282. “He May Run…”

Making decisions can be tough, especially when you’re young.  Our son Thomas tried cross country and football in middle school and liked them both.  It wasn’t easy to choose one, but he decided now that he’s in high school that cross country is a better fit.

Thomas has really been putting his all into his running and is doing better and better as the season progresses.  Thanks to GPS Lori and I’ve found our way to all his races and it’s been great to become part of a very warm and welcoming cross country family.

Like all the runners, Thomas is working hard to improve.  Last Thursday he finally finished in the top ten but it took everything he had.  After the race he put his arm around my shoulder for support and couldn’t seem to catch his breath.  Fortunately, a teammate’s mother, Patti Meyer, came over and helped him take slower, deeper breaths which helped him recover.

Seeing Thomas struggle to breathe really got to me, and not just because no parent wants to see their child in distress.  Being winded is to be expected at the end of a race.  But seeing Thomas like this took me back to a night when he was just two months old and his breathing had been just as labored.

We thought maybe it was croup so we shut the bathroom door and turned on the hot water.  But that didn’t help.  Finally, around 3 a.m., we took him to the Emergency Room.  We should have done so sooner – when we arrived he was cyanotic – turning blue from lack of oxygen.  Thomas had developed double pneumonia.

Morning finally came but he wasn’t getting any better.  Lori and I sat watching him struggle for every breath.  Hour after hour I silently debated whether it was time for our older children, William and Angela, to come tell their beloved little brother goodbye.  I knew how traumatic it would be, but I didn’t want them to miss their last farewell.

Our physician, Dr. Kusek, kept a positive attitude throughout this ordeal, and that helped us cling to hope.  He indicated afterwards, though, that my fear of losing Thomas had been justified.

Lori and I took turns staying with Thomas day and night at the hospital.  Finally, after a week of round the clock care, he came home.  But so did something called a “nebulizer” which we used to give Thomas four breathing treatments every single day for a year.

Slowly but surely Thomas got better, and eventually Dr. Kusek told us that because Thomas was so young he might recover enough to be able to run someday.  At the time I didn’t care – all I wanted was for him to be able to breathe.  But boy was Dr. Kusek right – now Thomas won’t let anything slow him down, including being barely able to breathe at the end of a long and grueling race.

Add A Comment