Having a sick child is nothing new to any mother out there...no mom is exempt from the worries we face! I give my worries to God but I am weary. To hear a child cry out in their sleep in pain is heart breaking. You jump up, run to their side and they are asleep. Thankful that the pain has not awaken them, you ease back to bed, just to hear it again and again. The gray circles under their eyes reveales a lack of restful sleep and your day starts...and there is no make up in the world to make you appear rested!
Oh, I know God is in control of this situation and I am trying DESPERATLY to trade in my worrying ways for prayer. I think I have fallen sound asleep the past 12 nights praying. I love falling asleep praying...it is peaceful...until you wake up to the moans and cries of your child and you start the cycle over again.
In my prayers I count my blessing one by one. Boy, am I blessed. An incredible husband that loves me, loves our children and is the Chirstian leader of our home. I count that blessing first. Then I think and pray for each one of our children. Everyone thinks their kids are awesome....I feel no different! Each one of them are special, different
Thursday, March 5, 2026
Where to put it....
Well, we just got back from Disney World, had Lawson home with the stomach bug for 2 days, Evelyn has a doctor's appointment in the morning and Clay and orthodontist appointment tomorrow afternoon. I mopped half the kitchen floor, did 2 loads of laundry, went to church, chases a lizard around the house, finished mopping the floor and Brantlee is out of town....typical week.
This week I am completely fired up about politics...just mad...angry...every time I turn around I want to slap the television when politics are being discussed. What is up with that??? I usually steer clear of political discussions because my lack of knowledge and fear of sounding stupid. But I am pretty sure you do not have to be a political scholar to see that the road this country is on in going the wrong direction. All the HOPE and CHANGE Obama promised has not come true....not even CLOSE. I would LOVE for someone who voted for Obama in '08 and plans to vote for him in '12 to PLEASE explain to me why. I mean that with all sincerity. Please help me understand. Please!
I don't know it I have this completely correct but if Christan's tithed the way they should, the churches of the world
I know I am a blessed person, I was brought up in a loving Christian family. I have wonderful parents who are still married and in love. My daddy worked hard to provide for us, my mom stayed home and raised my sister and me, both sets of my grandparents lived down the street. I went to a great little school and graduated with 18 people...most of which started kindergarten with me in 1980. So, I know I have no idea how bad things can be, how desperate it must feel to not have food for my family
This week I am completely fired up about politics...just mad...angry...every time I turn around I want to slap the television when politics are being discussed. What is up with that??? I usually steer clear of political discussions because my lack of knowledge and fear of sounding stupid. But I am pretty sure you do not have to be a political scholar to see that the road this country is on in going the wrong direction. All the HOPE and CHANGE Obama promised has not come true....not even CLOSE. I would LOVE for someone who voted for Obama in '08 and plans to vote for him in '12 to PLEASE explain to me why. I mean that with all sincerity. Please help me understand. Please!
I don't know it I have this completely correct but if Christan's tithed the way they should, the churches of the world
I know I am a blessed person, I was brought up in a loving Christian family. I have wonderful parents who are still married and in love. My daddy worked hard to provide for us, my mom stayed home and raised my sister and me, both sets of my grandparents lived down the street. I went to a great little school and graduated with 18 people...most of which started kindergarten with me in 1980. So, I know I have no idea how bad things can be, how desperate it must feel to not have food for my family
XXXXXXX football program has been heavy on my heart. This is not an attack or a finger pointing email, it prayerfully comes from a mom with a sick child. After praying about this for months and watching Clay struggle I just want my opinion heard. What you do with it, will be up to you. I am not against kids playing football, I just want parents to make informed decisions and for precautions to be put in place in order to make the game as safe for our kids as possible.
