Fortunate that all is well

As many of you know, my daughter, MacKenzie, is a wrestler. I know that many don't really know what that entails, but it is a pretty rough and tough sport...she is so much more brave than I, that's for sure! And just to be clear, she is a greco/roman wrestler...nothing like the silly stuff that they show on tv. You wouldn't believe how many people don't know that there is a difference. Anyway, this weekend her wrestling team sponsored the Sacramento Regional Tournament, but unfortunately she didn't have enough wins in the right tournaments to qualify to wrestle at our own tournament. In any case, we are asked to work the tournament and support our team, even if our wrestler didn't get to wrestle...we are totally fine with that and it always turns out to be a great day. Instead of being at our tourny, MacKenzie was invited by the father of another wrestler and his sister, Serina (a former team member that has since moved on to high school) to attend the Nevada State Girls Invitational today. We were thrilled for her to go even though we were committed to our tournament and could not attend the event in Nevada. So, we filled out the paperwork, got her USA card for freestyle wrestling, wrote up releases for Mark (Serina's dad) to take Mackie across state lines, and a medical release for him to act as our agent should a mishap occur. We sent her off this morning with plenty of money, her insurance card, and well wishes for a successful day. By now...you should see where this story is headed.... I got a call from Mark saying that he was so sorry, but... MacKenzie had been in the last few seconds of the third round of her first match of the day and she had been hurt badly by the other wrestler. The paramedics were currently assessing her condition and had her strapped to a board, immobile to protect her neck. I thought that I would be sick right there on the phone. Mark was very calm and had control of the situation; I completely trusted his ability to handle the situation. I spoke with a paramedic and he told me that they were taking her to Barton Hospital in South Lake Tahoe for an x-ray and CT scan, but he thought that would be clear. The day unfolded and it ended up that she was later released to Mark, very sore, very medicated, but walking and moving all of her limbs...no worse for wear. The really amazing part is that when they went back to the tournament after leaving the hospital to get the rest of the family and Serina after the tournament was finishing, they were beginning to give medals. They walked in the doors, and they were calling MacKenzie's name for her to receive her 4th place medal. She medalled at a State tournament and nearly broke her neck to do it! She was shocked and amazed! In the end, they drove the two hours home, met us at our tournament, and MacKenzie got to show off her medal and hear well-wishes from all of her teammates here. I am sitting here this very late evening so thankful that my baby girl is in one piece and that she will recover fully in a couple of weeks. I have not had many reasons or opportunities in my life as a parent to feel such a deep sense of gratefulness or relief until today...but today I am feeling a deep sense of blessing by the universe for sparing my daughter from what could have changed her life in a radical way. I know this was long, so if you are still reading this...I thank you for listening. ~Suz

I need to make a correction to the above post. I realized that I had stated that my daughter does greco/roman style wrestling, when she actually currently is doing collegiate style. Greco is done at different leagues, but not on the team that she wrestles with at the middle school...there are different styles performed with different private leagues. Those come in later in the Spring.

Suz, Your post made my eyes tear up. I am so thankful that all is well--except for some soreness. That must have been so difficult going through. God is so good. He manages to take care of them so much better than we can. How awesome though that she medaled. Isn't this board great. I am so appreciative that we have it. Just getting the words down really helps with the stress and makes things better somehow. Hugs, Katy

I am so grateful to have this board available to me when I need to vent or share. I was in such a state on Saturday that I don't think it really hit me until Sunday just how lucky we were to have things turn out okay. So, when Sunday came and I was taking care of her...well, I was thankful that all it is going to take is some time and TLC to heal her...it could have been so much worse.

Hey Suz! Glad to hear that your daughter is doing well....I know that must have been a scary phone call to receive and it had to be hard not to be at her side with all the testing being done. Thanks for letting us know about it and letting us know all is well!! Take care Steph

It was so hard to not be with her...especially with her being an entire state away from me. But, I was fortunate that she was in the care of a great Dad...his kids are so lucky to have a father as calm and in control as he was with my daughter.

Suz - I had the chills reading your post. Gosh, I couldn't even imagine getting that phone call, I know your heart must have been beating a mile a minute. I think I would have been sick. I'm glad that she was in good hands and that she's ok, I know it could have been a lot worse. ****HUGS*****

I really didn't feel much of anything until later that day...and then it really hit me hard the next day...just how bad this could have gone. I just started bawling in the shower. We know going into this sport that bad things can happen to great kids...it's just part of the sport. One motto of sorts for wrestling is, "If it won't go, force it. If it breaks, it breaks." We know that any wrestler can get broken bones and strains and sprains, sometimes even dislocations...but it is pretty rare when you consider how many kids wrestle every day at these tournaments (sometimes upwards of 700 kids). Neck injuries are rarer still...leave it to my girl to give it a go! lol.

Wow Suz, I didn't know that wrestling @ a teenage level could be so dangerous. I never really thought about it, I'm not even sure if our HS has a girls wrestling team. Is it very popular? How's your daughter hanging in there? Is she ready to go wrestle again or a little scared? Gosh, I couldn't imagine, someone was looking out for her!

Yeah...they are pretty competitive, especially when you consider that MacKenzie is 12 years old and in 6th grade, but is wrestling for the middle school team. She and her brother started 3 years ago when she was in 4th grade, he was in 7th. Forrest broke his ribs twice and decided that this was not the sport for him. She loved it so much that she kept coming back each winter. So, the kids that start early, like 3rd or 4th grade...they either quit right away, or they wrestle through high school and sometimes beyond that. It gets into your blood. She is only one of two girls left on the team after the other two moved up to high school 2 years ago. The other girl is a 66lb. weightclass...she doesn't lose...her whole family wrestles, that's what they do. As for being popular....most people don't really understand it, and most don't know that they can get their younger kids onto the middleschool team. We usually aim to have 60-80kids on the team...but kids drop out, the team shrinks over the season because of grades, behavior, or just not wanting to put the time in. We practice from 3:30pm to 6pm every weeknight, and have tournaments every Saturday from 5am to as late as 10pm....once one went to midnight. This goes on from the Monday after Thanksgiving to the first week in March. Then, a lot of the kids go on the freestyle...that's twice weekly practice with weekend tournys. MacKenzie is emotionally over the getting hurt part. She hates to lose and usually walks off of the mat crying when she does, mostly because she gets so invested in trying to beat the boy/girl that she is up against. It really bruises their ego to lose or become injured because it takes so much bravery to get out there by yourself against another single opponent. She can't wait to get back to wrestling as soon as she is cleared to do so. She is also bummed that the season is pretty well over. It's hard to leave her 70 "brothers and sister"....it's hard for us, too, as we get so close to all of the kids. Anyway, we couldn't be more proud of her if she had one every match all season long.