It's Not Cancer

Again I’m thankful for something “normal” – and not cancer! Shayla is a very tough kid! Unless she’s really hurt, she doesn’t complain. (We still often joke, "The wrong one had cancer," because Shayla has an amazing pain tolerance, unlike Christi.)

A few weeks ago, after the Saturday night performance of the high school musical, Shayla told us on the way home that her feet hurt and that she understands now why her dance teachers often wear different shoes to give them more support when they’re dancing for hours. I knew she’d been wearing her ballet shoes a lot due to all of the extra practice for the musical, but I didn’t give it any more thought than that.

Thursday Shayne told me Shay said her feet felt much better after he rubbed them. (We didn’t know they had been bothering her; he was just rubbing them for her while she watched TV.)

I took her to the doctor’s on Saturday and wasn’t surprised to learn that she needs six weeks of physical therapy for plantar fasciitis (just like we did about 2 years ago). What did surprise was learning yesterday that her X-ray came back as suspicious and that her doctor wants her to see an orthopedic doctor. After hearing the message, I called and spoke with a nurse who told me it is not a fracture or anything real serious like that, but something is definitely wrong and before Shayla begins her PT, she needs to see a specialist. I’ve made that appointment for Monday afternoon. Once again, I’m just reminded that this is just a little inconvenience and is most likely fixable. Shayla will be ok! (Perhaps three hours of dance lessons and an hour of ice skating lessons each week is too much for her little feet. Or.......as Shayne has suggested, the hours of jumproping she's been doing in her barefeet in the basement in recent weeks haven't been spent wisely.)

Regardless, I have a great peace of mind. I never ever had that comfort with Christi’s care. My prayers are with those families; those moms and dads really need a good night sleep! I'll sleep fine! Shayla makes us feel so lucky! Thank God for Shay Shay! Thank God it's not cancer!I know there are indeed parents who received that word today and my prayers are going up for them.

I just received word this afternoon that Tiffin University will be having the "Christi Thomas Easter Egg Hunt" in the near future. I'll update as soon as I know more. (Picture: Christi's last Easter Egg Hunt, Tiffin University, March 2006, age 8. She was so happy that day. She always loved their egg hunts and that is why we made the donation to Tiffin Univerisity. Go Dragons!)