When my brother and I were growing up, we spent many days
tinkering on the piano at my aunt’s house and on the organ at my grandparents’
house. We never had our own piano, but I always longed for one. Fast forward
many, many years and that longing still hasn’t subsided. When I mentioned it at
dinner one night, my youngest said he’d always wanted to learn. The kid has the
hands for it – long, slender fingers and the patience and dedication to
learning new things. So, began my new quest.
And then, the injury happened. On the last day in January, I arrived just
like any other day for pickup at the high school, only to find my son limping
his way out of the gymnasium doors. All it took was one look at his leg when he got in the vehicle. I knew this was a serious injury and we drove to the emergency room. After
x-rays that afternoon, an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon the next day and an MRI, we learned that a
dislocation had occurred as well as a tear in some ligaments. Surgery was
scheduled for early February.
Very long story short, this poor child has now been through
three surgeries to correct the dislocation, torn ligaments, and a monumental
defect to the cartilage between the patella and femur. Unfortunately, the repairs also involved a full
tibial osteotomy and he is now the proud owner of some pretty cool “hardware.” The
recovery is very long indeed, somewhere between twelve and eighteen months; but
we had an excellent surgeon, so the prognosis is very good. Our son's dedication and ability to look on the bright side of things amazes us every day!
Of course, the timing is miserable. We had big plans to take a wonderful "tropical" vacation this year, but alas that had to be postponed. Summer is no fun to be stuck with a "thigh to ankle" immobilizer and a set of crutches. So, we were presented with an urgent need for activities that don’t involve a lot
of movement. Enter the idea for the piano. I was looking, but hadn't found something that really spoke to me, so we decided to purchase a keyboard now, and upgrade to a piano later on, when I found the perfect one. This way, our injured boy can learn the basics while he is non-weight bearing, perfect his skills and build a new talent.
Amazon is great for so much these days, and now more than ever, I heavily
rely on that white van to drop off my goods. We ordered a
Yamaha 61-key keyboard and it was delivered two days later. We chose not to
purchase the metal stand with it, as we could pretty much guarantee that the
stand would not surpass the “lab entourage” we have here in the house.
Every so often, I hear Chopsticks being played in the other room and I smile.
