“I can’t see out of my left eye.”
That’s something you never want to hear your child say.
Life immediately came to a screeching halt. Even in the dimly lit parking lot I could see my 17-year-old son’s left eye wasn’t normal. His iris and pupil were both black. His eyes are normally a blue-grey.
In a matter of minutes, we were walking into the emergency room. All four of us. Zach and his posse…his dad, his sister and me.
How quickly the things we focus on become unimportant and petty when a life-altering event happens.
The soccer ball my son took to his face during his high school game hit him smack-dab on his eye. Seeing it happen across the field, I knew it was bad. His head reacted backward from the ball’s force, and he went down. Even though the on-site trainer was attending to him, it took everything out of me to wait until halftime to walk to the other side to see how he was.
It was definitely bad.
The E.R. doctor’s look said much. It was a hyphema. Bleeding on the outer part of the eye. The black we saw was actually blood. A very serious eye injury.
(The below photo is just the doctor examining Zach’s eye with light. Nothing gross.)
I didn’t sleep much that night. This mom prayed, and yes, I worried.
“God, please heal Zach’s eye and give him his eyesight back. God, I don’t understand. Why did this have to happen??”
I couldn’t have been more thankful to look at Zach’s eye the next morning. The blood had almost all receded, and he could hazily see out of it again.
“Thank you, God!”
The ophthalmologist at our appointment that morning gave strict orders for five days of no activity, no school, no practice, no soccer, no reading, no nothing. Three weeks of no physical activity. Rest. Rest. Rest.
How do you keep a 17-year old from doing anything, including reading?? For five days straight??
Zach did well laying low. Thankfully I was able to be home with him, and we spent some wonderful hours together we otherwise never would have had.
This morning I am humbly grateful God answered my prayers. The blood has disappeared, and his iris and pupil look back to normal. Zach says he can see “fine.” We return to the ophthalmologist this morning to find out where we go from here.
How I have taken my eyesight for granted! And my son! What other gifts has God given me I have done the same?? My voice? My fingers? My legs? My family? Everything???
I have no answers as to why this happened. But it has caused me to be grateful. I am thanking God for each and every gift in my life today. May this prompt you to do the same in yours.
Thank you for being one of my gifts!
Julie
Today I’m linking up with Katie Reid for #inspireandgrow. Our place on Mondays where we encourage each other and build each other up! (http://www.echoesofmyheart.com/2/post/2014/04/1.html)
How scary, Julie! So glad to hear the good news. And yes, those special, uninterrupted times with our teens are a precious gift!!
Kristine, you are absolutely right. Those are special times with our teens. I’m finding he needs me now just as much as he needed me when he was little. It’s just different. 🙂 He went back to school today, so we are making progress!
So thankful for answered prayer! So thankful that even in the midst of the scary times, God is there, holding us together and giving us blessings we wouldn’t have had otherwise. The mystery of the blessings of the trial. God is so good!
God is so good. You said it there, Sabra! I’m thankful for answered prayer too. Zach went to school today after our doctor appointment this morning. Three weeks of no physical activity and then a re-check. We’re moving in the right direction! Thanks for your uplifting words!
“The mystery of the blessings of the trial.” ~ Sabra, I love that!
I’m so glad to hear your son is ok, Julie. I can’t imagine how worried you must have been for your son. As mothers, we want nothing more than to protect our children. But God is so faithful! He hears our prayers. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Abby. Yes, I was worried. I think the most difficult thing was there was not one thing I could do about the situation. It was totally in God’s hands. (That’s another blog post in the making.) Yes, God is so faithful! Thank you for your encouraging words today.
How scary for you and your son. I am so glad he’s okay. Yes, things like this renew our perspective and make us more grateful, don’t they. I’m so thankful that I can walk because when I was 28, I went about 6 months barely able to walk at all (rheumatoid arthritis; God healed me!)
Betsy, wow, that’s incredible! You were barely able to walk?? Praise God for His healing touch on you! Yes, times like these jolt me back into reality and into what’s important. I am more grateful today than I was a week ago, that’s for sure. I’d love to hear your story sometime! Have a blessed (and grateful) day today, Betsy! 🙂
Julie!
What a testimony to Gods healing touch! I am so glad Zach is ok!
And as I read your last paragraph I took a deep breath and nodded my head as my soul sighed. There are many gifts I take for granted- and many places I keep hidden- when instead I should stand and shine for Him before it’s too late. Before the gifts are too forgotten.
Thank You for sharing!!
I’m with you, Brandi. Especially with what you wrote about the places you keep hidden. Me too. I’ve learned much from this experience. Maybe God allowed it to happen to teach me. 🙂 Thank you for your care and concern!
Things can happen in just a second. The scariest thing for the mom of a baseball pitcher is a line drive. You hear or read about sports injuries and think, “Maybe it’s too risky” But, then there’s the joy of the game. the disciplined life it creates for our sons and we know it’s worth the risk. Still, scary. So glad your son’s okay.
I certainly agree with you, Lisa. My son loves soccer, as it looks like yours loves baseball. I’ve enjoyed seeing your pics on Instagram. 🙂 It’s scary, but it’s what they love to do and I wouldn’t want to hold him back from the blessings God gives him through it. I’m glad we’ve turned a corner but I’m sad he’ll miss finishing the end of the season. Thank you for understanding, and for sharing your encouraging words, Lisa!
Julie- Thank you for telling this story- so many parallels come to mind regarding our vision and seeing the blessings and hand of God in hard times. Thank you for linking-up…keep telling your story- it matters!:)
Thank you, Katie! In hard times, often God is the only thing we can see. Thankful for that truth! Thanks for hosting the link and for your words!
Praise the Lord for His healing! His is good! Found you at Katie’s link up. 🙂
Yes, Kaylene! I’m praising the Lord too! We’ve turned a huge corner and we pray it’s good news from here on out! Thanks for visiting. I’ll visit you next! 🙂