…and then there was Zane

So there we were…literally getting in the car to head home from the TGC conference in Indy…when my phone lit up with a call from Danville School. That’s never good…not my first rodeo and all…but there are times when even I’m taken aback. Admittedly, my first thought was, “What did he do now?” But when I heard the voice of the school nurse (sweet Emily Enger had been calling me on Zane’s behalf for years), my concern shifted just a tad…and yet I still could not have predicted what she went on to say…

{hold on…gotta keep ‘em on the edge of their seats…that’s what they always say…for that matter, who’s “they”…the smart people, I guess}

For context, let me backtrack just a bit…this was the end of April 2025…just 3 months AFTER THE FALL…just 1 month since Eva had been upright and going to PT. I could walk on my own, in the boot, but it was very slow and laborious. In reality, I was either in a wheelchair or using crutches the entire 3 days we were at TGC…mostly, the hubs didn’t mind the wheelchair since it allowed for primo seating and quick exits admist the 7,000 or so of our closest friends. To be fair, I’ll admit that it probably wasn’t the best decision to even attempt that trip given my circumstances, but “stir-crazy” doesn’t quite cover the mindset after laying around on a hospital bed for 3 months. Every day felt like 48 hours, ya know?! So it was happening, even if they had to wheel me over in a stretcher…wait, too soon. But wheel me around, he did. This is real love, folks. Oh, and plus, I got to meet and talk with David Platt! WooHoo!

{ok…are you ready…drum roll…}

“Hey Eva…” (she’s dreading this phone call with every frayed fiber of her being…I can feel it through the phone)

“Oh great…what happened now?”

“How quickly can you get to the school?”

“Ummm…5 hours…we are leaving Indy now…why, what’s going on?!?”

(Chris’ eyes widen as he hears about yet another catastrophe via this one-sided conversation. Y’all should check on him…probably dealing with some PTSD even now)

“Well…Zane did a back flip on the field…but the grass was wet…and when he landed, his left leg slipped out from under him. He severely dislocated his ankle…at least. He said he’s not in a lot of pain and wants me to just ‘pop it back into place’! I told him I can’t do that…above my paygrade on all. But I’m pretty sure he needs to go to the hospital.”

Are. You. Stinkin’. Kidding. Me.

It took several days actually to square away what exactly happened, but I’ll summarize the info I’ve gathered from various sources! It was quite the scuttlebutt at the school…so I heard lots of versions! Was it PE class? Nope. Spanish. Obviously. :/ The teacher decided to have class outside on the track because it was a nice day. For those of you that haven’t lived in the Midwest, you can’t fully grasp the intense desire to be outside once the weather has finally turned…it’s a whole vibe. The rest of us in the frozen tundra get it. Anyway, towards the end of the class, the conversation turned to backflips…but of course it did. And of course, MY son says he could do one right then and there. I mean…duh. There’s some discrepancy as to whether a spotter was involved…don’t ask the flipper…but when he landed on that wet grass, the left ankle just did it’s own flip. Even Zane’s ankle has a mind of its own. By all reports, he was immediately laughing it off and saying he just needed a minute…”I’m fine…I’m good!” And just kept insisting that the nurse just “pop it back into place.”

A flurry of decisions were then made as there were MANY people talking in the background (we were still on the phone when the sirens grew closer) about what to do, given our distance. In short, here’s what happened next:

*ambulance arrived at the school to whisk him to the hospital

*the admins got another teacher to cover our son-in-law,’s Austin, classes so he could ride with Zane

*we were on the phone over and over with the hospital to approve every single med and xray and all the things

*after the shock wore off, Zane finally admitted to some discomfort…which, of course, continued to escalate quickly

*xrays reveal that not only did he severely dislocate the ankle…it was broken in 2 places, one on each bone

*surgery needs to happen…but he’d need to be moved to the U for a pediatric ortho

*Peyton arrives at the hospital to swap places with Austin and ride in the second ambulance as Zane was transferred to the children’s hospital in Iowa City for surgery

*we talked to every medical big-wig to FORCE them to allow Peyton to ride in the ambulance with Zane since his PARENTS ARE IN A DIFFERENT STATE AND BREAKING EVERY SPEEDING LAW TO GET TO HIM…they relented eventually

*our GPS is adjusted from our local hospital to the one in Iowa City

*we arrived just after they did and met them in the ER

Picture with me, if you will, the boy laying on the stretcher with a couple broken bones and a foot that’s facing in the wrong direction…and the frazzled parents arrive with the mother in a boot and using crutches. Imagine the looks between hospital staff. Hear the barrage of questions…for both of us…over and over. Poor Chris…here we go again. But also, good thing they didn’t call the coppers! I didn’t even catch on at the time because of tunnel-vision, but now I realize why they kept peppering us with questions…especially after Zane tagged on, “At least I didn’t ‘fall down the stairs’ and break BOTH my legs…like my mom did”…as he’s using the ridiculous AIR QUOTES!!! He never has gotten the knack of when to use them correctly. Ok…now I get the endless questioning. Chris better watch his back. :)

Moving on…after a lot of discussion about whether they’d set the ankle in the ER and SEND US HOME to COME BACK for surgery, they sent up his xrays to the surgeon who was in the middle of another surgery. He thankfully put an end to that talk and said he would stay and do the surgery that night…which ended up happening around 9PM. Peyton drove me home while Chris stayed overnight with Zane.

While frustrating to Patient #2, the 6 week recovery was pretty straight-forward as he could put weight on it in the boot, and Patient #1 just had to give up her fancy crutches. These are the kind of maternal sacrifices made in this family.

We’ve had multiple appointments since with his doc, (the latest being last Monday) and all looks well. The current question on the table (that the ‘rents actually need to nail down soon) is whether to do his hardware removal as well. He only has 2 screws…I say “only” simply because of the parts store that was in his mother’s ankle…but one of them is running horizontally just above the ankle joint, and the latest research shows it might be problematic long-term. In short, if it needs to come out in 10+ years, it would be best to come out now. So there’s more discussion on the table. It sounds like we’re just deciding when to put it so as to not wreck soccer season or missions trips…so it will likely be this summer sometime…surgery #13 for Zane.

AND so…you can’t miss this part…I’ve mentioned it several times in my story…but if you were in either hospital, either ambulance…or if you were any hospital staff, family member, school employee, friend, acquaintance, store cashier, drive-through worker…you know the most important part of this story from Zane’s point-of view! The most CRUCIAL element of the whole debacle…”HEY! I LANDED IT.”

That’s all he wants you to know. Nothing else matters. We’re all done here. The End.