Those who know me best know I am not a sports fan and have never been. That being said, you also have to know that I have 6 kids and all of whom have played and do now play sports. If there is an H* kid on the field or court, I will be there loving every minute of it. If it's college or professional sports, don't bother me. I'd rather be shopping or blogging. And if it's a football game you want me to see and my kid is not a player, forget about it, I' rather be getting my teeth pulled. As a season ticket holder in years past, my husband has tried many times to get me to sit in LaVell Edward's Stadium to watch BYU play, but it is physically impossible for me to do, especially when there is a mall so close by that I can smell it.
Outside of my kids' games I have never had a lot of use for this great American past time, that is until Dane got sick and spent a lot of time in the hospital. It was then I found out what a miracle sports are in the life of a little boy...and football in particular is magic. If he was about to get blood drawn, I would ask him to tell me the Monday night football score, and he would forget to tense up his arm and worry about when the needle was coming. If we were waiting for a surgeon to arrive to perform the next procedure, a good football game on a cable station would help Dane pass the time. Spending 24 hours a day in the hospital with Dane, 7 days a week (except for the weekends when Joe could come) for three weeks, gives a mom a lot of time to talk with her son. And when Dane was feeling discouraged, anxious, boredom or pain, we mostly talked about football to get past the rough times. And it worked.
So, one Sunday while Dane and I were walking the halls of the hospital, we met a woman hurrying toward the exit. For some reason, she turned around and asked Dane's name and why he was in the hospital. She then began asking him more questions about himself and we told her we would walk with her to the door. She slowed her pace to match Dane's and soon we were talking about you guessed it ....football. Just as all rivers sooner or later find their way to the ocean, in our family all discussions about football inevitably lead to BYU. This lady mentioned her grandson played on the team and that he was from Mt. Pleasant. Dane said "Is it Austen Jorgenson?" And she confirmed that it was. When we got to the door, she said that she was going to tell Austen about Dane and see if he could do anything for him. We thanked her and she was on her way. We didn't really think of her again.
3 weeks in a hospital can age a little boy prematurely. Dane's eyes were dull, he was nervous and a little depressed. 3 weeks in a hospital bed can leave a boy's body longing for home. So it was a happy day when Dane was finally discharged. Until, that is on the drive back home when we received a call from Joe saying that Austen Jorgenson's dad had called and Austen and some other players wanted to visit Dane in the hospital. At that moment, Dane was deeply sorry he had been released, and he actually asked if we could go back to PCMC just so the BYU players could come and visit! Joe called Mr. Jorgenson back and told him Dane had been released and would be home soon. A few hours later, Austen called Joe and said that he had gotten permission from the coach for Dane to come to a practice and meet the players. Dane and Joe were elated. I wanted Dane to wait a few weeks to regain his strength before going but he and his dad would hear none of that. They went up to Provo the day after Dane came home from the hospital. He was still weak and white with pain, but he survived the trip to Provo on pure adrenaline. When he got there, an autographed football was waiting for him. Not only that, after the practice, all of the players and coaches came over to talk with him and shake his hand. Coach Mendenhall gave him a BYU bracelet. Joe called me to tell me how kind the team had been and was so choked up he could barely talk.
Why did a busy woman stop to talk with us in the hallway of a small county hospital?
Why did a 19 year young man go out of his way and arrange all of this for a stranger? Why did the whole team come over and talk with a little kid from Sanpete County? After all, Dane is just an ordinary boy, and he was already on the road to recovery and getting the signed football was already wonderful. I might never know the answer to these questions. But I do know that miracles happen. Sometimes, they even happen thru football players. That afternoon with the BYU football team began to erase for Dane the anxiety and trauma of the previous three weeks. That afternoon helped heal an 11 year old boy in a way that surgeries and antibiotics couldn't. Dane wasn't the sick kid anymore, he was now the kid with bragging rights, the team didn't just give us a football, we got a little boy back. A little boy whose smile can light up a room whenever he is asked about his autographed football.
Now, miracles can only go so far. I still doubt my body will ever be able to endure sitting thru a whole football game - even one in LaVell Edwards stadium (that is unless they draft one of my boys as a player). But one thing I know without a doubt, my heart will ever be a front-row fan of the BYU team who gave their time and kindness to Dane. And I don't even need to see a game to already know they are winners.
