On the First Day of Christmas…..

I guess it wasn’t enough that we spent Thanksgiving in the hospital with Parker, we had to add in a bit of a Christmas surprise.

Not the good kind of surprise, mind you.

No.   We aren’t that lucky around this joint lately.

Loratab induced bliss.  heh.

This one came in the form of a torn Meniscus.  And an unexpected surgery.

A Meniscus so torn that there was actually a piece of this muscle found floating around the back of the 16 year old’s knee.

It’s a rough blow coming smack dab in the midst of a pretty spectacular wrestling season.   But Hodson boys are tough.   Really tough.  

The 16 year old refused to believe me when I told him that his surgeon would write the word ‘yes’ on his leg to insure that they cut into the correct appendage.  “No way!” cried my kid. “These are trained professionals who would never make a mistake like that!  Ah……the innocence of youth.”

I tried to get Rigel to sit still long enough for me to write “Please shave off my sad and scrawny mustache while I’m under the anesthesia!”    Alas, he refused.  I told him that I was just trying to get all I could out of the rather large co-pay this surgery was going to cost us.  At least the surgeon will have some cash this Christmas, eh?

I’m so proud of this kid.  He’s handled everything with grace and great class.  He repeatedly thanked his nurses yesterday for taking such good care of him.  He’s learning to take what comes his way and turn it into an opportunity to learn and grow.

He was pretty nauseated when he got home last night.  All I could think about was him waking up and throwing up and the aspirating.  So Reed pulled a mattress into the family room for Rigel to sleep on.  Close enough that he could call out for us if anything…….although I may have spent most of the night on the couch just in case.

Cause, you know, no matter how old they get, or how much taller than you they grow, they are always and forever your baby.