The intersection of life and sports
I needed this win today, really badly. I have been following this team closely all year, naturally. On January 6, my son Evan was born 3 months premature, and he has been in the NICU ever since. His prognosis is pretty good, but it will still be a long road.
Our lives were shaken up and our priorities shifted pretty dramatically. Working (for me), taking care of our older child, and getting to the hospital twice a day became everything, with little else going on. With the DVR, I managed to record each game, and I would typically watch them late at night (when I couldn't sleep anyway) after my wife and older son had gone to sleep. I have probably never watched every game played by any team, and I felt oddly connected to this team.
They have had their ups and downs, like my little preemie son. Young fighters. The future looks bright (enough) for my son, and the future looks bright for this team. We got home this afternoon from an Easter brunch, and it set in quickly just how badly I wanted this team to win today.
So we are riding kind of high right now, and I just talked to my son's nurse, and he is having a good day too. Life and sports. Sports and life.
(NICU is neonatal intensive care - preemies, for those that wonder what the hell I'm referring to).
LIFE IS SHORT, ENJOY THIS!!!!!!!!
And Go Blue!
Best of luck. I don't have kids, so I am being honest in saying that I really can't imagine what you are going through. Glad that sports can bring a couple hours of relief. This is why I go crazy when people I know tell me sports doesn't matter.
on the boy....
Go blue!
If you don't mind me asking, which town/what NICU are you guys in?
Grand Rapids, Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.
Yeah, you guys are in good hands. My wife used to rotate between the NICU, PICU and the peds heme/onc clinic there for quite a few years, and all I can say about the people at Helen DeVos is that they are AMAZING.
It's sooooo much nicer with the new children's hospital too; even if you're in the old building. At least you don't have to eat at Prisms every day...
March 31st, 2013 at 11:50 PM ^
They are amazing. It's an incredible place. I've made it this far in my life feeling like I wasn't sure what my calling is, but now I'm sure its to raise funds for services like this or for families that need services like this.
Good doctors at DeVos. Just don't let the Med Students from MSU touch him.
Just kidding, actually have a few close friends at that campus and they're die hard Michigan fans. Hoping for the best for you and your family. Go Blue!
Your sacrifices will be rewarded.
Please keep the board informed as to when your young son will be able to come home with his family.
Thanks for letting me share, everyone. Today has been a pretty cool day.
Thank you, that was awesome.
My dad was the reason I'm obsessed with Michigan and I'll probably have the same effect on my boys.
My girlfriend was born 4 or 5 months premature, and she's perfectly healthy. Best of luck to your family, and your son. Go Blue!
As i type this while holding my little six week old son who has given us a couple of scares before and after birth I can only imagine what you are going through. God bless and best wishes for a speedy recovery. And Go Blue.
I've been exactly there, too, Flying Dutchman.
My son was born very early and had a lot of complications. Lungs not developed... long story. Brought home, complications, helicoptered to Mott's - where his life was saved.
I want to say this to you:
I have two sons. The first is "the best" at everything. School president, basketball MVP, great grades, girls gushing over him. (OK, he's only 12, but still...)
My youngest, the preemie, is so different. He is so opinionated, so firey, so full of life, so into everything and anything. He makes my life difficult. But oh, so alive! He has so much energy and life and FIGHT in everything he does. I am convinced that it is because of his need to fight for his life during his first year. I can't wait to see what he becomes and I know that his fighting spirit will lead him to have a real fulfilling life.
Your son, too, I'm sure.
And thank you for that. This is a great crowd.
I'm glad you're finding some happiness right now.
Every day with your children is special. My son is now seven moths. Both my boys were born under extreme situations. I can tell you with confidence there has never been a better time to have a disease, a difficult procedure or to be born traumatically. It may sound crass, but there is a great truth to it.
Even with a kid on the way, I find it so hard to distinguish the important things in life with Michigan sports. I was raised in a family where the two were so heavily intertwined, and at times it becomes impossible for me to recognize sports are just a game and miniscule part of the big picture. The great highs like today as well as the lows the Wolverines provide us further complicates things. I'm so happy that today provided you (and all of us) the former in a time when in meant so much. I hope in the not too distant future, you get to share a great moment in Michigan sports history (a long with a few unavoidable low ones) with Evan. Go Blue!
