Pars what?

After over a year of Tyler complaining of back pain, we finally got him moved from our pediatrician (who just retired) to our family doctor, Dr. Bhatt.  He was able to see Tyler over Christmas break and sent him to get an x-ray of the back.  While we waited for results, Tyler was prescribed a stronger type of ibuprofen and some muscle relaxants.  This seemed to help.  Finally got results today...he has a pars interarticularis defect.  After reading up on it, I am guessing it was caused from continual trauma during sports, mainly football.  There is no cure or treatment...he can only continue to take the pain medication when it flares up.  Just another quesion about sports today and what a toll they take on growing bodies.

Edward W. "Moose" Krause Chapter Dinner and Other Awards

Celebrated with Tyler last evening after visiting Chicago on a field trip with Gabi.  The Moose Krause Memorial 37th Annual Scholar Athlete Dinner.  It was a really nice dinner for student athletes where they actually gave out scholarships to some.  The menu was polish and the speaker was Mr. Reggie Brooks who gave a GREAT speech!  He encouraged the boys to not only do well in athletics, but in school and LIFE as well.  To be a role model for others.  Mishawaka actually brought 6 boys to this banquet which is truly a testament of how smart these boys really are.  One (Michael Furfaro) actually won a scholarship.  It was definitely an honor to represent Mishawaka High School. 
From the Program:
Tyler Reinoehl, Mishawaka High School
Coached by Bart Curtis, Tyler played cornerback and linebacker for the Cavemen with career totals of 102 solo tackles, 4 interceptions, 4 fumble recoveries, and 79 assisted tackles.  He has a GPA of 3.6 and is ranked 40th of 382.  His activities included wrestling and the Stay In Bounds Club.  His achievements are the BK Athlete of the Week, All NIC Football, Griddy Award, Kiwanis Athlete of the Month, Top 50 All State Linebacker and AP All State.  He plans on attending Indiana University Bloomington majoring in Business and Accounting.  His parents are Ben and Cindy Reinoehl.

Tyler also received a couple of awards at Senior Awards Night at the High School on Wednesday evening...an award for the highest GPA in Wrestling and an Academic Presidential Award.  Needless to say we are very honored to be able to attend such events and VERY proud of our boy.

Closure

Tyler had his labrum surgery today.  Everything went well.  No surprises this time and the doctor said everything was just as it showed on the MRI.  He was able to attach the labrum back with two anchors.  Tyler is is some pain...which is normal, of course, and he really doesn't enjoy the big bulky shoulder brace, but in time that will come off and hopefully, he will be back to normal.  Normal.  That is something new to Tyler.  His career in sports (since the 3rd grade) has given him a broken ankle, a bucket handle tear and two torn labrums (each side).  He is indeed ready for some R & R for his entire body and I think he is looking forward to it.  So, goodbye to sports...
We already said a very somber goodbye to football and just recently goodbye to wrestling. 
Goodbye to sports...just glad he left wrestling like this ... under the lights at Mishawaka High School with his hand raised!  (thanks Kathy!)

Good News

I was a bit worried when I got the call on Monday morning, first thing.  I spoke to the nurse and she said, "I would count on two surgeries for Tyler."  I tried to pry more information out of her but all I basically got was that Doctor still wanted to see us at the office.  Because of a viewing (Abby's grandpa) and funeral, I figured if we could fit Tyler in that afternoon, it would be best.  She did it for us.  I was nervous to say the least, but to both Tyler's and my surprise Doctor Graham came in and said he had a Grade 3 LCL Sprain and NO surgery was needed.  I questioned what the nurse said and his response was that she was reading it and since this knee was one that was operated on previously, the MRI report was stating that he had hardly any cartilage there, etc. - just what is left of the last surgery I guess.  Good news for us, finally.  Tyler will only be having his shoulder operated on next Tuesday.  Please keep him in your prayers. 

As for a little humor...my mom shared a story from yesterday regarding Reese.  My mom picked up a Ken Doll - beach one with dirty blonde hair and was opening it for Reese to play with.  Reese grabs it and says, "This is Tyler."  My mom just laughed and laughed.  Today at Circle Time I asked which doll was Tyler and she picked up that very one and hugged him and said, "My Tyler."  Tyler then had to sit next to Reese at the table to eat lunch.  So cute.

