Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion For Parents and Teens Bragging for a moment

If you had asked me 2 years ago if this day would come, I could not have given you an answer. But I am so tickled to share that Ry is going on to play in college :-) In full disclosure, his dad is coaching, but he won't be the first kid to play for their parent in college and beyond). Forgive the brag...I'm just so proud of the kid after all the crap that's been going on with his high school team (he resigned...conflict of ethics...let's leave it at that, as there are still some kids on the team we respect).

http://www.timesdispatch.com/sports/coll...c0d5c54e5b.html

Congratulations to Ryan! Being able to play collegiate level sports while going to school full time and dealing with illness is a HUGE accomplishment. You SHOULD be very proud of him Mom!

Congratulations!!!!

Wonderful news!! As for dad being the coach ... if anything I think it can be harder for the child-athlete as they may feel they have to prove they made it on their own merits - and the parent may feel they need to be harder on their child in order to prove they are not playing favorites!

No need to apologize for the brag. You - and Ryan - deserve it!!

Jen, we've laughed about this for years! Ry hasn't played for Martin for about 3 years, and it's been a disaster (guess that means I'm bragging on Martin too LOL)

Congratulation to Ryan!!!!

hi soccerdocmum,ive been following your posts for some time now regarding your sons battle with this horrible disease,my son (17) is a half decent football player(soccer)he plays under18s football as well as college,he was also at a proffesional academy club(bristol city)for a while when he was 11/12,but started suffering with low back pain,well after a lot of tests he was diagnosed with bi lateral sacroilitis,he too went on enbrel and it was amazing to see the difference in him,everything was fine until november 2012 when the pain came back with a vengence,another mri found the immflammation has returned,enbrel has quit working .
in the last few weeks both knees and 1 ankle have swelled requiring draining and a steroid injection,a colonoscopy revealed slight immflammation,were just waiting to be approved for humira,but its taking what seems like forever,he hasnt kicked a ball since november and he is so depressed,im sure i read on your previous post that your son too failed on enbrel and is now on humira,hows he finding it ?
Andy

Hi Soley! Sorry to hear about your son. I know what a toll this disease can take on us as adults; I think I'd rather endure complete incapacitation if it would mean my kids wouldn't have to deal with a minute of it. Ry wasn't on Enbrel; he only takes Mobic at the moment. That of course has the potential to change in time.

Right now we've been dealt a massive blow; Sunday he was on the receiving end of a clumsy challenge, and has torn two ligaments in his ankle. I'll post more separately in a few.

What a great opportunity to have had with Bristol City! I can imagine how devastated he must have been, but get him moving (or keep him moving) in some way. There are other ways to stay involved in the game, such as coaching, management, marketing...encourage him to keep his options open. Feel free to pm me if you want to talk more about this. I fully understand how football IS life for these guys....GO GUNNERS!! :-)