Activities, Anxiety and a Concussion

Soccer season ended last weekend. It was a busy fall but the kids all enjoyed playing soccer and they all did awesome. Taylor scored about 4 goals this season, Matty scored about 20, and Brayden scored about 5. Annie was the perfect mascot and cheered the kids on whenever we let her come with us. It was a great season, but I will not miss managing three teams' schedules and constantly washing soccer socks.

Taylor and her teammates, along with her Dad as the assistant coach

Oh Matty, pull your shorts down! Just to be clear, he did this as a joke but now looks like the "special kid" in the team photo. Some of the dads were joking that Matty should wear his shorts like that in an actual game because the opponents would never expect him to be the leading scorer!

Brayden's Team - The Rattlesnakes

On another note, Brayden's anxiety has returned, out of nowhere, just like the first time. He has to know where I am at all times, like if I am going to take a shower, I need to tell him that I'll be upstairs in my bathroom. If we are leaving to go somewhere and I tell the kids to get in the car, he will stay right beside me until I lock up the house. Yesterday, I had pulled out of the garage when I realized I had left something in the house. I ran back inside and Brayden had to jump out of the car to follow me. It is unnerving. B also hates riding the bus. He says he gets nervous on the bus but cannot really articulate why. I have driven him to school a few times but fear I am creating a monster.

Last Saturday, Taylor was hit by a soccer ball during her game and fell backwards on her head. She unfortunately has a concussion. I was not at the game and did not see what happened, but I was told that the soccer ball hit her on the chest/shoulder, ricocheted to her head, and knocked her backwards off of her feet. She landed on the back of her head with her feet in the air. Tommy is more of an alarmist than me and insisted that we take her to the doctor. The doctor diagnosed Taylor with a concussion based on a few questions. Is she dizzy? Does she have a headache? Does she remember what happened? We left with doctor's orders not to let Taylor do any physical activity or allow her to do homework/watch any screens for a day or two. On Sunday, I could tell that she was definitely off - I would catch her staring off into space or laying her head on the table. By Tuesday, I realized that she was not ready to be going to school (Monday was Veteran's Day and there was no school). She went to chorus before school but called me to pick her up by 10:00. She said that her teacher passed out a writing assignment and she could not focus and felt dizzy. We went to see her pediatrician Tuesday afternoon and Taylor failed one of the cognitive tests (she could not remember the words bull frog, taxi cab, spider web). So, she needs to let her brain rest for a few days. The doctor said that she should not go back to school until she no longer feels dizzy. It could be a week or so. Time will tell but man, I am getting impatient!