Since Clay's concussion I have spent countless hours reading and researching concussions and more importantly second impact syndrome (SIS.) (The statistics are alarming in young children!!!!) I'm just a mom, not a physician or sports trainer. I signed my kid up to play football because that is what he wanted to do. I bought a used helmet and pads. It never crossed my mind to think anything more than bruises or a possible broken bone would happen to him. The night of the concussion he asked to go back into the game. I whole heartily believe that if a teammates wonderful dad (who has a football past) had not told him he should sit out, we would be dealing with a completely different situation here.
Clay's injury occurred on September 15, 4 1/2 months ago. He missed close to 5 full weeks of school and eventually went back 1/2 days until he could handle the full day. When he did make it through the full days of school he would lay on the sofa until bed time. We are still under the care of Dr. Trasmonty, in Macon, a pediatric neurologist . We go back for our third visit next week. Since the concussion, Clay has been on a low dose antidepressant which helps calm the central nervous system helping with the headaches. However, he has had to drop out of his challenge groups at school due to the amount of work and headaches. The harder he concentrates the more often the headaches. He has always been an A student. Now, depending on how much sleep he has and how his head is feeling his grades have slipped (which is the least of my worries.) He used to get in bed at night and read 30-40 pages in his AR book. Now, he can only focuses long enough to read around 10 pages. To see Clay you would not see a thing wrong with him. He is non-stop motion and action, all boy and then some, riding his bike, shooting baskets, ripstiking, zip lining, climbing trees....he appears normal. But as a mom, let me assure you, he is not! He is easily upset, has trouble with focusing for long periods of time, continues to have headaches and trouble sleeping.
All these symptoms are slowly improving.
I know this is not the worse case scenario but for us it has been a hard 5 months.
With Clay's injury the ambulance never came over, nobody called it. I was told I could take him home and 5 minutes down the road I realized how sick he was, dizzy, screaming from a headache. We went straight to the ER where he failed the cognitive test and was sent directly for an MRI. I did not even know there were paramedics on sight? There seemed to be a breakdown of communication between coaches/trainers/paramedics. Again, I am not pointing a finger anywhere. I am mostly angry at myself for not educating myself or insisting more be done.
Another very dangerous aspect to all of this is that the children want to play. The players "lie" and shake off their injuries so they can get back out there...play through the pain...which when you are dealing with a head injury, playing through the pain can be fatal.
I promise this is not a soap box I am on, I have prayerfully thought about what a mom like me (not even a member of Sherwood) can do...but I have to speak my peace. I feel so passionately that parents are not MISINFORMED but UNINFORMED and as the organization providing the activity there needs to be something changed...in my humble opinion.
My thoughts are...
A mandatory parent meeting, explaining safety equipment, getting a helmet fitted properly (not buying it off Craig's list, like we did.)
A quick explanation of concussion symptoms, how to recognize them and the fatal danger of SIS.
A paramedic always on campus during games and called for all head injuries. The term "bell ringer" should be forever changed to mild brain injury.
If possible, there may be athlete's parents in the medical profession that could volunteer to "stand-by" at practices.
Again, you will not hear from me again. You can delete this or take some of my suggestions. I would be happy to speak to anyone who would like more information or ideas about this. I wish you all the best.
-- Ramsey Lawrence
Since Clay's concussion I have spent countless hours reading and researching concussions and more importantly second impact syndrome (SIS.) (The statistics are alarming in young children!!!!) I'm just a mom, not a physician or sports trainer. I signed my kid up to play football because that is what he wanted to do. I bought a used helmet and pads. It never crossed my mind to think anything more than bruises or a possible broken bone would happen to him. The night of the concussion he asked to go back into the game. I whole heartily believe that if a teammates wonderful dad (who has a football past) had not told him he should sit out, we would be dealing with a completely different situation here.
