Knees

            Knees are a funny thing.  Tough to walk without them.  Over the last few weeks, I've become increasingly aware of just how important they are...

            Beginning with Angie's knee surgery at the end of June...She's just about shed her cane and went out to dinner with Kim, Rashon, kids and us at Culver's for burgers last night.  The P.T. is going great and the scar is fading. 

             Friday night, Cody fell from the sky...

                 He's been getting pretty good on his scooter and likes to go to the skate park with his friends - Brendon and Cody have mastered all of the jumps there and like to create new one.  And, he gets some serious air.  Here's a little peak at one of his rides.

                Friday night, he got just a little higher, and there were some winds from an incoming monsoon - just enough to throw him off.  He fell to the earth and landed directly on his knee cap.  Our friend, Joe, picked him up, took him to his house and put ice on it - I called Kim (Angie's youngest daughter, the RN at St. Joe's on our Kim's floor) and she said if he could put weight on it (he could) and bend it (he could), it was probably a deep bruise - the patella is super strong, and they aren't able to do a lot for a broken patella.  We go to the same pediatrician and she suggested we take Cody to see him Saturday morning, as she knew they had office hours until noon. 

                Saturday morning, Cody's knee was still pretty swollen (it did not keep him from sleeping over at his friend, Jesus' house!), when I picked him up and took him to see Dr. Rick Williams (no relation to Angie, OR Ricky Williams, the Dolphins running back), who told us, nearly verbatim, the same thing Kim had told us the night before.  He said, if Cody is still hurting Monday, we should take him in for an x-ray, but he did not believe Cody had any ACL damage, just a bruised knee cap.  the Dr's nurse did all she could to make me feel like a bad parent..."were you wearing pads?" she asked Cody.  "No", he told her.  Daggers for me.  "a helmet?"  "No"...more daggers.  She looked about my age, so I asked her if she even owned a helmet as a kid...no answer.  I took that as a 'no'. I never did.  In fact, I finally got a helmet just a couple years ago when Angie's husband, Mark, had a biking accident in Fantasy Island and his helmet saved him some serious head trauma.

               He seems much better today, making it to Viro's for breakfast with us and getting around out front a little better this evening.

               Saturday, our neighbor, Betsey hurt her knee while taking a Tai Kwan Do class (or however you spell it) and was laid up on the couch the rest of the weekend.  Then, today, Andrea and Mario's son, David, sprained his knee badly, after shooting a 3 pointer during a basketball tourney - he landed the shot in traffic, took a hit and his team won by 1 point!  That's courage.

              I remember Kim starting to feel some knee trouble coming on...and worrying she would have to have knee surgery before too long as the cartilage was wearing thin on her, just as her Mom needed surgery, and Angie.  My right one pops loudly after I've been squatting down - it amazed Tonio while we were weeding the other day. "What was that noise?"  he exclaimed.  "My knee."  "Ouch!", he said.

              As a parent, we do all we can to keep our kids safe.  Sometimes, they still get hurt - even if we are right there with them.  When Cody got hurt, I was torn between rushing him to the hospital, and keeping a cool head and letting things play out.  It is a delicate balance.  I don't know if I am getting better at giving him the space he needs to grow and develop into an adult, but I try - especially based on the level of trust we have built up between us.  It's been especially challenging for me, as Kim typically handed the decisions on where he could or couldn't go and what he was allowed to do or not do.

             Anyway, we are relieved that Angie, Cody, Betsey and David are on the mend!!  Knees are important!

           And Cody and I got to spend some 'quality' time together, watching the 'Transporter', starring Jason Statham, while he iced his knee. Catching him up on all of the 'classics'.  Good times.

            Tonight, when we went out back to say goodnight to Mama, the stars were all obscured by clouds (Pink Floyd album circa 1972)...the bambini strained to see one, but could not..."it's ok", Tonio finally said, "The clouds look beautiful.".

              Love,

                     Dave