So far so good

It’s been a while since I have posted.  So what can we take from that statement?  Life has been getting easier, slower, more managed, or all the above?  Well the answer, a little of all of them.  School got out a few weeks ago so Cody’s days are much easier.  No tests, no homework, no PE, and no stress from teachers unhappy with their classes.  The daily grind is hard on all of us but especially hard on those with AI.

Our biggest worry lately has been whether or not Cody will be able to play baseball.  He’s been having issues getting through practices let alone a tournament weekend where he will be playing 3 or more games.  Near the end of May Cody had his first tournament.  We had a plan in place to get him dosed correctly and hopefully this would get him through the weekend.  Our tournament schedule came out and we had two games back to back Saturday afternoon.  We were really worried.  He hadn’t had to go through 4+ hours of baseball all at once since being diagnosed but all we can do is try.  We dosed him according to plan and he played his two games.  The games didn’t turn out good but Cody was fine once they ended.  The real test was the evening and the next day. 

Sunday came and we continued with the dosing plan.  Since we lost our 2 pool games we had to play the 8 am Sunday morning game.  It was just over 12 hours since we had finished playing the previous day.  He was slow to get out of bed, but frankly so was I.  He told us he was doing well and we went off to the game.  He again played the 2-hour game and was doing just fine.  He was still tired but again I think at this point he was tired from having to get up at 6 am that morning.  He had to have breakfast and get ready for his game.  He wasn’t really showing any signs of being low.  The rest of the day went really well.  He was even a little energetic and threw his bouncy ball against the wall for several hours on that day.

Why had the plan worked this time when it hadn’t been working for practices?  He played hours of baseball and never went in to crisis mode.  We think there are multiple factors as to why this is happening this way.  Number 1 being he is not in school he is not having to get up every day at 6 am to get ready for his day and have a full day at school.  Then on say Tuesday night spend another hour and a half practicing.  This made for a very long day.  The second factor being the fact that in a game situation you are not truly playing every minute of every game.  There are lulls in playing and it is not a constant go go go.  His practices are in constant motion so we think he gets more physical in practice then he does in a game.

Overall this dosing plan for tournaments has been working.  This weekend we had another tournament and he has handled it fairly well.  Though today he is a little less energetic than the last tournament.  Today he is a bit low, but I think it is because today’s game was a bit harder than the Sunday game last tournament. 

As a side note, I wish he had the body size and the energy to match his drive, passion, and love for baseball.  He tries harder than most kids we face and play with, but his poor body keeps him from being as good as the other kids on the field.  He’s facing pitchers 6 to 8 inches taller than he is and he gives it his all every time without even thinking twice about it.  He makes plays in the field sometimes that I am not sure others would make if they too were his size and had to deal with what he has to deal with on a daily basis.  Am I saying he is the best player on the team.  No, not by a long stretch.  What I am saying is given all that he is fighting in his life with AI and his growth issues he a pretty damn good player.  I am saddened by how much his body keeps him from excelling at a game he loves.  But I am also the proudest father in the world at how he tries his hardest every second he is on the field.  He never gives up and he never get down.  I see kids throw a fit because they get struck out or miss a fly ball or a ground ball, but not him.  He always runs off the field with a smile on his face no matter the situation.  He knows he did the best he can do and maybe next time is his time.  I am just hoping that over time his body will catch up to some of the other kids. I would love to see what he could do if he wasn’t fighting all these issues fighting against him.  I just hope we don’t run out of baseball years before his body catches up with everyone else.  This is why I work so hard to figure out how to keep him playing because no matter what he loves playing this game.