Play through the pain

Good morning. Hope that your holiday weekend was full of family, friends, and love.



On to the question.....sports hernia, torn muscle, or head case....



The answer is.....torn muscle....and here we go....

Before we left to see Michael Jordan of hernia repairs, we could not find the original MRI that disclosed that there was nothing wrong with the abdomen. As Yoda said: "with the symptoms and pain, you have something going on."

Yep, Yoda, you are always right. So, we tore the house apart looking for the MRI, gave up and drove separately to the city. The plan was that the big kid would return to campus after the appointment, take his accounting test and hopefully pass it, and get ready to face the next series of games.



We could not have been more wrong.

Sitting in the office for more than 6 hours, my resolve to work out yesterday was wavering as was the decision to stop drinking my evening glass of wine...I gave in to one.....not to work out. The wine sits in its bottle unopened.

Anyway, he first had an athletic assessment that took an hour. The therapists were not pleased with the way that he looked as a pitcher.


As I sat in the waiting room, ESPN was on the television.....the entire 6 hours was about baseball and who recovered from this injury or that injury. On the walls were future Hall of Fame jerseys signed by the athletes whose careers were saved by the good doc.

The next step was another MRI. When he limped back, he mentioned something about his hips hurting and that they must be out of alignment because he was extremely uncomfortable while lying on the table.

The next phase was to see MJ's assistant who is a nice guy and also understands core issues. He performed a physical and asked scores of questions. As he walked out of the room, we looked at each other and concurred that he needed an injection and would be back on the mound this weekend.....wrong....

The big guy walked into the room and he is a big man. It is obvious that he was athletic as he gave his abbreviated resume to us.

His research, how he makes a diagnosis, and treatment options were impressive. He spoke of a multitude of issues and here is where we were dumbfounded.....

He started by comparing one of the bones as a  baseball...Ok, you have us......

Long story short...he has a torn muscle....his hips have an impingement ( most hockey players have it and do not require surgery), and needs surgery to repair the muscle. He explained everything thoroughly and I was immediately convinced that this was the course of action. However, whether he has the surgery or not, his college playing days are over.

This is the hardest part. Or is it?

Back to the meeting.....MJ told him that if he continued to play, he would ruin his arm. That's it.

As MJ spoke, the kid got a bit emotional but held it together. Then he said: "Can't do this tomorrow, I have an accounting test, tutoring, and a big project."

I looked at MJ and said: "see you tomorrow." Then I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to calm him and talk him into surgery. Am I a bad mom? Maybe. But, I was incredibly calm, looked at the data presented, and knew that this was the only way to go. Plus, MJ was going to perform the surgery and based on his jerseys on the walls, he knows what he is doing when it comes to athletes and core issues.

After the conversation, the kid had to have a series on injections which took over an hour. Yikes....needle after needle.....he was a sore puppy after this part of the process.

On to the business office....I was asked to stop by to see the office manager. AS I sat in the chair, she went over the bill.....Whew...pricey.....

Then she spoke some more.....

"It is $hundreds$ for this visit."



Ok

"Then the tests and so on that were performed are $thousands$$$$"

Wow

"The surgery, anesthesia, and medication will cost $thousands$$$$$$."




Cough....

"Your total is more money that you have in your wallet."

gulp.

Now it was my turn to speak....."that's a lot of money. Do you take Personal choice?"

Ma'm, PC will pay for the imaging and one of the tests. We will submit the rest of the bill, but they will not pay it.

"Well, then....are you asking for the money now?"

I actually knew the answer so I excused myself and immediately called dad. "They want $thousands$$$$$$$ right now. Not tomorrow...now....what do I do?"

After a semi calm discussion, I went back to the woman and tried to put a down payment on the charges with the promise of bringing a check on the day of surgery.

Guess what?

Oh yeah...my two credit cards were declined. Embarrassed, I was certain that something was wrong....very wrong....let me check on it. Calling dad, he was no longer semi calm.....he moved into the opposite direction of calm....

Going back to the business office, I felt like a major deadbeat mom. "Can I bring the money tomorrow?"

Kindly and knowing that I was incredibly mortified, she said that I could pay in the morning by check. I then swore that I had money...really I do...I am not sure why the cards did not work except for......

Tax season!

That's right! Tax season!

During tax season, the bills are pushed aside and paid at the last possible moment. This is the way we operate. Sadly....or not. Usually, I am not handed a $thousands$$$$ health care bill and asked to pay for it within 12 hours. This is scary. What do people do who do not have access to this kind of money? I guess they are not operated on and have to deal with the pain. Will ObamaCare pay for it? How about the university? The injury happened on their watch with the lifting after throwing.

On a positive note, I have now exceeded my insurance deductible meaning that I no longer have co pays or have to pay out of pocket. That's a benefit, eh?

One of the reasons the kid was so upset is because.....you won't believe it.....

He was afraid that he was going to be screamed at by the coaches for this injury. Seriously, dude? You give a flying fig about what the coaches are going to say and how they are going to say it? This is major league bullying at its finest.

After the appointment, we parted ways and went off to process the day's events.....

He did not return home until 9pm which was a bit scary, but here is what happened.....

He went off to think in his favorite place. Not being sure, I figured that he went to his high school. Afterwards, the trainer called him and he told him to come back to campus and the university will not pay for him to go to MJ. A soccer player had the surgery and never returned to the team since his team was not abated.

He wanted him to come back for treatment. Uh huh.

Here is where we are today. The trainer called back and the university doctors want to speak to MJ. OK, this is political, fine.

The coaches want him to rest and play through the pain.

What does BPM want? Well, I want the trainer, coaches and university doctors to get their noses out of our business. I don't care if the university will pay for it. I don't want his treatment to be compromised because they want him to pitch. It ain't happening....no way.

Therefore, the surgery is scheduled for Thursday. He will be better than ever. College baseball is over. He never has to lift or follow their antiquated protocols again, and finally get his chance in another way.

Anyway you look at it, he had a life changing outing in South Carolina when the announcers called  him Andy Petitte. He will continue to move toward his goal taking another road. Any way we look at it, I am proud of the way he has tackled adversity and know that he is going to be a success no matter where life leads him.

Gotta work....

Peace