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| #2 Perfectly fine |
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| Hospital ER |
This years state cup came with the same excitement as every other year. Sparta has been playing great and has won so many recent tournaments and they won their bracket in the season play. After the heartbreaking loss last year they weren't going to let the title go by them this year. They did win it in 2012. Sparta has won 5 out of 6 years. But this years win was bitter sweet. Life can change at the blink of an eye and it did for us during the semi finals game thursday night 05/24/12. Sparta was playing La Roca. The winner was going to the finals. Kennedee was in the game and playing hard, she was tripped up in feet and went the ground. She tried to get up and was knocked down again. The whistle blew and the players turned to see what the ref was going to call. Kennedee was on the ground and had her face covered because the ball was rolling past her head. As Kennedee went to get up a player from the other team full blown kicked Kennedee in the face. It knocked her cold. She fell back to the ground and laid there for 20-30 seconds and rolled over and tried to get up she fell back to the ground and rolled onto her back. I thought it was an ankle injury from the way she was moving but when her coach ran out to her, he was tapping her stomach like he was trying to get her to come to. I knew then it was much worse than the ankles. After a few minutes on the field, Scott Bingham walked out to see if she was ok and he and Dennis brought her to our side of the field to lay on the grass. You could tell she wasn't ok. The game played on and we quickly scored. Kennedee couldn't feel anything from the top of her head to her toes on the right side. The TOSH trainers came over and after looking at her said we needed to go to the ER. We were going to have the golf cart take her to my car but since she couldn't feel anything they thought it was better to have the ambulance come get her. The paramedics came and checked her out and called the ambulance. They put a neck brace on her and put her on the back board. She cried because she didn't want to leave this way. There were so many caring parents there who tried to make us all feel better and EVERYONE was so supportive and concerned. I cried with Kennedee and told her some day she would laugh and it would make a good story. As she lay on the ground her team played on. They stopped the game and the ambulance pulled onto the field. They loaded her up and I got in the ambulance with her. As we drove off you could see the concerned looks on her teammates faces and on the faces of parents. We went to Timpanogas Hospital and they took her in for a cat scan. They had loaded her up on Morphine so she wasn't to coherent. The results of the cat scan showed nothing wrong but they didn't have a trauma doctor on call so they wanted us to go to Primary Childrens in SL. While we waited for the ambulance to transport her, Phillips brought my car to me and Greg and Andy administered a priesthood blessing to Kennedee. Bizzy and Syd told Kennedee as soon as the ambulance left the field her team was on fire, they played for her and they were mad. That game had more yellow cards than I can remember a game having (9, most from La Roca). Sparta wasn't letting this team win after Kennedee had to leave on a stretcher.
We went to Primary's and they did a MRI and more tests. Around 1 AM we got the results that nothing had been damaged, but she did have another concussion (this is # 5) and with the jerk her head had done she had sprained the right side of her neck and shoulder. The DR said she would eventually get the feeling back and she would be ok. The muscles at the base of her neck were swelled up and that is what was causing the numbness. We spent the night and in the morning Kennedee could feel her legs but not her arm up to her head. I had to feed her to get something in her stomach. They stopped giving her morphine and we waited until it was time to go home. The DR's orders are a neck brace for 2 weeks and lay low for 4 weeks. We left the hospital on friday, and she slept the whole way home, she rested most of the day and Baylee came over later to spend time with her. It was end of the school year and there were so many parties but Kennedee couldn't go to any of them so friends came to her and she chilled. Saturday she went to the finals to support her team and enjoy the win. It was hard to sit on the side line but they said they played for her and she was happy to see them win. The regional soccer games are the middle of June and she really wants to be ready to go for that. But I have always told Kennedee she knows her body the best and we will decide together. Saturday she started to get some of the feeling back in her fingers but still not her face. Saturday night we chilled. We all slept in sunday and by midday she could feel up her arm and shoulder but still not her face. We went to Baylees graduation party for a couple of hours and Kennedee came home and fell asleep until morning, she has slept more than she has been awake. By monday she was starting to get most of the feeling back, but her jaw is so sore she can hardly eat. Now that she can feel her arm I don't have to feed her. It took her an hour to eat mac & cheese on saturday night.
As of today she has all the feeling back, she is wearing the neck brace but she hates it (it won't last much longer) She is trying to do things but she is so tired its hard. She isn't one to sit around but right now she doesn't care. We are going slow together and she will be back in the game in a few weeks. This injury scared us all and I am in now hurry to see her get back on the field. I want to make sure she is 100%. This injury was so unnecessary and never should have happened. I try not to get angry about it but when I look at the pictures I have to take a deep breath and think about the positive things. When we got up friday morning in the hospital I had so many text messages and voice mails that I couldn't return every one. We felt the love and the prayers from everyone. I have said it a million times, Kennedee has an angel with her at all times and she is destined for greatness. This reaffirms my feelings. Spending the night at Primary Childrens was a real eye opener and so sad. When we got the room they had a giraffe blanket on the bed for Kennedee and she was so excited. We have always wanted to donate blankets to the hospital and after that visit we are for sure. Especially large ones, it was such a joy for her and seeing her get excited made me realize that we need to make another person happy. Kennedee has always said she wants to go into a profession to work with kids and after hearing the sad cry of the little girl across the hall all night she knows for sure she wants to work at Primary's some day. I guess everything does happen for a reason.
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| After the coach tried to get wake her up she tried to walk off the field. She can't feel her right side so its dragging. |
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| After we came home from Primary's Kennedee wanted to get out of the house so Baylee drove her around Macey's while I shopped. She can't feel her face, but I love this picture. |
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| She really is having fun, even though it doesn't look like it. |
