Hindsight makes me nauseous -

It's the end of an era around these Shaker parts. For about nine years now, our weekends have been filled with our little Keaton sporting his athleticism in the game of football. His time on the field truly compiled some of my best memories. We are super proud of him and the character that he brought to the game.

Little did we know, that every time we were applauding his holds and hits, his very life was in danger!


During one of the last games of the season, and the last game of his senior year, Keaton received a pretty "good" concussion. He didn't recover from it quite as quickly as the trainers would like, so they sent him off to the team Doctor. This was followed by an MRI, which sent him immediately to a Neurologist, which was followed up by Dr. Spetzler himself ... the Chief Neurosurgeon at Barrows Neurological Institute. BIG STUFF!

What was found left us all speechless.

Apparently our little guy was born with Chiari Malformation. The Neurologist made it very clear that he should have never played one day of football, let alone nine years. In an instant he was done with the season and contact sports of any kind.

For a moment (because I never dwell on anything that makes me feel guilty for more than 29 seconds), I was riddled with guilt, sweat and nausea! I was the one that sent that boy out on the field yelling phrases such as "HIT SOMEONE!" "ATTA BOY! DO IT AGAIN!" "SHAKE IT OFF SHAKER!!!" Oh ya, I was a loud mouthed mother.


The guilt quickly left, and I remembered that there was no way for us to have known of this funky brain quirk, and that this was Keaton's love as well. He learned such amazing concepts from the game of football, and was blessed with incredible friends that taught him more than the game. It's just another lesson in life, providing more knowledge that we aren't in charge. It was a gift that Keaton was able to play what he loved, without any negative ramifications. It was a gift that we found out about this before anything irrevocable happened, and that this didn't take place until he was almost finished with his senior year. Big time gifts.

I love being provided with stories that remind us we are all being taken care of ... even if they are preceded with nausea. Atta boy Keeter.