first real sports injury

Gracie got hurt in her soccer game tonight. She was playing goalie and had just made a really good save. She has been playing so well and we've been so proud of the way she has gone out there and given it her all. She plays hard and runs and gets in there to try kicking the ball and is aggressive and we love it! We're not usually ones to push for her to show aggression, but in the game of soccer it's okay to be a little aggressive. She's done great and it's been such fun to watch her and see this side of her. This has truly been a great experience for her.

She was going for another save but missed it. Apparently one of the players from the other team fell on top of her. I remember seeing her miss the save and then noticed that she was on the field crying with one of the coaches next to her. I said, "Should I go out there?" I didn't want to be the mommy who runs out there any time she merely falls down! My friend Melissa said, "yes." As I went out there, the coach (whom I "affectionately" refer to as the "mean" coach~he's actually just a parent and he's not really mean; he's just "tough" with them to try to teach them something) picked her up and was carrying her off the field. I should have known she was really hurt because I think if it had been no big deal that he would have encouraged her to keep going.

She was crying and when I took her, I saw that her mouth was full of blood! Chris started to take her from me and I told him we had to get her to the bathroom which was not very close to where we were. Her mouth was really full of blood so I stopped and told her to spit. Of course, being Gracie, she wouldn't do that. She started gagging on the blood at which point I handed her off to Chris and said I couldn't do it because I was afraid I was going to do worse than gagging if she kept that up! Melissa said she would watch Katie so we could both take her to the bathroom. I had blood all over my arm and Chris soon did too. A man (and I don't know who he was or even think that he was a parent from our team) asked if we needed water and handed us a water bottle. That helped alot because Gracie was able to take some water and then she would spit it out.

A parent from our team went to her car to see if she had something we could use and another mom brought us some ice in a bag. I was worried she had knocked out teeth but we finally determined that it was just her upper lip. We were still making our trek to the restroom and finally got there and were able to get cleaned up a little and get paper towels.

We got back to the game which was now over and Melissa had handed out the snacks I had bought for the night. I was grateful she did that. It just happened to be my night for snacks of course!

Gracie now has quite the busted, swollen upper lip! Chris & I both told her over & over how proud we were of her though! She was playing so hard and really giving it her all. I think I've said this before, but you really have to know her to know how significant this is! She has never been a real athletic, high energy girl so to see her out there running back & forth facing off against multiple players coming at her with a rapid moving soccer ball and watching her run up & down the field for quite a few minutes at a time, winded but not stopping, and to see the earnestness with which she concentrates while playing defense and when she gets a chance to kick the ball...well, it makes us proud! I'm sure every parent feels this same way about their own child, but I believe she is destined for greatness! Maybe not in the Olympics for playing soccer but that's not really the point. It's not so much about soccer itself but about her attitude & her determination. It's about the fact that after trying so hard she can say, "I'm proud of myself" and not mean it in a "braggy" way but just a matter of fact way.

These pictures don't really show what her lip looks like (and please ignore the fact that she needs to brush her teeth in one of those pictures!) I'm anxious to see what it looks like in the morning!

Dear Lord,
Thank you for the positive side of Gracie that playing soccer has brought out. Thank you for letting her injury be minor and thank you for all the people who rushed to help. Thank you for the man with the water bottle, the woman who went to her car, the woman who brought the ice, Melissa who watched Katie and handed out my snacks and the people who asked how she was doing when we got back to the field.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen