Makenna Grace

Well her skills have paid off. She is rather bossy and apparently her technical theater teacher sees leadership qualities in those skills. When the assistant stage manager (ASM) for the upcoming spring show of Peter Pan had to drop out to have surgery on her foot, he asked the other student leaders who they thought could handle the role and they unanimously selected Makenna. From all accounts, this isn't a role offered to underclassman traditionally so she is rather pleased with this accomplishment. We are stressing the importance of grades and her health as she balances a very demanding schedule with high stress but she is thrilled to have the opportunity.

She no sooner accepted the role than her knee gave out while she descended the stairs on the 19th. She was surprised by it but claims she wasn't in any pain until she put weight on that knee immediately after. As it turns out, my ignore it until it goes away policy isn't fool-proof. So Makenna and I met with an orthopedic surgeon yesterday to evaluate the knee since nine days of wrapping, icing and ibuprofen weren't helping.

Her knee cap is no longer aligned. There is also a chance she experienced a small hairline fracture in the bones that collided on impact when her knee dislocated.  So she is wearing a knee brace with a metal support in it that is forcing her knee back into position. She is also supposed to be attending physical therapy a few times a week for four to twelve weeks as needed to strengthen the muscles in the hips and thighs so the knee isn't bearing unnecessary wear and tear. Where it is exactly we are going to squeeze that into our schedule and budget remains to be seen.

She was relieved to report to her teacher, who was at this point fairly certain the ASM role was jinxed, that she should be up and running by show time in March and will not require surgery. However, through the course of our conversation with the surgeon we learned Makenna's growth plates in x-rays indicate she is finished growing. The look on her face was priceless and I failed to stifle my laughter. I owed her lunch at Wild Eggs afterward as result but still enjoy teasing her. My mom says we only grow until we're perfect so Makenna just got there early. I prefer to say she is fun size. She is sticking with Five Feet of Terror but holding out hope she can stretch out a few more inches despite evidence to the contrary.