Clay's injury occurred on September 15, 4 1/2 months ago. He missed close to 5 full weeks of school and eventually went back 1/2 days until he could handle the full day. When he did make it through the full days of school he would lay on the sofa until bed time. We are still under the care of Dr. Trasmonty, in Macon, a pediatric neurologist . We go back for our third visit next week. Since the concussion, Clay has been on a low dose antidepressant which helps calm the central nervous system helping with the headaches. However, he has had to drop out of his challenge groups at school due to the amount of work and headaches. The harder he concentrates the more often the headaches. He has always been an A student. Now, depending on how much sleep he has and how his head is feeling his grades have slipped (which is the least of my worries.) He used to get in bed at night and read 30-40 pages in his AR book. Now, he can only focuses long enough to read around 10 pages. To see Clay you would not see a thing wrong with him. He is non-stop motion and action, all boy and then some, riding his bike, shooting baskets, ripstiking, zip lining, climbing trees....he appears normal. But as a mom, let me assure you, he is not! He is easily upset, has trouble with focusing for long periods of time, continues to have headaches and trouble sleeping.
All these symptoms are slowly improving.
I know this is not the worse case scenario but for us it has been a hard 5 months.
With Clay's injury the ambulance never came over, nobody called it. I was told I could take him home and 5 minutes down the road I realized how sick he was, dizzy, screaming from a headache. We went straight to the ER where he failed the cognitive test and was sent directly for an MRI. I did not even know there were paramedics on sight? There seemed to be a breakdown of communication between coaches/trainers/paramedics. Again, I am not pointing a finger anywhere. I am mostly angry at myself for not educating myself or insisting more be done.
Another very dangerous aspect to all of this is that the children want to play. The players "lie" and shake off their injuries so they can get back out there...play through the pain...which when you are dealing with a head injury, playing through the pain can be fatal.
I promise this is not a soap box I am on, I have prayerfully thought about what a mom like me (not even a member of Sherwood) can do...but I have to speak my peace. I feel so passionately that parents are not MISINFORMED but UNINFORMED and as the organization providing the activity there needs to be something changed...in my humble opinion.
My thoughts are...
A mandatory parent meeting, explaining safety equipment, getting a helmet fitted properly (not buying it off Craig's list, like we did.)
A quick explanation of concussion symptoms, how to recognize them and the fatal danger of SIS.
A paramedic always on campus during games and called for all head injuries. The term "bell ringer" should be forever changed to mild brain injury.
If possible, there may be athlete's parents in the medical profession that could volunteer to "stand-by" at practices.
Again, you will not hear from me again. You can delete this or take some of my suggestions. I would be happy to speak to anyone who would like more information or ideas about this. I wish you all the best.
-- Ramsey Lawrence
The Light at the end of the tunnel
I am so excited that this time next week will be Spring Break..shortly followed by SUMMER (63 days to be exact!!!)
I am so happy that Clay is EXCELLENT!!
I love that Lawson and Logan love Merry Acres and could not be happier! Things right now are just good and I figured since most of my blogs are written while I'm home with a sick or hurt child....I should share the positive...and there are a lot of positives today...life is not a guarantee it is a gift so today I am celebrating life being excellent!
Granny and Papa have had cousins camp for years but Evelyn was always been to young to go. Last year, she decided to have Jr. Cousin's Camp with Evelyn and her cousin Rachel. It was great and today Evelyn left for her 2nd annual Jr. Cousin's camp. Lawson and Logan just arrived safely at Epworth for their Conformation Retreat. I pray it will be a special and spiritual time for them as the near the time to be confirmed in our church. Clay is headed to a friend's house to spend the night, Brantlee is sound asleep on the back porch and I am typing listening to him snore. In a while we are going to head out to dinner and date night! See, I told you, life is good.
I think sunshine and spring make everything better. I have always known I loved summer time and all that it brings but I have never been so ready for sunshine and spring. The yard is bright and colorful, the sun feels good on my skin, even the buzzing mosquitoes can't tick me off today!
I am so happy that Clay is EXCELLENT!!
I love that Lawson and Logan love Merry Acres and could not be happier! Things right now are just good and I figured since most of my blogs are written while I'm home with a sick or hurt child....I should share the positive...and there are a lot of positives today...life is not a guarantee it is a gift so today I am celebrating life being excellent!
