Well, in just a few days Claudia will be having surgery #2 to correct the damage done on her hip. I am stressed beyond belief because they are unsure if her hip will be strong enough to continue to cheer. When I have told people I get a look, like Why are you more concerned about Cheer than her health. I am not more concerned about her health, but if you knew my story you would know why I am stressed. So here is my story.....
When I was kid I had plans. My plan was to grow up, become an attorney and change the world. I was going to lock up all the bad people in the world and I was going to be the best. In early years of high school my parents divorced. I was living between the two of them and both my older sister had moved out and were living their own lives. Throughout high school I made some dumb decisions and did not have the grades to go to a four year university. However, I was not going to give up on my dream. So I attended a small community college and received several credit towards an associates in Paralegal. My plan was to work in a law firm and go to school at night. In my 3rd semester I found out I was pregnant. After that I laid my plan to rest. In reality it was not my plan. I had made decisions that brought me to this point. I had CHOSEN to do things that brought me here. I am 100% ok with were my life is now and I could go back to school and become a lawyer, but honestly I no longer want that plan. My new dream is to help my children achieve theirs. I am ok with all of this and actually truly love my life. I have it all, a husband who loves me deeply, two children (although in teenage years I dislike greatly) whom I love and a family and friend support system who are always there for us. We make people jealous ;)
Fast forward to B, his dream for as long as we can remember wanted to be in the Army or a Marine. Epilepsy stole that dream. It is hard for me to grasp because my life path I ruined, Braydon has not even had the chance to ruin it, epilepsy did that for him.
No here we are at Claudia. About 2 years ago she got the true "bite" for cheer. She cheered for Coach Vicki her 6th grade year and loved everything about it. So about this time a year ago she wanted to try out for a competitive team. Dad and I talked and we were all about it. Only 3 weeks before she was due to tryout we took her to the dr for a bad limp. I actually told the girls at work I thought she would be hospitalized and I wouldn't be there for the rest of the week. See I had googled her symptoms and did some stretches on her to locate the pain. That showed me she had a SCFE. The doctor convinced me that she did not need a X-Ray and that I needed to stay off google. He let me know she could not try out for cheer and "maybe next year". The limp got worse and by July it was horrible.
July we see another Dr who also says we don't need an X-Ray and at the urging of a family member I pushed it. The Dr came in, told me what I already knew and we got in the car and drove to Vanderbilt Children's hospital. She had surgery the next day, we spent a few days in the hospital and she recovered well at home. We were told there would be follow up surgeries over the years which would eventually end in a full hip replacement. SO she heals well, she cheers with school again (not her best year, but considering her surgery she did amazing) and did a half year performance team with a local gym. We find out tryout for the competitive team are coming up and we decide to go for it. We go for our surgery consult for surgery 2 and he says "No try outs this year, maybe next year...". He followed up with letting us know she may never cheer again. Her hip is in bad shape and it all depends on her. How hard she is willing to push and how much pain can she endure. Also, if her femur will be strong enough to endure the jumps and impacts of cheer. She wanted to get a scholarship to college for cheer.........
Have you ever been told your child cant do what they love? Have you ever been told that your childrens life plans are possibly destroyed at no fault of their own? It's a hard pill to swallow.
So no, her health is not as important as cheer and no I am not a crazy cheer mom. I am a mom who is tired of hearing that she might have to tell her children no to something they love. As a mom I am supposed to support their dreams and encourage their life paths, not tell them no.
So my plan will be to continue to support both of them and make decisions on what is best in every aspect of their life. To help them plan their future with purpose and frame their life faith.
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