The World According to Leslie

Yesterday, we had another appointment with the Sports Medicine doctor. The Princess can now bend her knee.  However, she is not playing softball yet. It's ok. She wouldn't have time to do the workouts anyways. The last practice is today, and, unless they win, the last game will be tomorrow. We should be ranked next to last. That means we will be playing the 2nd place seeded team. As of right now, the 2nd place spot is held by a team that has walked on the our team twice already this year.... like 17-0 and 18-0 games that only went 3 innings. The Princess has 4-6 weeks of physical therapy. I have to get that scheduled. She has to go 2-3 times a week for 45 minutes to an hour each time. That's going to be a workout!! For now, we will keep the knee rested, therapied (is that a word?), and iced. Hopefully she can do winter workouts and get back to doing Karate! 

Yesterday, the Princess had her last home game for middle school softball. Although she can't play, she's still attending every practice and game... just in case the doctor releases her on Monday, when she goes back in to visit. Yesterday, the 8th grade players were recognized. They were given a bouquet of yellow flowers wrapped in white paper with black and gold ribbon on it. (The school colors are Black and Gold!!!) WE BLEED BLACK AND GOLD!!! (It will be her high school colors also.) Anyways, after the game, our minivan didn't want to start. We went to Cici's Pizza with the family--13 of us (not even 1/2)!!! After dinner, the van didn't want to start again. So, we drove straight to the AutoZone. The guy there checked the battery. It was dying. Then he checked the computer to show that we had just put that battery in the van in March of 2014. That means that the warranty ran out in March 2016!!!!  GO FIGURE!  So.... just a few minutes later, the guy insta...

Yesterday, the Princess had her appointment with the Sports Medicine doctor. He did more X-rays. He said that the good news is that when her knee cap moved, it did not chip. If it had chipped, we would be scheduling surgery. He thinks that it's just severely bruised. He also said that her knee cap moves too much. So.... he put her in a new immobilizer. This one HAS to go over her pants. It keeps her knee completely straight. But, the good news is that he took her off the crutches. She gets to actually walk now. The worst part is that she's in 8th grade. It's her last year of middle school. She's in the new immobilizer for 2 weeks. We go back to the doctor on October 10th. If the doctor doesn't clear her for softball when we go back, her middle school softball career is over. They only have 2 more weeks of games. The first (and probably only) tournament game will be on Oct. 12. IF she gets cleared, she will be able to be in that game. If not, no more softball unt...

There's an old saying "When it rains, it pours." That seems so true. I was sick all summer, mostly. I'm feeling so much better now. Now, the Princess is on crutches. On Wednesday at the school softball game, she and another teammate had a collision in the dugout. She twisted her knee. The trainer said that her knee cap "sub-flexed." So, we iced it and she played the 2nd half of the game. On Thursday, she practiced for two hours. She was practicing at 3rd base and went to pivot to throw the ball to 1st base and she fell. We got her to the dugout. Her knee was already swollen. Tony took me to Girl Scouts and took the Princess to Urgent Care. When they came to Girl Scouts to pick me up, the Princess was on crutches and had a immobilizer on her knee. She also had the diagnosis of Osgood-Schlatter Disease. Osgood-Schlatter is where the tendon is pulling on the bone in her leg incorrectly. Fortunately, it is very common in athletic kids. Typically, girls...

The doctors told me to "return to normal" so I have been doing everything I normally do.  Almost everything.... I haven't had a chance to get back to the gym. I'm still trying to work that into my strange schedule.  I get the Princess off to school in the mornings. Then I head to the daycare to help my mom, since my friend who really works there is still out on medical leave. After I leave there, different days are different times, I head home for just a little bit before heading to get the Princess from softball practice. Two days a week, she has games. As of last Wednesday, the first game, she is the starting first baseman! Last year she only got to play in 2-3 games because she was in 7th grade. This year, as an 8th grader, she's a starter!  She got her same number too!  #18!!!! We have school stuff, like meetings and stuff to handle in the evenings. We have church stuff. We also have Girl Scout stuff. We stay pretty busy!  However, it's nice to be ...

Today, I met with the Neuro-surgeon. It turns out that the aneurysm behind my right eye is about 1mm. The one behind my left eye is about 3mm. At this time, the surgeon thinks surgery would do more harm than good. In February, we will re-do all the scans/tests. Then, if they are the same, we wait 6 more months. If they have grown, then we discuss other options. There is a chance that these aneurysms have been there for years and we only discovered them while the doctor was trying to diagnose a cause for my headaches.  BTW.... the aneurysms have NOTHING to do with the pain!! I am allowed to return to normal....whatever that is. Today, the Princess started 8th grade! (There's NO WAY that's possible!) Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get back in the gym!

After finding out last Monday that I have an aneurism behind my eye, I have been pretty calm and relaxed. That's mainly because my family is making me take it easy. :) I still do not know when I am going in for my neuro-surgical consult. I called and left a message for the nurse to call me. She called and they are waiting for the referral to be approved.  I guess that means it's not an emergency situation!!! Now.... I'm just waiting for lots of things to happen. Thursday of this week, 8/18, is a big day.  My Princess is going to be 13!!  WOW!  A teenager!!  Also, on Thursday, we have the Concord-Kannapolis "Battle for the Bell" Game! (Supposedly it is the last year that the game will be the season opener!!) We are CONCORD all the way! Go Spiders!! On Friday, the Princess starts softball try-outs for her 8th grade year! How did she get this old? Monday through Wednesday, we have the Kidz Crusade at church. I'm hoping to get to go. Saturday is the Pr...

Since July 10th, I have been sick. I have been to the ER 3 times in 3 weeks. I have not been out of my house, except to go to the doctor, for 3 weeks. On Thursday of last week, I had to have a spinal tap done to see if they can figure out these headaches. On Saturday, I ended up at the ER again because my neck and shoulders were completely stiff and painful. They gave me meds that made me sleep all day. Yesterday, my neck and shoulders started feeling much better.  I can now sit up for longer than 20 minutes at a time. My headache is only at about a 3-4 instead of a 8-9. On to better news..... We have finally decided where the Princess is going to go to school next year. She has agreed to play softball again at the school. We are excited. We just have to make sure that she gets the classes that she needs to get into the IB program in the high school. I'm still working on finding a full time job, but if I don't, I can always be a substitute teacher again this year....