OUCH!

Faith played one pretty great game on Saturday. She went to block a goal and intercepted a real powerful kick in the side of her foot. She also took a hard fall and rolled her ankle. She looked like she stopped, dropped and rolled. She had to be carried off the field by her coach and was crying...which is pretty unusual. She's tough, really, she is. She swelled a good bit that night, we iced it and bought a compression sock for her. She had another game Sunday morning. Which I advised against. Her coach made her prove that she could run on it...she made it through...with watering eyes. She is determined that way. She played about 5 minutes and he pulled her out. He knew she was hurting. He asked her about going back in during the second half and she wanted to. She played about 10 minutes and even had a 50/50 with a girl and ran a bit better after the impact. I was floored. I think she was on a Motrin high. Her poor ankle knew not what it was enduring. By this morning, her foot was so swollen it looked foreign and her bruising made its way to the surface. She is still bruising. It looks like it is going to turn out real pretty.

We took her to the doctor, she ordered xrays. No fractures thank God. But she did diagnose her with a grade 3 sprain. She is on crutches through Thursday, has an air cast that she has to wear from now on and gets to be re-evaluated on the 19th to see if her season is completely over. Truth be told, she has been walking on it. Grimacing a bit while doing it but she has managed. Her doctor wasn't impressed. She basically said in order for her to heal she needs to get off of it. She will miss at least 4 games, which she feels like is the end of the world. There is a slight possibility she may return for the last two games. Here are the pics I forced her to let me take. One day when she is sharing her injury story with her kids, she'll thank me for the photographic evidence. Ha!

I can not begin to explain this. It is just not the same as the 3D version we see. It is much more puffy and bruised. There are shades of red, purple and yellow...pretty, huh?
There is little form to her ankle, it goes from her calf to a big ole swollen mass.

It looks bigger than a tennis ball...her foot is swollen everywhere, even on the sole and the top.

She is not looking forward to the next few days at school on crutches...in fact, you could say she is dreading it.

The worst part is she has such a strong desire to play soccer. To sit there and just watch will probably hurt worse than her ankle. She sure will look pretty doing it though.