Can't get her down.

Cat hurt her leg two weeks ago.  She took it easy for about a week, then tried to play soccer in her team's first pre-season tournament, but came out of the game in tears from the pain of someone running into her bad leg after just a few minutes.  Her team ended up doing pretty well overall, but not well enough to progress into the semifinals as they'd hoped, and Cat hated having to watch the game from the sidelines, unable to help.

Today, after over an hour and a half at a sports medicine clinic, we found out that Cat's hip flexors and quad have been injured and she is not allowed to run for at least two weeks.  These doctor's orders will keep her out of her team's second pre-season tournament next week.

Cat was given specific exercises to do every day and instructions as to what types of activity are acceptable for the next few weeks, always keeping in mind that she should not allow her pain level to reach "moderate."

I snapped this picture while Cat was getting her x-ray today (to determine that her growth plates were okay)
because the x-ray technician complimented Cat on how perfectly lined up she was when he hadn't
yet told her where to stand.  Ever the over-achiever, that one.

This was a big blow.  Cat has been really excited about this new team and has already shown herself as a valuable player in their scrimmages, so to miss out on these early games is disappointing to say the least.  But what impressed me about Cat this evening was that she did not stay depressed after she got the news.

We went swimming at my sister's new apartment complex and Cat was the life of the pool party.  She played with the younger kids and helped them enjoy themselves, then after we were home and the kids had bathed and the younger ones were in bed, Cat got to work doing her exercises without a word of complaint.  Her good attitude has impressed me, and inspires me to look on the bright side and avoid letting things get me down.