Last Wrestling Match

Mishawaka couldn't pull out the Sectional win this year and it has brought Tyler's season to an end sooner than anticipated.  He did well though.  Up till now I have been somewhat discreet on my postings because of Tyler's well being but I know word has been out about him being hurt.  I honestly can't say that many knew how badly he was though.  Tyler found out he had a labrum tear in his good shoulder (the one not operated on last year) right before the Penn dual meet this year.  They talk about the tear in "clock" terms since the labrum is round.  He has two tears but could be considered one big one from 11:00 to 7:00.  That is well over half of his labrum and any tear would require surgical repair.  Tyler was forced to make a decision.  Stick it out with the team or get surgery immediately.  Ben and Tyler met with Darrick right after the word from the doctor.  After talking, Tyler decided to go ahead and stick it out...only wrestling when he was really needed (mainly big team matches).
Week after week we watched Tyler wrestle.  Some he was on and off the mat within twenty seconds (the way we like it!) while others I sat and cringed watching the opponent crank on his shoulder.  There has even been a few times where I have sat and watched Tyler cry in pain.  It has NOT been easy.
Then, last week...against Clay as we won our NIC title...Tyler had to injury default.  Not because of his shoulder...his knee popped during the match and could barely move it.  The trainer thought it could have been blown completely until she saw him the next day.  Conclusion for her...strained lcl, possibly tear in the hamstring.  So, this week Tyler has practiced with his knee completely taped, trying to get ready for Sectionals.  We knew it would not be easy the way the brackets were set up.  Penn could beat us (with the help of other teams) quite easily if we didn't wrestle lights out.
Tyler was seeded 4th.  He had Sunny Windhorft from Laville first.  I thought it would be fast, but it ended up being a longer match...Tyler pinned him in the third period.  This gave the Laville kid plenty of time to work on the injuries Tyler already had without even knowing it.  I was concerned after the match when Tyler went straight to the trainer's room to get ice and re taped.  Tyler said the knee had popped out again but they had taped it tighter. 

Next up was the first seeded kid (Nate Coddens from Riley) who has looked solid all year so far.  Snyder and Tyler talked out a plan but I think Coddens was just too strong for Tyler at this point.  Tyler got teched but was glad to not give up a fall.

By this point the team knew Penn had edged ahead of Mishawaka because we had lost nearly half our wrestlers in the second round while Penn had advanced.  I was very curious as to what Tyler would do.  They had a team meeting and Tyler shared with us that he went to Darrick and said, "Coach, would you be so kind to coach my last high school wrestling matches today?"  Snyder replied, "Absolutley, Tyler.  It has been my pleasure to coach you and I appreciate you sticking it out for us."  I knew Tyler was going to be done.  Even though the top four advance to Individual Regionals (and he could make it), Tyler had no intention on moving ahead individually.  This had been about "team" for him and it was almost over.  He did, however, want to go out on a good note so he had planned to wrestle lights out his last two matches.
Edar Gallegos from Adams was his next match and Tyler won this match to go on to wrestle for 3rd or 4th place.  This meant he could advance to Individual Regionals next Saturday.

His match was against Zach Johnson from Clay...the kid who actually was wrestling Tyler when his knee got hurt and had to injury default.  It was touching to see Tyler walk to the corner with Coach Snyder one last time.  This time he had his dad with him to film and "Millhouse" along with Coach to be there and watch him in his last match of his career.  Tyler won 3-0 placing 3rd in Sectionals. 

We are so proud of him for sticking this thing out.  For wrestling all these years even being hurt so much!  And Coach Snyder.  What an awesome guy.  We will forever be grateful for his confidence he has instilled in our boys.  He took the time to work with Tyler after he broke his leg (going into the 9th grade) - to beat the fright of getting back on the mat.  And this was before we even were enrolled at Mishawaka.  Coach Snyder's love of the boys who love the sport has shown through by his time he puts in.  We will forever love this coaching staff...Coach Darrick Snyder, Coach Fabian Chavez, Coach Mike Strycker, Coach Mike Lehman...these men make a difference.  Great coaches. 

I can honestly say we have a great bunch of boys this year.  Watching Penn win this year was hard for us because we knew the potential we had if all our boys were healthy.  It definitely would have been different.  But these boys didn't cry about it and we didn't make it publicly known...we worked harder and tried different techniques to work around the injuries as best we could.  We have a young team that only looks to be tougher next year...much to accomplish and they will.  I know they will. 
But for now...our high school wrestling is over and it is sad.  The brotherhood...the bonds...the families.  Will all be missed.  Proud of Tyler today.  You have been a REAL class act.  What a way to go out...at Mishawaka...with his dad, Millhouse and Coach Snyder beside him...under the lights....a win :)

Senior Night - Clay

Can't believe the time has come to watch the FINAL wrestling home dual meet that my sons would ever participate in.  Where has the time gone?????  This match was for the NIC title so it was important.  Tyler was set to wrestle.  They wrestled under the lights for them and our seniors wore their white championship singlets.  It was a special time.  Unfortunately, he had to injury default to his kid...more on that to come.
10 seniors say goodbye this year.  I had the opportunity to make the Senior Flyers along with the Wislers.  Pretty happy with the turnout.  Also were able to make showcase tables for each senior like we did with Trenton.  Also happy that we got that done and able to use it for graduation.  Soooo happy that we had so many family members come to support Tyler last night.  That is one thing I am extremely thankful for.  We could not ask for a better set of family on both sides.  My parents, Chad/Amber and family, Ben's dad, his brother and sister, Aunt Annie and Uncle Jay, Aunt Becky all were able to come.  On a good note...we are NIC Champions!  Won the meet 39-27 
I still don't think I have grasped the concept of not having a kid on the mat...well, high school, that is.  Even so, not sure what Trenton is thinking about next year.  With all his hurdles and with school really taking presidence...it seems wrestling may be coming to an end with him also.  We will have to wait and see.  Boys sporting events could be coming to an actual close.  I have to say though, it has been an awesome 7 + years of wrestling and being able to be a Mishawaka Cavemen has definitely made it all the more sweeter.  Oh we will most definitely be around here and there at the meets to come, but it just won't be the same knowing my son is not out there.  The plus side is...maybe my blood pressure will get better ;)
So here is to Senior Night and here is to the MANY years of wrestling.  Many memories.  Many good times.   

