Teaching Elementary, My Dear Watson

48 - Health

48

Health

Monday-Friday, May 15-19

Kevin asked his captain, Graciela, "Each time we're in the field, what do you think about before the next batter comes to the plate?"

"Where's the play, coach?" she said. "When I catch the ball, I decide where I'll throw if it's a grounder, and what I'll do if I catch it on the fly."

"Perfect. And Erin, when you're up to bat, and you look at their defense, what are you thinking about?"

"Where to hit the ball for the best chance to get a single. If we have runners on base, I'm looking for a gap between the defense, or maybe where to hit a line drive over their heads."

"Yes. Keep thinking. What makes you ladies better is your decision-making." The team nodded.

The girls' softball team beat Creekside on Monday and won the rematch versus Mountain View on Thursday. Four games, four wins. Kevin concentrated on their mental decisions, making sure they had a plan before each play so they would act automatically rather than in a panic. They listened to Kevin and played within their abilities, not trying for homers.

The boys lost to Creekside on Tuesday. Their opponents were solid, smart, and disciplined. They had the athletes and hit with control, amassing a lot of runs. The other team had also won their first two games easily, so Kevin could counsel his team in a way that they would handle the loss reasonably well. Creekside was just better. Losing would never be fun, but he could point out lots of their good plays on defense, and a fair number of hits in their 8-3 loss. On Friday, they earned an upset victory over Mountain View. Thang and José were improving as batters, and the team defended well to win 4-2.

The staff meeting on Wednesday felt routine in that Smith was as boring as ever.

But Angela seemed subdued, despite Kevin's efforts at humor. I wish I could get her to smile, but I guess she's not feeling like it. Got to honor her space.

*****

On Wednesday, Kevin headed home early before Johnny was off work. Miguel and he had talked the night before about their friend. Miguel had called Jodi earlier that afternoon to discuss the opiate use concerns. Kevin called Jodi at four p.m. for the same reason.

Maybe someday they will have phones where all three of us could talk to each other at the same time. It would have been better than this tag team round-robin. But we're getting it all done.

"Hey, Jodi."

"Hi, Kevin. Thanks for calling."

"So did you and Miguel get a chance to talk?"

"Yeah. We discussed options, and I have been monitoring the quantities Johnny has been using. Since he goes to the doc solo, I don't always know what the prescription is for, but Miguel was able to get that info. I counted the pills, and it's low, but not crazy low, maybe twenty percent more use than planned for. Miguel tells me Johnny's doc has been issuing his renewal orders before the old prescription was due to be completed."

Kevin said, "That's crazy. It's like encouraging him to increase use on his own."

"I know. But it's not watched too closely by physicians. War veterans have this issue, too."

"So what are our options?"

"I love my husband, and I know you all care. So here's my plan. Miguel is going to have Johnny's doc issue the prescription early if my husband requests that he do so next time, but he'll give Johnny a bogus excuse about the government changing its monitoring and only allowing refills at the planned date from now on. That way Johnny's quantity will be limited and he will be warned, without his knowing we're involved."