Basketball is a Testimony to God's Love

Stephen has really been enjoying basketball this year. In his words, "This is the best game there is."

I still marvel when I watch him play. It's a testimony to God's love in the form of healing. Two days after his 13th birthday (2004) Stephen was skateboarding down the street behind us, which, like every street in our neighborhood, is quite hilly. When he realized he was going too fast and could end up with a head injury if he didn't bail, he jumped off. Jumped so hard and landed straight on both feet in the grass. The sudden impact with all his weight at that speed made his right quad muscle tear the tibia tubercle off. (That's the knotty bump below the kneecap, more noticeable on guys.) The ER staff at Upper Chesapeake didn't diagnose the break. They called it 'derangement' and said, "See an orthopedist in a couple days. Meanwhile, rest it, ice it, elevate it. " His thigh swelled up like a body pillow and he couldn't move it. Unbearable pain. The orthopedist saw him and ordered emergency surgery. (Upper Chesapeake Hospital has disappointed us many a time in their diagnoses.) Stephen spent four months in physical therapy. His goal was to play basketball by Christmas of that year. The last week of November he hobbled to the hoop at the top of the driveway and took a shot. I don't remember if he made it. I was fighting tears of joy.