So, what have we been up to this month?
I must say that I, for one, simply CANNOT accept the fact that it is now August!
And that for us, we are looking at school starting for Michael in a mere 20 days. How can that be? And where did the summer go?
I know it is the end of summer when we have something called The Championship Meet. It is held the first week in August and it is where all the swim club teams in our area compete against each other. They compete one on one with each week during the summer and then during this Championship meet ALL the teams compete against one another.
It is a pretty big thing for our area and swimmers.
I used to compete when I was 7 until 17 so I LOVE a good swim meet and when the championship is at our club, I love to stop in to watch some of it.
Last weekend was the Championship meet but it was held at one of the clubs far away (they rotate who has it each year), I know this for 2 reasons:
1.My friend has a son competing in it
2.Our club was mostly empty last weekend, which is the case when most members have at least one swimmer on the team and are thus at the Championship meet.
So, as I drove by the club and was making the above observance, I started thinking about the year that the championship meet was held at our club and how Michael and I rode our bikes there because parking is a nightmare.
I thought about how fun it was to go and see my friend’s children swim.
But then I thought about what happened after and here is what I learned from that.
So back to the story, Michael and I headed home after watching a good portion of the meet. We pull in the drive and right away notice that the wooden swing set looks different, the one swing was hanging weirdly, one chain was connected, and the other was broken.
HMMM?!?!? I thought.
What happened here.
So, I go inside to find Elizabeth sitting on the coach in a weird position. She was turned sideways and kind of resting on her right hip but also twisting to face the TV.
HMMMM?!?! I thought.
What is happening here.
Then she tells me that she fell as she was swinging and the swing broke and she fell. For those who don’t know swinging is one of her absolute favorite things to do. It is very calming for her senses related to her SPD ( Sensory Processing Disorder) which is one of her two disorders. The other one being Global Dyspraxia.
The I didn’t wonder anymore, it made sense. She took a hard fall and was complaining of her hip hurting. She tried to walk but couldn’t.
The thing is that she was 18 when this happened. Newly 18, but in the eyes of the state of Ohio she was an adult.
And guess what that meant?
It meant that the big bruise she had on her leg and her inability to walk from the fall that sent us to the ER could only be looked at if SHE signed the consent form.
Not me, her.
In the eyes of the admitting nurse, Elizabeth had to sign her own forms to get the X-ray or treatment.
Oh, wow was that an eye opener for us.
I mean I had been working on her guardianship paperwork but made the mistake of waiting until she turned 18 to call and schedule the meeting with our attorney. I thought she had to be 18 to start the process.
Turns out that was incorrect.
And it turns out that we were so, so lucky because the nurse at the ER knew us and was able to help us help Elizabeth.
But what if that hadn’t happened?
What if it was all truly up to her in this type of emergency?
What if….
So, as we all begin another school year, maybe those at the school will help you plan out what to do for your young adult as they get close to 18 or maybe not.
But start looking at this magic age early.
We did and kind of didn’t.
But we learned a big lesson that day.
So, I share it with you to help someone who might need to read this.
I wish everyone a good start to the new school year.
And next month, I will share our new eye therapy update as we go on 8/14/22 for our next appointment.
Michele