Upset and venting

[lannamavity]

Quote:
Originally Posted by littlerock dd is scheduled for surgery on the 23rd. Apparently the bone is colapsed and they will need to open it back up, take a bone graph from her arm, and place a pin in. She will be in a cast for 6 - 10 weeks. I am numb right now becasue the only response we received from the coaches was that "gee we didn't realize it was that bad". I know it is all water over the bridge at this time but I think they should have a least apologized or something for not listening to her. Am I being too sensitive and does this happen all the time in the gymnastics world?

While I understand your frustration, that may be as much as the coaches can say. No coach is ever going to say "I'm sorry I'm negligent, now feel free to sue me..." I'm sure they feel horrible.

I do need to thank you for your original post. I read it a while back and it came to mind when one of my athletes complained about pain in her wrist which had been on and off for three weeks.

I decided to make her mother take her to get an MRI and it turns out that she has displaced and torn cartilage in her wrist and requires surgery. She will be off her arm for three months minimum. She doesn't remember exactly how she did it, but at least we know what the injury is and it is being taken care of.

So I thank you for your post, and hope your daugher's surgery is successful.

[DynamicMom]

I don't think your overreacting at all. Your a mother before a gym parent. It's your maternal instant and right to be mad as heck. Just think of what your poor child had to go through every time she told a coach she was hurt. I can understand a coach not wanting to be sued but coaches are suppose to be someone a child can turn to when there is something wrong. I can just imagine all the times she complained about it and all the times someone thought she was a whinnier! The least you should get is a true heartfelt apology from her coach, that is not to much to ask. We try to teach our children to apologize when they have done wrong and if her coach can't give you a real apology when they mess up then I would be concerned about what kind of people are influencing our kids!
I hope the surgery goes well for her!

[Livinatthegym]

FWIW, I don't think you're being too sensitive. Whether they say anything or not, the coaches ignored complaints of pain. The very least they should do is apologize; although the gym, fearing a lawsuit, may not allow that. And really, the gym ought to be nervous. This is a serious injury. The athlete complained of pain, and the coaches did nothing.

Does this happen all the time in the gymnastics world? I don't know because I've only been exposed to one piece of it. If I had to guess, though, I imagine that the higher the level, the more likely you are to find this kind of thing because the stakes are higher. Level 4 is fun, but it's no great claim to fame for a gym to say they trained the level 4 state champion. Now, a national champion? A high number of NCAA full ride athletes? You can see how a gym might be tempted to push.

[flippymonkeysmom]

First off - I will be thinking of you and praying for your dd that the surgery goes well and that she heals fast.

Second - you have every right to be furious. I'm sure they did not intend to let her make an injury get worse, but they need to take any complaint of ongoing pain seriously. Unfortunately sometimes the mindset is, 'if it is injured really bad, they won't be able to do anything on it - so it must not be that bad'. As parents of these crazy determined gymnasts - we know that isn't true. Hopefully this will open their eyes in the future - as it did for lannamavity. I doubt you will get an apology from them because of the liability issues - but I have a feeling they must be feeling pretty miserable about it.

Again - good luck with the surgery. (((hugs)))