Page 37 of Roughing the Player
“I’ll make it work.” After all, I have an entire week to come up with a plan of action for Kaylee and me.
But as it often happens, fate intervenes. What seemed challenging becomes downright daunting when I get a phone call from Kaylee’s summer camp. She’s seriously sprained an ankle and needs to come home.
I rush to northwest Illinois where Camp Kikamoo is located. I’d specifically chosen the place because it was away from civilization. With Kaylee growing up in urban settings, I wanted her to experience the outdoors. She hadn’t been too gung-ho about it until I mentioned she’d also be learning computer programming. Then she’d been rarin’ to go.
When I arrive, the camp director welcomes me. After apologizing profusely for Kaylee’s injury, he personally escorts me to the medical suite. When I spot Kaylee sitting on a bed with her ankle in an air cast, I almost lose it. She’s being a brave little soldier, but going by her quivering lip, she’s hurting.
As carefully as I can, I hug her. “Sweetheart, I’m so sorry this happened to you. How are you feeling?”
She chokes back a sob. “It hurts, Mom.”
The man standing next to us seems too young to be a doctor, but that’s exactly what he is.
After the camp director introduces him, he pulls me aside, probably so Kaylee can’t overhear our conversation.
“Is it serious? Her injury?” I ask.
“We took her to the clinic in town where we took an X-ray. As far as I can tell, it’s a simple sprain. But she may have strained a ligament. Her doctor will probably order an MRI to either confirm or rule it out.”
“Why didn’t you perform that procedure?”
“The clinic doesn’t have the equipment. It’s a small town.”
“Mom. I want to go home.”
A quick peek at her tells me the faster we get on the road the better, but not before I finish with the doctor. “In a moment, honey.” I turn back to the physician. “Has she been given anything for the pain?”
“Ibuprofen. 200 milligrams.” He nods toward Kaylee. “We just gave her a dose, so she’ll be fine on the way home. She’ll need to take it three times a day for the next seventy-two hours or so, and she’ll also need to rest her ankle and keep it elevated at all times. I recommend you have her visit her doctor tomorrow or no later than the next day. He can treat her going forward.”
The thought of keeping Kaylee in bed or the couch immobile is not going to be easy. But it’s got to be done. Hopefully, not for long. “How long will her foot remain in a cast?”
“Her doctor would know the best time to remove it. It could be as little as a couple of days. But it could be longer as well.”
No help there. “Okay. Thank you, doctor.”
The camp director and the medic escort us back to my car while a camp counselor brings up the rear with Kaylee’s duffle bag. Before we head off, I call Mama to give her a status report. She’s been worried sick ever since I got the call.
“Do you want to stop and get something to eat?” I ask Kaylee once we get on the road. The drive home is at least three hours, and she might be hungry. “We can go to a drive-through, if you wish.” I’m not a fan of fast food, but needs must.
“No, Mama. I just want to go home.”
“Okay, sweetheart.”
“So other than the sprained ankle, did you get to enjoy camp?”
Her head spins toward me. “It was horrible, Mom. I thought I was going to learn computer programming all the time. We did for two days, but then they dragged us out of bed at six. Six, mom! The birds weren’t even up yet. And they made us climb this humongous hill.”
The hill she’s talking about did not look that big in the photos. But then, I wasn’t there.
“Coming down, I tripped over a stupid rock and twisted my ankle. Now the rest of my summer’s ruined. I’ll be hobbling on these dumb crutches and this stupid boot for weeks.” She’s not normally a drama queen, but she is hurting, so it makes sense for her to vent her feelings.
“Now, honey, that’s not what the doctor said. The boot might come off in a couple of days.”
“I hope you’re getting your money back, because that camp seriously sucked.”
“The camp director did mention I’d get a partial refund.” Makes sense since she didn’t stay there for the entire two weeks. She barely made it through four days. The GPS announces another turn ahead. Thank God it’s summer and still daylight because I would not want to be on these back roads late at night. When I finally reach the main road, I breathe an easy sigh. I’ll have to fight the Chicago congestion when we get closer to the city, but for now, the traffic’s manageable.
The tension seems to drain out of Kaylee as she spends the rest of the drive on her cell texting with her friends.
