Head's up! Whitaker is back in the goalie box!

I need to update on Whitaker. Last Tuesday we met with Dr. Charles Stevenson, the wonderful pediatric neurosurgeon that operated on Whitaker in June. He evaluated Whitaker's balance, strength, vision, coordination, and all the other neuro-functions that could be affected by the Chiari repair surgery. Dr. Stevenson said that despite the large size of the craniectomy that he executed on Whitaker, he thought W looked GREAT and he cleared him for normal activities after just six weeks of recovery. He cautioned against no trampolines or anything else that could cause him to get jolted in the neck/head area, but said that he could play soccer this year and he could even head the soccer ball. I'm not crazy about that, but hey, I'll take good news in any way, shape or form.

Last week both boys played soccer in a four-day mini-camp. Whitaker did awesome, had no headaches, and has increased stamina beyond what he had before the surgery. We are so amazed, thankful, and excited that he is doing so well. It is remarkable, if not miraculous, that Whitaker has recovered so fully, so quickly. I know that everyone's prayers and concern contributed greatly to his successful surgery and recovery, and John and I will never be able to express how much the support from friends and family means to us.

I have to give a big shout out to the Perry County Youth Soccer League for allowing us to register Whitaker for soccer way past the deadline for the fall season. Since we had been told he could not do organized sports for three months, we did not fill out the forms and pay the registration fee. However, we got the good report from the neurosurgeon just before the teams were rostered, and they were nice enough to let him get on a team. That means the world to him since he didn't think he was going to get to do any sports until basketball.

Things Whitaker can't do ever:
Lacrosse/field hockey
football :-(
wrestling
some gymnastics moves (head-stands, hanging upside down)
combative martial arts (non-contact martial arts are okay)
boxing
rugby

Things Whitaker shouldn't do ever:
trampoline
skateboarding
motorcyclying
rough roller-coasters
bungee-jumping
sky-diving
cliff-diving
race-car driving
pillow fighting
tubing on the river (because of risk of head injury when falling off)
intense weight-lifting (due to risk of CSF leak when straining)
space travel

Things Whitaker can do (carefully, of course):
baseball/softball
tennis
raquetball
basketball
soccer
golf
running
swimming (pool and river)
diving
kickball
fishing
hunting
dodgeball (only if balls make contact from waist-down)
volleyball
bicycling (not stunt-bikes, just distance riding)
camping
hiking
bowling
billiards
corn-hole
ping pong
zip-lining
mountain-climbing (with protective head gear and safety ropes)
snorkeling
surfing

As you can see, there are PLENTY of activities to keep us all busy that are completely safe and fun, and will promote wellness and fitness.  We choose to concentrate on all the things he CAN do, rather than those he can't or shouldn't. Most of the things that he shouldn't do are either not likely (space travel, race-car driving), or not recommended for healthy people (cliff-diving, bungee-jumping). However, since Whitaker was a wrestler, a football player, and a motorocycle-rider, there are some things on the list that will constitute some life-style changes. The more common activities such as trampoline, pillow fighting, and tubing will be more of a daily challenge for him, and therefore us. Thankfully - God made Whitaker a little afraid of heights and crazy roller-coasters, so unlike his brother, Whitaker will be completely content to keep his feet firmly on the soccer field, or the basketball court.