Granny and Papa have had cousins camp for years but Evelyn was always been to young to go. Last year, she decided to have Jr. Cousin's Camp with Evelyn and her cousin Rachel. It was great and today Evelyn left for her 2nd annual Jr. Cousin's camp. Lawson and Logan just arrived safely at Epworth for their Conformation Retreat. I pray it will be a special and spiritual time for them as the near the time to be confirmed in our church. Clay is headed to a friend's house to spend the night, Brantlee is sound asleep on the back porch and I am typing listening to him snore. In a while we are going to head out to dinner and date night! See, I told you, life is good.
I think sunshine and spring make everything better. I have always known I loved summer time and all that it brings but I have never been so ready for sunshine and spring. The yard is bright and colorful, the sun feels good on my skin, even the buzzing mosquitoes can't tick me off today!
We have some answers but still some questions...
Well, evey time I re-read a post I see what mistakes I have made and as we get closer to figuring this out I can't believe how obvious the answers were. Does that make since? Why not do a neck x-ray when you have a concussion with whip lash?? A year later you discover your 10 year old neck is completely out of whack why not demand more testing done then? why did I wait 6 weeks...I know the doctors we have seen so far are doing what they know to do. I know our neurologist is throwing pills at Clay and increasing the doses of the medication when we complain, because he is trying to improve Clay's quality of life, make the headaches less painful. Why not ask yourself, "why is this 10 year old having headaches?' I don't know...he was just treating the headaches. Then a friend suggest we see a chiropractor. At this point I will try anything...the first day, he puts his hands around Clay's neck and his eyes widen and he immediately knows what our problem is. He does an xray to confirm and it is painfully obvious his vertebrae are complelety out of line. We are told it will take 6-8 weeks of adjustments and his neck muscles should begin to strengthen and hold the adjustment. At week 6, there was an obvious improvement. We would go for an adjustment on Monday then Tuesday and Wednesday were wonderful days, headache free days, old Clay day's. By Thursday afternoon his eyes would loose their twinkle, his face would get pale...by Friday he felt horrible. We would get another adjustment and he would be good as new for a 2-3 days and the cycle continued. I tried my best to give our chiropractor the 8 weeks he asked for but I am not a patient person. I made an appointment with our favorite orthopedist that havs put close to a dozen cast on Lawrence kids. He could feel a misalignment but wanted to rule everything out so he ordered an MRI. The first MRI did not work because Clay's braces made halos over the images. We tried a second MRI at Phoebe with a higher magnet field and they were able to get a better picture. As they were doing the MRI I told the tech that the doctors were mainly interested in his C1C2C3 vertebrae. The tech told me that they could not see these vertebrae but they saw enough to know what was going on. My follow up for the results was not until Friday morning. This was Tuesday. I was very anxious (imagine that) because I was told by our chiropractor and orthopedist that the MRI would be negative and now the tech has told me they "see enough." What the hell did that mean? Friday morning came around and we have an adjustment appointment at 9:15 and a orthopedist appointment (across the hall) at 10:15. My heart sunk when I walked back to see both the chiropractor and doctor in the room together waiting for me. They proceeded to tell me that Clay has a ruptured disc in his c5c6 vertebra. The vertebrae was pressing against the part of the spinal chord that carries the nerves to the brain and leaking fluid which was irritating tho spinal chord. They explained that it was about shoulder level and when he bends his head down to read, sit at his desk, eat...it bulges that disc out pressing on the spinal chord even more. They said at his age there is still a blood supply to the disc, that with medication, rest and physical therapy this could be fixed. HALLELUJAH, PRAISE THE LORD!!! An answer and a solution!!! I like it!!!