Thanks for sharing and the best of luck to you and all the parents who have children with health issues.
This weekend I have been through a pretty harrowing health scare with a good friend of the family who is 72 with several health issues, including diabetes and congestive heart failure. My wife called me at work concerned about him because no one had heard from him in about 24 hours, and he wasn't answering his phone. He called in sick to work Thursday morning and by Friday afternoon my wife was worried enough to call me at work. So I rushed home to pick up his apartment key and made it to his place about 3 p.m. He was on the floor in the kitchen unable to get up. As it turns out, he has MRSA and is now in ICU where they are attempting to get that under control. He is improving. Needless to say, I missed Friday's game, but am so glad my wife got me to check on him. I doubt he would have survived the night.
Today, I visited him through the second half of the game. It seemed more important than the game. He's in quarantine because of the MRSA, so I was required to put a plastic gown and gloves on before entering the room. The gloves were blue and gown was yellow. That seemed like a good sign.
He's still not out of the woods yet, but he is considerably better than he was on Friday.
Thanks for sharing this story. My son's birth almost six years ago was under emergency circumstances (cord around neck, vitals were not good), and he ended up spending some time in the NICU as well. The first several months were up and down with him healthwise too, but as others have pointed out, there is so much support - medical and otherwise - out there now, even a blog like this in a way, that it possible to wade through. Best of luck to you and your family and a hearty "Go Blue!" to all of you.
Very cool that the team has been able to give you so much enjoyment. Hope for all the best for Evan.
and years from now you will be telling your son about the friday night 3 pt shot that trey burke took to send the game into overtime, and then you will go outside to your driveway and you will play the part of the hapless jayhawk while your son sinks the 3 to win it all. until then, God bless you and your family.
Can't say my problems are anywhere near as important as yours, but I can completely relate. It's been a rough couple weeks for me, and Friday's win felt almost spiritual to me. After family festivities today, I went for a long drive down some backroads and just let it soak in. Sports can indeed be more than a game sometimes.
Sometimes the sports gods deliver when you need them the most.
Great story. I am a father of three and there is nothing better than enjoying great Michigan victories with your kids. My kids are huge fans and we live in Florida so todays win was especially sweet! They grow up fast, enjoy every opportunity you get. My son who is a huge Michigan fan, got accepted to Harvard on Thursday so it has been a very exciting weekend. While I would love for him to go to UM (me and my wife are alumni) , Harvard may be too good to pass up. I am sure I will get some comments for that statement.
passed harvard up, that is. came down to playing there or at michigan, and we lived less than an hour away from ann arbor and my mother had died the year before. i made the decision that i wanted to be 45 min from home, not 14 hours. life would be much different had i decided otherwise, but i can't imagine how life could be any better. congrats in any case on the acceptance. here's to hoping the OP has that decision to make about 18 yrs from now with his son.
Sometimes when things are rough these stories can be wonderfully inspirational, knowing you are not alone with your struggles and there is a way - there is - to turn the corner.
Sports have always been important for me, but 2012 was an awful year and my daughter, wife and I (and our baby as well I think) have bonded, and in a big way over UM athletics.
Our baby was born with a 95%+ chance of having a severe mental condition but by some miracle was fine, took a while and a few test but last year the docs told us she seems alright.
Then the wife gets diagnosed with cancer. Surgery, which only revealed spreading. Now has finished chemo-rad. The treatment was hell, she was so flattened by it I was taking care of both kids while working and minding the household. Not out of the woods and we are nervously waiting for the next round of tests. Though she is very confident and feeling / looking great, I admit to being deeply concerned.
So UM football, and hockey, and now b-ball has made us come together. It gives us 'blank' moments when all of these problems evaporate and we can have fun watching, living the moment. My 6-year old is now determined to marry Dernard, go to UM, make it on the cheerleading and basketball teams. My wife wore my UM longsleeve proudly on Saturday.
Flying thank you for sharing this and opening up this thread, there is a way and determination and a relentless attitude will get you there. All the best to all of you.
Go Blue!
March 31st, 2013 at 10:14 PM ^