Numbers

October, 2011, It has been cold and clear, and I mean really cold. It will be a great snow year if this continues and we get some moisture. I pulled Riley out of school at 12:45 pm to do the drive into see the specialist. Riley was hungry. I never argue, much, when Riley is hungry. To keep him in a good mood we stopped at DQ in town. We wait for his order, which they mistake. He orders a classic club and they make him a classic cheese burger. He has them re make it and they do it again. I am in the car waiting to go by this time. I run to the door of the small restaurant to tell Riley we are out of time, we must hit the road. I am worried about traffic. The cashier gives Riley a coupon for a free lunch to take with him and the burger, which didn't even have cheese on it this time. Riley said the lack of cheese was because I rushed them. What ever, next time we get lunch at the other end so I am not stressed about traffic.

Turns out to be a breeze. By the time we reach the hospital we are way ahead of schedule. No traffic issues at all. Riley stops at the lab for the blood work and then I make him come to the cafeteria so I can eat something. I order a great shrimp and veggie roll in rice paper wrap and peanut sauce dip, delicious. Once finished I toss my tray in the garbage along with my cell phone. We take the elevator upstairs to check in at which point I realize I am missing my cell and the last place I saw it was on my tray. I knew right away what I had done, race back to the elevators and head back to the cafeteria, leaving Riley to wait for the appointment.

Luckily we had been a mid afternoon lunch. The garbage had been emptied after lunch and was only half full. I ask one of the cleaning staff to dial my number, but we are deep in the bowls of the hospital and I had no service. I just had to dig. I grabbed a few plates and had to go down a foot into the garbage before I found my phone sitting on the sushi tray from my shrimp wrap. It was unharmed by liquids or the discourteous treatment it had received. I thanked the cleaning crew who offered to help.

I rode the elevator back up to the clinic waiting room, only to find Riley had been called in. I hurried through the doors to locate him. The doctor was already with him, in the room , waiting patiently. We were over an hour early and he knows our pattern of being early, so he fit us in. Its that blood draw. I like to get the blood draw done with enough time so when we see the doctor he has the numbers to discuss, with out waiting around for the numbers to come back from the lab.

The numbers were back. Not so good this time. They had fallen off in one month.

Whites down from 4.13 to 3.9
Red cell 3.84 down from 4.5
Hemoglobin 12.0 down from 13.9 (concerning, this is the one Tom watches)
Hematocrit 34.7 down from 40.3
platelets 137 down from 177 (SH*%)
neutrophils 2.1 from 2.33

six exclamations of change to the negative. We had been so stoked last month at our great numbers. The doctor says at first he wants to see Riley back in a month. Riley had told him everything was fine before I walked into the room. I proceed to tell the Doctor about the missed school with two colds back to back with only a week between. Missing ten days of school. The doctor is pleased, though, with the news of the colds, as that could be the reason for the fall off on the numbers. A round of antibiotics can suppress Riley's immune system. He says to just have the numbers drawn locally instead. Only make an appointment to come see him if the numbers warrant a visit. Otherwise, we see him again in three months, in January.

Riley and I leave the hospital just before 4:00pm. Rush hour is on, with a stall on a freeway bridge. We take the back route home again, making good time not hitting very many lights. It still adds a half hour to the trip. We are able to arrive back in town in time to catch the fourth quarter of Trevor's last game of the season.

Riley sits in the car in the parking lot, as it is cold outside and he has no interest in standing in the cold. Tom is at the game having been directed by Trevor to the wrong stadium and then calling me to be told what stadium Trevor was referring too. It is a glamorous name for the back practice field at the school where the freshmen play ball. This is the second time Tom has gone to the varsity field and been redirected. Maybe next year we will get to play in the big stadium, but not freshmen, not this year. We play on grass. The real stadium has to be saved for the Varsity games.

The game is going well for our team, 24 to 12 or something like that. The score board isn't working. Tom has been impressed with Trevor. He says Trevor is doing really well. He is surprised Trevor doesn't get more play time considering how well he does when he is out there. But missing half the season for grades will put you back on the roster. I have warned Trevor not to get benched for grades again. The coaches first noticed his good playing only three games ago. The starters are already in place and have been for most of the season.

I am not unhappy. He is getting more play time each game. This game, as luck would have it, every time Trevor was put in, someone would call time out, or just before Trevor was to go in we would make some play that put the offence in instead. Coach is working to improve Trevor's speed. That would make Trevor a power house. Sadly Trevor has my legs, bad knees and all. But with practice and strength training, he is getting faster.

A friend said she could see that Trevor has loosened up since August. She said he looked stiff and tight with his muscles. Now he has a lot more flexibility. What ever they are doing with him is working.

Fourth quarter is half over when a boy from Trevor's team makes a hit. He goes down and he doesn't get up. He calls for the coaches and then they call for his Dad on the sidelines. The two teams are on their knees on the field. The coaches tell the boys to go to the sidelines and wait. The injured player is not moved. The refs come over and then approach the opponents team to ask if they want to call the game. An ambulance has been called for the boy. The game may be delayed for a while. The game is called and the two teams subdued shake hands on the 50 yard line, walking by the fallen player surrounded by coaches and parent. The teams disperse and the ambulance arrives.

Trevor is in the locker room changing and showering with the team. The ambulance medical team take their time. Tom had thought it might be a broken clavicle, but it is more serious. They are looking at the boy's neck, trying to stabilize him for transport. Once they do load him into the ambulance, they drive across the field gingerly.

Tom takes Riley home and I wait for Trevor. Pep rally is after the game. It is season end for fall sports so they are holding it after a volley ball game in the gym. Trevor is getting credit for band by being there playing. I am impressed again by his performance. He plays the big drum, you can't miss it. I stop the football coach after the pep rally to inquire how the injured football player is doing. No real news yet.

Tom called the injury to the neck a stinger, compression of the neck causing tingling sensations in arms and fingers. I can only hope and pray it is not serious. Football is the highest injury sport your child can participate in.I just read that in an article at the hospital while waiting for Riley to be finished giving blood. But for the grace of God go any one of us. I can't lock my boys in their rooms, but I worry every time they are out of my sight.

Tom gave Trevor a cell phone. I spent the morning at the AT and T store getting it ready for Trevor. I handed the phone over after the game, when he came out of the locker room. It was a good distraction to the ambulance on the field, across the parking lot. I told Trevor "Bad grades and you lose that phone". "I know, Mom". "OK".

Trevor is ecstatic over the phone. I warned him I will not replace it if it gets lost or damaged. We had a phone for Tom's mom that we paid service on. She never used it so we changed the number and put in a new sim card in the phone and now Trevor is set. It is a good test to see if he can take care of the phone, because if he can't care for a small phone there is no way I am letting him near my cars, which is also on his extreme wish list. I told him "grades" for drivers license, also. After being benched for half the season, I think he gets it.

We'll check grades on line this weekend. See how everyone is doing. Riley has been taking make up tests. He has a lot to make up from missing school. Trevor seems to be on top of his grades. He had better grades than Riley at the half way mark. Riley is all honors classes, which makes it all the more challenging. But he says it is easy so far. Spanish is his only challenge. It is all new and in the details.

So that was just yesterday. Looking back it was quite a day. No wonder I had a hard time getting up this morning. Every day is emotionally exhausting.