I was on a high all day Friday, an answer, an answer, an answer....then came the self inflicted guilt. My poor child has been walking around for 14 months with a ruptured disc and having suribrospinal fluid headaches and all we did was throw pills at him.....why did I wait so long...and then the next rinkle came....his pediatrician contacted me and told me this was not something we wanted to do in Albany. He informed me that we had one shot at fixing this right and we needed to see a pediatric orthopedic spine specialist at Children's Hospital in Atlanta. SERIOUSLY...........It never crossed my mind that this was rare and that a child's neck and spine is nothing like an adults. By the age of 25 your disc between your vertebrae became hard and no longer absorb fluids. So this is a totally different ball of wax we are dealing with. This is an injury that happens in less that okay, set it up, we will be there, tell me when and where....
I was on a high all day Friday, an answer, an answer, an answer....then came the self inflicted guilt. My poor child has been walking around for 14 months with a ruptured disc and having suribrospinal fluid headaches and all we did was throw pills at him.....why did I wait so long...and then the next rinkle came....his pediatrician contacted me and told me this was not something we wanted to do in Albany. He informed me that we had one shot at fixing this right and we needed to see a pediatric orthopedic spine specialist at Children's Hospital in Atlanta. SERIOUSLY...........It never crossed my mind that this was rare and that a child's neck and spine is nothing like an adults. By the age of 25 your disc between your vertebrae became hard and no longer absorb fluids. So this is a totally different ball of wax we are dealing with. This is an injury that happens in less that okay, set it up, we will be there, tell me when and where....
We may have gotten it right...finally
It has been close to three months since I have blogged...a lot has happened. The good news is that Clay has been back in school for 3 weeks and is doing great!!! But...what a journey...
After he was placed in hospital home bound he had a teacher that came to our house a few times a week for a couple of hours. Sometimes he could work the whole time, sometimes he did not feel well enough. He was having neck adjustments every 4 days. Day one was great, day two was even better but the afternoon his headaches were creaping back and by day four he was asking when he was going back to see Mr. Davis. He was the only one that could give Clay any relief from these headaches. After 6 weeks I realized we could not do this forever and the adjustments were not holding. I beat down doors and became "that crazy mom." As a result, he ended up with 3 MRI's, a trip to Egelston and a neck brace...who knew
After he was placed in hospital home bound he had a teacher that came to our house a few times a week for a couple of hours. Sometimes he could work the whole time, sometimes he did not feel well enough. He was having neck adjustments every 4 days. Day one was great, day two was even better but the afternoon his headaches were creaping back and by day four he was asking when he was going back to see Mr. Davis. He was the only one that could give Clay any relief from these headaches. After 6 weeks I realized we could not do this forever and the adjustments were not holding. I beat down doors and became "that crazy mom." As a result, he ended up with 3 MRI's, a trip to Egelston and a neck brace...who knew
80 and Irony
I left Brantlee at home and went to a concert. Who would have ever thought??? Anyone who is my friend knows that music is a huge part of the Lawrence life. We crank it up every morning. It is the best way to start our day. It drowns out the whining and puts most of our family in good moods.
I did not grow up listening to music 24/7. Amy and I both had our own "boom boxes" and fair share of Madona, Michael Jackson and Tiffany music. We listened in our rooms, but never as a family event. When I think of music and my childhood, I think mostly of being in the boat at Lake Talquin or taking a river trip listening to Ronnie Milsap, Kenny Rogers and Dolly. We also had good times listening to tunes in daddy's truck on the way to the farm or to get a slushy.
I would see bands in college but only because they were at the establishments we frequented. I didn't follow any particular group. It wasn't until I was pregnant with Lawson and Logan that music became an everyday occurrence. I was on bed rest and when Brantlee was not working he was home taking care of me. Out of sheer boredom he picked up the guitar. He would teach himself how to play every night and I was a stuck and captive audience. Twelve years later, some of our best times revolve around music.
