Tuesday May 05, 2009

Ryan Surgery; Baseball; Recruiting

Ryan Surgery
Sorry about not writing yesterday. I was in Charlotte, NC at Carolinas Medical Center most of the day. Ryan underwent a medial, ulnar nerve graft yesterday. This is needed to hopefully help with the nerve damage to his right elbow. His right pinky and ring finger have been numb for some time and he is unable to write or feed himself with his right hand.

There is a 75% chance the surgery will be successful enough that he will have improved use of his pinky, ring finger and thumb on his right hand. The nerve regenerates at one mm per month so we will not know if the surgery is successful for nine months. If it is not success there is a second option. They could perform a muscle tone and graph which is more in-depth and the doctors don’t want to resort to that surgery.

Ryan was in the hospital for about six hours and surgery lasted about two hours. He will be in a splint for two weeks. The doctors said the surgery went very well. He said the nerves matched up very well. He said sometimes the nerves don’t match up and that causes some concern but the two they used today were matches and this will help the chances at full recovery.

I got back late last night and I am dragging today but it was worth the drive to see him. Ryan was in a great mood after the surgery and I am so encouraged after hearing the doctor.

Two things hit me yesterday. One was when Ryan thanked me coming up for his surgery. It was so fulfilling and I would not have missed it for the world.

The other thing was when I received more clarity as to the severity of Ryan’s traumatic brain injury. I continue to see how much I was in denial last summer after the accident. Either no one told me or I was only hearing what I wanted to hear from the doctors. I was reminded how severe Ryan was “posturing” even one month after his accident. They reminded me again yesterday how this was a bad sign. I was told again yesterday how serious his accident was and how close we came to losing him.

I know I probably write about Ryan too often and I know I talk about him too often but I just spent four days with him and I am overcome with several emotions. Ryan is thriving. He gets so much better every day. We are so blessed. He is truly a miracle and we are blessed to witness it every day. Your prayers have meant so much in his recovery.

Baseball
Man, this baseball team has to be driving Jack Leggett crazy. Coaches just want a team to reach its potential and they preach consistency. This team is not reaching its potential and the only consistency is inconsistency.

Sunday’s loss in the finale to Maryland is inexcusable. Maryland is a bad baseball team that has no business beating Clemson. But when you make four errors and leaving 13 runners on base then you can blow leads to inferior opponents.

Can anyone figure out Chris Dwyer? One start he looks like a polished Friday night stopper and the next he looks like a freshmen that has no command. Unfortunately, he is not alone.

Addison Johnson has been in an awful slump while Brad Miller and John Nester are all of the sudden hot hitters.

This team has so much potential and is a dangerous out for anyone in the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Then again, they are not consistent enough to be considered a serious post-season threat.

Last week I told you about the chase for 40 regular season wins and the chance is still there with eight remaining games. But is this team good enough and mature enough to reel off eight in a row?

Recruiting
I have a theory about recruiting in the state of South Carolina this year. I think some of the top players will commit but many will take a “wait and see” attitude. Many that will commit will be even more of a soft commitment than ever. Several of the top players may commit to out of state powers but still look at the Tigers and Gamecocks.

When Tommy West and Brad Scott patrolled the sidelines at Clemson and South Carolina, respectively, they lost several of the top prospects to out of state schools like Tennessee and Florida State. I thought Tommy Bowden, Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier did a better job of keeping the best players in the state. This year is not as stable in the Palmetto state, so I could see players looking to out of state schools for stability.

I think players want to see what the Tigers and Gamecocks do in 2009.

Spurrier used to be referred to as the “Evil Genius” but he his offenses have not been lighting things up in Columbia. Can a current junior in high school know that Spurrier will still be there when he is a junior in college?

What does a junior in high school know about Dabo and his new staff? What will his program look like when that high school junior is a college junior?

I just think more players will take more of a wait and see attitude this season than they have in years past.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Mrs. Kathleen Bowers, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Sandy Wright, Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, Edward Putman, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, William Perry.