Friday

snippet ... kindergarten~

This one is under the Chapter SCHOOLING

KINDERGARTEN CAN BE HARD ON A CHILD


. . . one other incident, that memory serves, that would come back to haunt me 30 years later.  I fell off the big swings and landed on my knees in Kindergarten.   I wasn't taken to the doctor because everyone just figured I had bruised myself up from the fall; but kids were kids and we get scraped up.  Wash the dirt off, put on a bandage to stop the bleeding, give a kiss to heal the boo boo and send them out the door to play.  That was the way.  We were never running to the doctors office.  If you were still breathing and not bleeding uncontrollably, or having a bone sticking out somewhere, it was usually a home fix-up.   I remember hobbling around and stumbling with scraped up knees for some time after that.

I became a very clumsy child.   There were many incidents of riding my bike and my legs would all of a sudden not want to pedal anymore; or they would seem to lock up on me.   I would be riding along suddenly to find myself pushing down on the brake when I didn't intend on braking.  This often ended with me flying head over tea kettle into a ditch or onto the blacktopped pavement.  There were incidents of my knee caps seeming to pop out of place all the time for no apparent reason.  Sometimes it really hurt to walk up and down stairs.  I never complained about it though because I just figured I was a clumsy kid and what could anyone do about that.

Come to find out 30 years later, as my knees would become inflamed and swollen so bad after doing any amount of standing or walking, I finally went to a doctor to see what was the matter with me.  A set of x-rays were taken and the first question that the orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Peter Melcher asked me was, "When did you break your knee caps?" "What?  I broke my knee caps?"

He showed me the scarring evidence.  There they were, two little triangular bones in the center of my legs with jagged scars completely across the entire patella showing that they had healed over; but undoubtedly had both been completely broken in half.  It also showed by the scar tissue that the breaks were multiple breaks, showing that they would begin to heal only to become fractured again and again.  Then to make matters worse, they both had quit growing.  Here I was, a 30 year old woman with the knee caps of a 10 year old.  After six knee surgeries, three on each leg, over a time span of the next four years my little knee caps were finally removed and my walking seemed to be less stressful.  Only to become an issue again in my late 40's as arthritis and bursitis set into the joints.

Yes, Kindergarten can be very hard on a child.
 ~~~
~~~
That's today's snippet from the book I'm trying to put together for my family :)

Life ~ it's not always a bowl of cherries ...  (as Erma Bombeck would say) ... sometimes it's the pits.

Until next time ...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

11 comments:

  1. Amazing the resilience of a child. So much so that we could over look something serious.
    Yes, most of the time folks were right, no need for the Doctor, especially when money is tight.

    That story is just not fun, but then that is life, so good to write it down, maybe give a warning or a red flag in life to someone.

    LOve you! But it is a great LIFE-STORY

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really feel for you because I have trouble with both my knees and can hardly walk. I'm facing my 2nd surgery so I know what kind of pain you must have suffered with. You poor thing. I'm so glad somebody finally got to the bottom of it and fixed things for you. What a sad story. take care.

    ReplyDelete
  3. RE: Jack69 & Taryterre ~ I wasn't seeking any sympathy .. really .. I managed through life just fine. I was even in track in high school and did quite well. Once I got through the younger years -- I just adapted to what was. I could run with the best of them ~ I just fell a lot.lol

    ReplyDelete
  4. I don't think anyone thinks you're seeking sympathy. It was that way with us too about not going to doctors. I always had skinned knees. I had the habit of running along by my bike with my hands on the handle bars trying to hop on. So many times me and the bike would go down before I could hop on. lol

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't think anyone thinks you're seeking sympathy. It was that way with us too about not going to doctors. I always had skinned knees. I had the habit of running along by my bike with my hands on the handle bars trying to hop on. So many times me and the bike would go down before I could hop on. lol

    ReplyDelete
  6. I don't think anyone thinks you're seeking sympathy. It was that way with us too about not going to doctors. I always had skinned knees. I had the habit of running along by my bike with my hands on the handle bars trying to hop on. So many times me and the bike would go down before I could hop on. lol

    ReplyDelete
  7. sorry I was having a hard time getting the comment to go. Nothing wrong with me today.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love Erma Bombeck!

    When I was young, I fractured my tailbone and that thing has given me problems ALL my life.

    ReplyDelete
  9. and in those later years I thought the falling down was due to alcohol ... JUST KIDDING! Although I do remember a night after pool league when you 'danced' on the bar while I was locked in the bathroom. hee hee
    Love the memories.
    'love & hugs from afar'

    ReplyDelete
  10. RE:Cher You failed to post that it was the WHOLE Women's Pool League that was dancing on that bar top - not just me ... AND you would of been there too if you weren't locked in the bathroom. lol That bar only had ceilings that were 8 or 9 feet high and then when you were on the bar top you had to scrunch over like a hunchback ... we did have some good times during pool league. What a funny night that was!

    ReplyDelete
  11. So that's how you screwed up your knees...and here I thought it was from sneaking out down the ladder from your bedroom on school nights...Can't help but laugh remembering Daddy at the bottom of the ladder asking "Just where do you think You're going?"
    BlessYourHeart

    ReplyDelete