One of Brantlee's friends sent him some (out of the main stream) music. It was my first experience with groups that were not on the radio. Brantlee became a big fan. He drug me to a few shows. The first group I saw was Rollin in the Hay. The only reason I agreed to go was because he arranged for a babysitter for the weekend and it was time away. Sleeping in was my main event for the weekend, not the show. We saw Hay once at the Supper Club in Auburn and the other time at Salty Dogs at the beach. I admit, I had a huge misconception of the types of people who listened to this music. I was pretty sure you had to be a groupie, covered in tattoos and smoke a lot of pot to do anything like the above. Turn out, you don't!
After Rollin in the Hay we added Robert Earl Keen, The Gourds, Reckless Kelly, Randy Rogers, Ryan Bingham, Chris Knight and Cross Canadian Ragweed to our list of favorites. We have made some of the best memories seeing these groups when they come East. Unfortunately, most of them are Texas Country and only head our way a few times a year. By our way, I don't mean Albany. It is usually Atlanta, Tallahassee, Auburn or Grenville.
Luckily we have found friends in Albany who like the same groups we do. When we can't see them live, the next best thing is a jam session on the back porch with Brantlee playing their songs on his guitar and my "groupie" friends singing along.
Brantlee and I both turn 40 in 2013. Our birthday gift to each other is a trip to Austin, TX!
The Irony of it all...Brantlee got me started on this music and I left him at home with the kids Wednesday night to head to Auburn (with his blessing...somebody has to earn a paycheck and he had an 8:00 am meeting) to see Reckless Kelly at Bourbon Street Bar. 80 is how I felt after getting home at 4:00 am!
I did not grow up listening to music 24/7. Amy and I both had our own "boom boxes" and fair share of Madona, Michael Jackson and Tiffany music. We listened in our rooms, but never as a family event. When I think of music and my childhood, I think mostly of being in the boat at Lake Talquin or taking a river trip listening to Ronnie Milsap, Kenny Rogers and Dolly. We also had good times listening to tunes in daddy's truck on the way to the farm or to get a slushy.
I would see bands in college but only because they were at the establishments we frequented. I didn't follow any particular group. It wasn't until I was pregnant with Lawson and Logan that music became an everyday occurrence. I was on bed rest and when Brantlee was not working he was home taking care of me. Out of sheer boredom he picked up the guitar. He would teach himself how to play every night and I was a stuck and captive audience. Twelve years later, some of our best times revolve around music.
One of Brantlee's friends sent him some (out of the main stream) music. It was my first experience with groups that were not on the radio. Brantlee became a big fan. He drug me to a few shows. The first group I saw was Rollin in the Hay. The only reason I agreed to go was because he arranged for a babysitter for the weekend and it was time away. Sleeping in was my main event for the weekend, not the show. We saw Hay once at the Supper Club in Auburn and the other time at Salty Dogs at the beach. I admit, I had a huge misconception of the types of people who listened to this music. I was pretty sure you had to be a groupie, covered in tattoos and smoke a lot of pot to do anything like the above. Turn out, you don't!
After Rollin in the Hay we added Robert Earl Keen, The Gourds, Reckless Kelly, Randy Rogers, Ryan Bingham, Chris Knight and Cross Canadian Ragweed to our list of favorites. We have made some of the best memories seeing these groups when they come East. Unfortunately, most of them are Texas Country and only head our way a few times a year. By our way, I don't mean Albany. It is usually Atlanta, Tallahassee, Auburn or Grenville.
Luckily we have found friends in Albany who like the same groups we do. When we can't see them live, the next best thing is a jam session on the back porch with Brantlee playing their songs on his guitar and my "groupie" friends singing along.
Brantlee and I both turn 40 in 2013. Our birthday gift to each other is a trip to Austin, TX!
The Irony of it all...Brantlee got me started on this music and I left him at home with the kids Wednesday night to head to Auburn (with his blessing...somebody has to earn a paycheck and he had an 8:00 am meeting) to see Reckless Kelly at Bourbon Street Bar. 80 is how I felt after getting home at 4:00 am!
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