At the end of the football game, Justin told us he thought he had a concussion. He wanted to throw up, didn't remember parts of the game. As much as they're hit, we didn't doubt it. One of his buddies does have a concussion from the game. It's no joke, I've worried about him all week as well.
We signed him out so he didn't have to ride the bus and off we went. We figured he was tapped. Both he and Ty were exhausted and Justin played the entire game- offense, defense and kick-off return. We figured dehydration and exhaustion- mental and physical. It was a huge game.
We let him spend the night with a friend after the game- figuring it would cheer them up a little to hang out together. Sunday morning when he walkked in the door- I could tell he was still not right.
He fell asleep sitting up, then moved to the couch. He was clothed from head to toe with sweats, a hoody and two quilts and his hands were still freezing. Still- we suspected exhaustion and tried to get fluids in his system.
Monday morning, he thought he wanted to go to school. I fed him Tylenol at 7, then let him go back to sleep. Around 9:30, he got up, showered and headed off to school. Huge mistake- I never should have let him go.
After just two hours, he walked back in the door trembling out of control. Obviously, sicker than he's ever been, he crawled into our bed in an attempt to warm up. With two football-mom friends over for lunch, the helped me make the {easy} decision to forgo lunch and head straight to the hospital.
Six hours in the ER, we were told it was a virus. They pumped three liters of fluid in him, started his first IV, drew tons of blood and ran a few tests. The tests came out showing low white blood cells, low red blood cells and low platelets- the later the most troubling.
Her quick assessment- it could be anything from a virus to leukemia.
I'm still not sure how I feel about her throwing that out there. Ten minutes in the office, two blood results- why even put the idea of leukemia in a mom's head without further assessment? Fortunately, I'm not panicked. Justin said, "There's no way I have leukemia. It's just a virus."
Still, it stopped my heart for a minute. These unknowns are the most scary. If he could have been bruised or purple- he would have after the game he played. She did agree to draw more blood to see if they had increase- instead they're a little lower.
Most upsetting for Justin is that he can't play football this weekend. She said absolutely not. If he were to get hit, he could bleed to death with his platelet count this low.
He was selected to the All-European All-Star team. It's the first all-star game to be played since 1982. They're playing in Grafenwoehr, Germany- about four hours from here, two hours from Prague. A huge privilege, he's been looking forward to it for weeks since being told he was selected.
We're still planning to make the trip Saturday- a little shorter than planned. Hopefully, he'll still be able to be involved in the team.
For now, we're grateful he's improving. The temperature is gone. Body aches are still there. Maybe, it's just the flu. We'll have to wait until next week for more blood work and a visit to our regular doctor. Hopefully, it was just a virus.
On the good side- last night, {after four days on the couch or in bed} Justin asked,
"If I feel better tomorrow, can I go work out?"
A good sign. No, he's not going anywhere yet, but it's a good sign. I'm once again reminded of what a blessing it is to have everyone healthy and happy.
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