Track Season and Bad News

Poor Marcus.  He's been going to lots of specialists lately.  A few years ago he was diagnosed with Klippel-Feil Anomaly which means he has 2 fused vertebrae in his neck.  We didn't think much of it since it was discovered accidentally when he had x-rays done for a concussion and fall he had in Rhode Island.  Our pediatrician recommended we have specialists look him over to determine the extent of his abnormalities and after going to a pediatric orthopedic specialist and then a pediatric spine specialist, the news wasn't good.  We found out Marcus's skull is also fused on one side at the top of his spine.  This means he's got less movement/motion which puts stress on the rest of his vertebrae and over time can develop into severe arthritic pain and numbness in his arms and legs.  But the real kicker for him is that he isn't allowed to play football.  For a kid who is super athletic, this news was really sad and he had a good cry over it.  While he's got plenty of other things going for him, this all happened within days of football registration and skills evaluations for the fall football season. The timing was painful.  Poor Marcus.

 This was the morning of his track finals, waiting to hear the news about his spine while burning up with a fever

But Marcus finished up his track season and managed to do it free of serious injury.  A major feat for this kid.  Last year he missed competing in track finals because of his bike crash when he scraped off his face and got a concussion.  This year he was determined to run no matter what.  Unfortunately the day before finals he woke up with body aches and a fever of 102.  I drugged him up and made him rest but he wasn't feeling any better the day of the track meet.  We timed his medicine dosage so he'd be at the best of his worst during his races.  Poor kid!
Here are some pics from one of his last track meets when I actually brought my good camera and Marcus wasn't sick.  This photo overload represents weeks of daily practices and five track meets where I got to sit in the stands for 2+ hours watching him race.  I'm so glad the season is over!

 Marcus (lane 5) getting ready for the hurdles

 This was the only time he wasn't in the lead

 Here he goes over the first hurdle with his best friend right on his tail

 Over the 2nd hurdle before anyone else had a chance to jump it

 Running the 100 meter

This race was his first loss.  He was devastated.  I rolled my eyes. 2nd place is nothing to cry about

 Getting in the zone before the relay

Now back to track finals, Marcus qualified to compete in finals in all 4 of his events and had taken first or second place in every previous track meet.  His first event was the hurdles and every kid he was running against had lost to him previously.  The gun went off and Marcus and one other runner were matching step for step.  As Marcus jumped over the last hurdle he tripped, and slid across the finish line like he was sliding into home plate in a desperate attempt to beat the other runner.  I died.  He came in a close second, with bloody knees and bruises and he still had three more events.  I died again.

You have to watch this video of his hurdles.  Watch how Marcus and the kid in the first lane are perfectly in sync.  Then watch as he falls across the finish line (and I threw my hands up in horror so you can't see the gory fall) but look at the lady cringe next to me.  Hilarious!!



I stood at the finish line for the next two hours watching my boy compete and out of all the hundreds of runners who were there, not a single other kid got injured.  After all, track is a non-contact sport!  Only Marcus could pull off an injury at a track meet!  But his scrapes were the least of his problems as he fought the flu and gutted it out through every race.  I felt so bad for him.  He got 4th in the 100-meters, second in hurdles, first in the long jump, and his undefeated relay team took second.  All really good races but I'm sure the results would've been different if he hadn't been so sick.  He's already looking forward to next year with a goal to be free of injury and fever.

  And this boy couldn't be happier that track season is over.  Two hours sitting at a track meet week after week deserves a reward.  I don't know how I'm going to manage this next year with a baby in tow.  Heaven help me!