "floating" in her elbow that looked suspicious. The sent the x-rays to Gillette specialty hospital downtown {where Lydia had cranial-facial surgery when she was 7 months old . . . sounds like a big deal huh? I wanted you to think that. Actually they just removed a dermoid cyst that she had near her temple. It was all over in half and hour and she went home hardly knowing what had happened . . . I can still picture what she wore home from the hospital. But, I digress!} and they thought it looked ok, but couldn't be sure because it wasn't really a great image of the elbow itself. They sent us home with her arm wrapped and in a sling with instructions for complete immobility of the arm and to "lay low" for 4 or 5 days. Then if it hasn't gotten better or feels worse we have to have it re-x-rayed. I really have no idea what you would do to fix a floating little bone chip on the tip of your elbow anyway . . . I can't image it would be a very straight-forward fix! Sleeping comfortably is a challenge {especially when she is plagued with sleep issues anyway!}, but apart from that she seems to be feeling pretty good and the pain is under control. What a trooper!
• Kirb is home again {he got home Thursday night} after being in Fargo as a workshop speaker at a conference he was attending with some co-workers. Some crisis always comes up when he's out of town, so I guess the whole arm/elbow thing shouldn't have been too much of a surprise. But, we're thrilled to have him home with us safe and sound.
• Lydia will be 8 tomorrow . . . yikes, I'm not at all sure how that happened!