The Wait Is Over

The Moment of Truth

The big day has arrived in Boston. Sam, John, Yael, and Lee met Abby at the Cantu Concussion Center after training for today's final test in the concussion protocol. Today's set of tasks will be the exact same as the tests run last Wednesday. Patrick developed this method of clearance after noticing that initial clearance left too many athletes susceptible to cognitive difficulties upon return to the field due to the intense workload done to gain said clearance. Once an athlete is initially cleared, he or she will be off therapy for one week, after which the protocol is run a second time. If there is no change, the athlete will receive full clearance to return to action. If there is a decrease in capacity as a result of the seven-day rest period, then those areas which don't pass will be focused upon in order to return him or her to the initial clearance state, with another rest period, this time five days, put in place before returning for the final test. Everyone hopes that Abby will clear with flying colors today, but no one knows for sure what effect the wedding planning from the past week will have on the test.

Patrick: Abby, step onto the box and the hurdle, crouch, and shift your center of gravity as I move the objects.

Abby does as instructed and is able to maintain her balance without experiencing dizziness, giving out once her legs could no longer maintain the spread between the objects.

Patrick: One down. Now, follow this orange with your eyes as I move it around.

Patrick starts with the orange three feet away from Abby, then walks back with it until he is twenty feet away, followed by walking around the periphery at that distance until he is parallel with Abby on her right side. He walks toward her until he is six feet away, then walks behind her to come out on her left side at that six-foot distance before backing up to twenty feet. Patrick then stands in front of Abby and runs the standard follow-my-finger test from a distance of two feet. No signs of distress were noticed, either eye strain or loss of focus.

Patrick: That's the second one. We don't need to run the fitness test since that part of your recovery isn't subject to re-evaluation.

Patrick and Abby walk to his office to run the third test, which is a 20-minute conversation.

Patrick: Talk to me about your wedding planning. We saw each other on Saturday, so I know a lot about what's going on with you and Sam and overheard some of the other scuttlebutt at your place after the game.

Abby: Saturday before the game, Sam and I got together with Kristie, Steph, Megan, the other Steph, and a few others to work out some of the specifics on outfits, timing, wedding party numbers, and what needed to be done by the Chicago-based folks between now and October.

Patrick: You're having the wedding in Chicago?

Abby: Yes. We scheduled it for the day after the NWSL final, which of course we will be playing in, hopefully against the Red Stars.

Patrick: Very interesting. Guess it makes sense to do it where a lot of your guests might actually be due to the final and its festivities.

Abby: That's what I thought before I proposed to Sam.

Patrick: YOU were the asker?! I wouldn't have figured that.

Abby: Sam had been dragging her feet over us taking that next step, so I ended up using some of her closest people against her. A little conversation with our SB Nation beat writer after the trade where I hinted about Chicago and final weekend, a talk with Kristie that I think helped her get Steph to finally get over her own commitment issues, and a quiet night at home while those two were out for an early Valentine's Day dinner set the stage for me to pop the question.