Sam is not doing so well this month. She has always had stomach issues since she was a baby but they are pretty manageable with Miralax, fiber pills, and tums. This summer messed us up a lot because she went off alone, didn’t stick to her diet as much, we were on vacation, etc. etc. etc. Every summer is the same story.
So she hurt. Then I tried gluten free with her for 10 days and she got backed up even worse. A quick trip to the ER, x-rays, some other not so fun stuff that she didn’t appreciate (although it did make her feel better…) resulted in some regularity but still awful stomach pains.
Stomach pains that would make her curl up in a ball. Or if she sat down it hurt, so she would stand up on her bed, or the couch and moan with pain. Visiting the doctor… making a GI appointment… those things take time. Some days are worse than others but every day has been a reminder and a count-down until the GI appointment. We are almost there.
Soccer is a passion of hers. We tried out for the competitive squad this year but didn’t make the team. It was for the best because she got put with her coach last season (whom we love!) and she will play forward almost every quarter each game. She wouldn’t if she had made the squad.
The last few practices have been torture. She wants to play soccer but she hurts. Her chest hurts (Dr says possible Costochondritis which is common, I guess). Her stomach hurts. It hurts to run. She will go and run her heart out and come over during water break and cry. I kept telling her to sit out but “Mom, I love soccer, I just want to play.”
Watching the bravery of my girl is a humbling thing. I just want her to feel better. To feel healthy. So does she and she realizes that there are things she wants to do in life and being sick can’t hold her back.
AngryJulie posted a quote the other day that made me think of my daughter.
“You learn you can do your best even when it’s hard, even when you’re tired and maybe hurting a little bit. It feels good to show some courage.” -Joe Namath
On Saturday we had her soccer game. Actually, first we had Taekwondo. She qualified for her Blue Senior belt.
Then we had soccer. I know. Probably not the best course of action for someone in pain on a constant basis. But we have to continue with life. More important, she wanted to go and do it. We followed the Doctor’s advice of medicine before playing for any inflammation of the chest and went down to the field.
Her coach knew she wasn’t at her best. We decided together that she would play forward (lots of running) for the first quarter and sit out the second for a break. Third quarter she would play sweeper (basically staying back and kicking the ball if it came up to their goal) and they would see how she felt for the forth quarter.
It was 100 degree heat on Saturday. Even the girls who were feeling great were flagging. It was tough. For everyone.
After the first quarter we took her back to our chairs and she cried. She hurt. Everywhere. She may have been more upset because I had my sympathetic and upset face on. Halftime came about and I had to leave to go do my referee duties.
(Ref’ing two games back to back on a 100 degree day sucked. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded and the heat got a little better after 5pm but zomg. Super headache after.)
I was sitting down during my own halftime to get water when I checked my phone.
She played through the pain and got the reward. This was the first goal she had scored in over a year. She is a tough cookie and amazes me with her courage and awareness.
Only a few more days until the next Doctor. I’m hoping it’s just nothing and we have to somehow be better with her diet. Or that the blood test we took when she was 4, lied about celiac disease. I’m hoping she doesn’t have Crohn’s Disease like I do. Or another similar IBD autoimmune problem. But we will figure it out and fix it. Because all I’m hoping for is for her to feel better.
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