2015 son was diagnosed back in July with a partial UCL tear. He was initially told he needed TJ surgery by local orthopeodic, but he suggested a second opinion with Dr James Andrews. We saw Dr Andrews in mid September. His evaluation at that time was PT with no throwing or hitting for 6 weeks. We were to follow up with him at the end of October. He told us initially that some healing had already began, but he couldn't rule out surgery completely until the PT and F/U MRI. We saw Dr Andrews on October 29. The MRI revealed basically a healthy ligament. There was one small area that was of some concern but overall Dr Andrews was very optimistic. He started son on a very regimented throwing program. It was awesome to be able to throw with my son again after roughly 3 months of no throwing. He also turned son loose to resume hitting. Son was a me to actually DH in a scrimmage game this past weekend. You truly don't appreciate things until you do without them. I can remember the sickening feeling when hearing the local orthopeodic tell son TJ would most likely be required after the initial MRI. The wave of emotions are almost impossible to describe, as I'm sure many here can attest to. But it paled in comparison of seeing son out on the diamond again, only if in a very limited role. I can't explain why son didn't require surgery, other than to say I truly believe it was a miracle. We prayed daily for God to do a miracle in this case if it was His will. We were expecting the worst, but we held out hope for the best. Now I am cautiously optimistic, even though Dr Andrews' assessment at this time is very positive. I guess I will be holding my breath whenever the time comes the he is a me to turn that first pitch loose. I know there will have been hours of throwing and long toss along with bullpens that will have been thrown, I really will not believe he is totally okay until after that first game is throw without incident. Sorry for the length, but I just wanted to be of some help if there are others in similar situations. I know it helped us so much to read JH and others experiences when we got our initial assessment. I know I, for one, will never take another game of my son's for granted. It really doesn't matter your talent level, it can all be over in the blink of an eye.
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But, I do think that this incident opened my son's eyes and even scared him a bit into understanding the importance of arm care, but before the game and after. So at least now he will listen to the things I tell him and not just think I'm some dumb old guy making up excuses for him to work.
