Medical Breakdown 2021

Life in a pandemic is all about calculated risks. Although sports gave our kids much needed social outlets, we also recognized that it increased the chances of their exposure to covid. And in January we got the dreaded call from a friend that their daughter, one of Reese's teammates, had tested positive. The four of us quickly got tested ourselves and waited to hear the results. When the news came, only one of us tested positive for covid, and it was Reese. And just like that our family went into lockdown. Callie couldn't attend her basketball playoff games, John couldn't teach in person, and Reese was fully isolated. To keep our quarantine at 10 days we had to make sure Reese didn't interact with any of us. It was difficult to say the least, but it showed just how strong Reese's spirit is. She didn't complain. Her biggest worry was that she was going to spread it to us. Thankfully, she didn't have any symptoms. 

For the next ten days we did everything we could to keep Reese entertained and connected. The snow outside provided the opportunity to have her make her own snow cones, for example.

We also coordinated FaceTimes with friends and family. The teammate that also got covid was one of her most frequent callers. They spent hours on the phone, playing Among Us and other games. Sarah had to create a social calendar to keep up with all of her scheduled calls and video chats. Thankfully she also had virtual school and Mrs. Naylor was able to keep an extra eye on her to make sure her spirits remained in good shape.

We were also taken by how our local community showed up to support her. This basket is from one of Sarah's colleagues and it had an endless supply of activities and treats. She also had her friends Katherine, Ella, the Adams, the Ryders, and so many others who dropped off gifts and treats. When her quarantine ended, we brought her downstairs and were able to snuggle and hug her with great relief. We also got a sense of how exhausted she was from the whole experience. More than anyone in our family Reese craves and needs human contact, so quarantine was tough on her. And she missed Callie more than anyone, and for the next several nights slept in bed with her.

We burst out of quarantine with all sorts of pent up energy. Callie in particular had missed out on basketball and soccer and was ready to jump right back in. She played two games on her first day back, and in the second game had to be substituted because she was limping. Walking out of the facility she continued to complain that her foot hurt, but her main focus was on how she felt she hadn't played well. Sarah's first reaction was to tell her to suck it up and walk it off. However, after she got a glimpse of the immediate bruising she quickly saw that this might be more than just a hurt ego. We headed to the UK Orthopedic Clinic bright and early on Monday morning.

The appointment was on Monday morning and on Friday morning she was in surgery. Turns out she had a broken toe and the separation in the break was significant enough to require it to be screwed together. Dr, Mancow was fantastic and Callie was a trooper. It was yet another sign of just how resilient our girls are. Callie didn't even need pain medication or laughing gas because of how calm she was during the whole process.

Callie now has a cool set of before and after pictures for her bionic right foot. The top picture shows the break and the bottom picture shows the screw. Callie was a great patient through and through. She listened to all of the doctor's orders and although it was hard, she was patient with her recovery.

As a result, once she got back on the soccer field in early April she hit the ground running and didn't look back. In the end, our 2021 started off in a way that made us wonder how much different it was going to be than the year before. But it also continued to show our strength and ability to pull together as a family.