Another injured teen

Isaac and Will have been playing basketball each week with some of the kids from the 2nd ward.  Isaac's feet have these giant angry blisters covering his feet.  He has decided just to go and watch and hang out instead of playing.  He left with socks and sandals.  Thirty minutes after he left, while washing dishes, I got a text asking if we could come and pick him up. He had injured his ankle by deciding to play anyway, in just his socks. I might have been close to a breakdown when I got the text.  Mike was determined to give Isaac a stern chewing out but I convinced him that Isaac would already feel dumb enough and that the chewing out wouldn't do anything but ake him feel worse.  Mike showed up to find Isaac's ankle hugely swollen.  He piggy-backed him to the van and Isaac spent the drive home apologizing and agonizing over how much more complicated my life would be now.  I appreciate that he was concerned for me.  We had already played musical beds by switching up where all the boys sleep so that Eli could be in the room with the bigger bathroom.  That meant that Isaac was on the top bunk where Will usually sleeps and now there was no way he could get to the top and both boys needed crutches so we had to take the mattress off the bed and put it on the floor.  

I spent the next morning trying to get a referral for the doctor.  I've already explained that getting a referral is complicated and made more complicated by usually being put on hold for much longer than I have patience for.  I ended up being on hold for 60 minutes and never did get anyone on the phone.  I was tempted to throw the phone across the room.  I finally uploaded an app on my phone that gave me a direct number to the nurses over Tricare here in Japan.  They got me a referral and I was able to take Isaac in an hour later.  The doctor did an x-ray and didn't see any break but he said sometimes fractures don't show up on x-rays (my broken knee did not show up on an x-ray) so if it doesn't get better within a month to bring him back.  The nurses were super confused when I asked for a second pair of crutches to rent, explaining that the ones we brought with us were not for him, but for his other injured brother who needed the crutches. I ended up going to the doctor four times this week between the two boys. 

There is more to the story that complicates things but I'll just give you the good parts--after another talk with insurance while standing in a "guerrilla rainstorm" because my phone doesn't get reception in the doctor's office, I eventually hung up on the sweet Japanese lady denying me another referral.  I ended up having to email her a few minutes later and apologize for being unkind.  There wasn't any unkind words exchanged or any raising of my voice but hanging up on people is, in my opinion, unkind.  

His ankle looks awful--so wickedly bruised and swollen.  He is also in pain but we've wrapped it and hope it will get better soon.  We have a trip to an ARBNB near Mt. Fuji this week and no one wants to cancel another trip for an injury so we've decided to go anyway and Isaac and Eli will just hang out together while we go do things.  It sounds lame but they can't do anything anyway so we might as well have them not do anything in the ARBNB.  I hope that the traditional Japanese house won't be too difficult for them to navigate with crutches.  Steve and Carol are joining us.  They get released from their mission in September so this is our last big thing with them until the last week they are in Japan, when they will come and stay with us before they fly home.  

Thankfully, his injury happened after his birthday.  We spent his birthday in Yokahoma at the CupNoodles Museum.  We originally wanted to go to Chinatown but the feels like temp was in the 100's so we decided to go to the CupNoodles Museum instead.  Isaac loves ramen and he was excited to get to make his own Cup-o-noodles.  I read the night before that you could buy tickets at Lawson but I didn't know how to do that so we just tried to get there early enough to get tickets at the museum.  When we got there we discovered that the tickets to make your own noodles were all sold out.  I was feeling really bad, trying to figure out what we could do instead that would not be too lame for his birthday.  As we were discussing what to do this Japanese man approached us and said he had four free tickets he'd like to five us.  He had four tickets for a co-worker who ended up not being able to come.  I was so grateful.  It was definitely a tender mercy.  Steve, Carol, Will, and I went upstairs and waited outside in the shade while Mike, Isaac, and the two girls made their own cup-o-noodles.  

After, we went to the mall across the street for a sweet treat (a crepe, some ice cream, a smoothie) and then drove home for dinner and dessert.  Isaac requested cajun chicken and raspberry brownies. I think he had a good birthday and we all loved celebrating him.  I love him so much.