Houston, we have a concussion...

A couple of weeks ago, I picked Payton and a couple of his buddies up from a jumpy-bouncy-flippy-how-can-insurance-companies-let-this-happen-place. He and I made eye contact when I walked in the door and I could tell something was wrong with his face. As I got closer to him, I realized his nose was the shape of a 'J' and his eyes were red from tears. Um, what the &*$# happened, only son with a perfect nose of mine??? Long story short, he had done a double flip (it was a double flip, Mom.) and his knee made contact with his little perky nose. I'm not one to remain calm when it comes to accidents happening to my kids. Nope. I scurried him to the car, got on the phone with Bill who told me to call Jeff - our brother/brother-in-law Physician Assistant. I was prepared and ready to hyperventilate as I drove toward the hospital to have his little sniffer checked out when Jeff told me not to. He would check him the next day at Thanksgiving dinner. Needless to say, I was a mess the rest of the night and kept telling Payton to come look at me. Yeah, I know, I'm a little obsessive about this only boy child of mine. He couldn't breathe very well for the next week but the swelling went down and now his little schnoz is the shape of a mild lower case 'j'... Pretty sure he didn't break it after all, but it sure got me worked up and I still ask him to come and look at me so I can determine if there is any "movement".

Fast forward 3 weeks, new situation, new sport, different child:

Bill, Pate, and I walked in to the gym to see Kourtni's basketball game, but she wasn't on the court. She had gotten a head to her nose within the first 13 seconds of the varsity game and was on the sideline with an ice pack ON HER NOSE. Sheesh. What is it with these kids of mine and their noses??

Engage freak out mode for this momma. Great, just great. Another possible broken nose in the Ball household. But it was worse. Much worse than a broken nose. Poor Kourt had to be escorted out of the gym by the trainer because there was evidence that she had suffered a concussion from the rock hard noggin of the player who head butted my daughter. I waited for her to come back to the gym. I waited and waited and asked Bill if I should go to her rescue...he said no. Wait, just wait. Pretty soon the Athletic Director climbed the bleachers to where we were sitting and told us I needed to come with him because our daughter had suffered a concussion. Serious stuff. Especially in the state of Idaho. Within the past couple of years there have been major steps taken to protect young athletes who have had concussions. Kourtni was put through a battery of cognitive tests while she was laying on the training table. Her pupils were tracked, questions about months of the year and scores of previous games were asked along with a myriad of other questions to test her cognition. Two weeks minimum away from playing her favorite sport. No running allowed, no "thinking" recommended, no driving, no sports watching on TV, no high school basketball game attending. All in all - a mellow weekend was prescribed for our Kourt. This was all very concerning and I was a little afraid for her well being until I heard Kourtni say, "I just want to punch the girl who did this in the face." That's my girl. I knew she was ok.

She still isn't practicing with the team; instead doing 30 minutes of monotonous stationary bike riding until she gets the clear from our local hospital. It's been a pain for Kourtni. She wants to play. Her team has been plagued with injuries, and she wants to get in some "ballin' time"!

Better safe than sorry though. Even though she really likes the black eye she's sporting, we want Kourtni to leave high school with as many brain cells as she had when she entered! Oh, and her nose is just as button-like as ever, by the way.