NIC Superdual

So maybe it was our faults that Tyler lost his first match of the NIC against Riley (2-8)... we allowed him to go to a Wiz Khalifa concert with Abby, her brother and his roommate and his buddy last night.  We were originally told he would be back around 1 am and Abby would be driving home so he could sleep the whole way.  Things suddenly changed as soon as he arrived in Indy.  I got a text saying it wouldn't start till 9 pm, possibly 10 pm.  And with them having to take Abby's brother back to school (Ball State) it would be a 4 hour drive back home.  Needless to say, we were not happy.  I missed Tyler's first match against Riley (Nate Coddens) and agreed with Ben that he needed to be there for Tyler since it was a pretty big match.  While I was at Gabi's basketball game I got the text saying he had lost and basically didn't do much in the match.  Ben was disappointed.  He felt like Tyler could have done much better and was blaming it on Tyler being lethargic.  So, of course, Ben told Tyler what he thought, Tyler didn't like it and things were kind of tense till I got there.  Tyler sat out the second round against Elkhart Central.  Coach decided to wrestle him against Niles (Jacob Hill) and against Marian.  Tyler pinned them both in the first periods.  I was glad.  I didn't want to see Tyler in pain and I didn't want Ben to think Tyler was slacking.  Regardless, I can say we were glad to see him wrestle today.  We are surely looking forward to Senior night Thursday where we will be showing off Tyler's younger years, etc.  Big meet against Clay for the NIC title.  Should be interesting.

More photos from Bellmont

A friend captured these for me and I love them :)
Thanks Kathy!

2 For 2 at Bellmont

Tyler wrestled twice at Bellmont yesterday and won both times!  The team had Fairfield the first round and won 33-21 but Tyler did not wrestle.  He wrestled against Bloomington South (ranked #14), the second round (Dakota Thacker, freshman) and beat him 11-3.  The team did well - winning 39-24. 

Next up was Bellmont and Tyler sat out this round, along with a few that were pretty banged up, leaving the team to lose this round, 30-38.  Round four was against Whitko (Wes Gensch, junior) and Tyler got a pin in about 50 seconds or so.  The team won this round as well, 60-14. 

The last round was against #2 ranked Perry Meridian where Tyler sat out with the others who are injured...and the team lost 10-54.  A good tournament to say the least and with several of our wrestlers still banged up, this gave some opportunity to let them wrestle against some easier teams and sit out against the rougher ones.  This year has been frustrating for Coach Snyder...he has said several times that this is the most banged up team he has EVER had.  We are young, with only 10 seniors this year...7 being starters but 5 injured (3 done for the season)!  It's definitely been a trying year so far and we are really hoping for the best come Sectional time.  Considering Tyler has been hurt pretty much 3 out of the 4 years, we were hoping for a good year this year...seems to not be happening though.  Tyler does seem to be encouraged though, he keeps the team in good spirits as a leader and this does my heart good. 

Golden Boy

84-0 win over St. Joe last night.  Tyler wrestled.  Stuck his kid in like 20 seconds.  Ran a move called the "golden boy" - a move Steven Sandefer would run and would "wow" the crowd.  Pretty cool!

Also got the chance to meet Tyler's workout partner...a freshman named Nathan Szalay who they call "Millhouse" because he supposedly looks like him (from The Simpsons).  Anyways, he is a fairly new wrestler and Snyder puts him with this boy because there is no chance of hurting Tyler.  Well, "Millhouse" said he really enjoys working with Tyler because alot of the JV kids don't push him hard enough and he wants to get better.  He says Tyler is good, even if he is hurt.  He was also super excited that Tyler wanted him in his corner last night.  What started out as somewhat of a joke (trying to go super easy) by putting him with "Millhouse" has started to grow on Tyler.  "Millhouse" asks for advice and really wants to learn and that is good.  I keep telling Tyler that one day "Millhouse could be wrestling for a state title and he could very well give you alot of the credit" :)  I think Tyler enjoys working with him and Tyler officially calls him "my boy" now.  We will definitely be keeping an eye on "Millhouse" in the coming years and wish him only the best! 

So, without further adieu...the "golden boy" -

War Wounds

Tyler gave it a good shot against Penn last night but lost his match 3-4 after an injury :(  With the team being as beat up as they are, it was a heck of a ride though.  The scene was set...we moved all the shower curtains over to the old gym, the lights were dimmed, the dj was there playing music and the crowd had come!  A great atmosphere for a wrestling meet.  Loved every minute...even the tense ones.  Mishawaka beat Penn with a final score of 30-22  Tyler is definitely adding to his list of war wounds...