Saturday, September 21, 2013

And Then Jack Broke His Arm

I was just thinking to myself that our lives had settled for a while.....in the routine of school and sports and fall....and then I got a call at school Thursday.

Jack was at Run Club, fell and broke his fall with his left arm.  Just like a million other falls kids take every day.  His teacher saw it.  We even giggled that she wasn't sure how he didn't see the 24 foot 'balance beam' he tripped over.  

I went to the school immediately to retrieve him.  He wasn't crying, but looked sad and hurt. The nurse examined him and since there was no swelling or immediate bruising, we thought he was fine.  I scooped up our little 2nd grader, took him home and we spent the afternoon quietly resting.  That evening, he was running through the back yard playing hide-n-seek with the neighborhood kids and even tried to ride his scooter.  He wouldn't put any pressure or strain on his left arm, but I still didn't think anything was seriously wrong. 

Sleep was rough that night.  He tossed and turned and woke often.  Friday morning, I could tell something was wrong.  He refused to use that arm entirely, it had swollen and he was very sensitive to touch.  We took the kids to school and drove south to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego.  Blake stayed back to work from home and be ready to shuffle Lainey and Carter from school to football and normal life in case our stay at Rady's went past 1pm.


Even in the ER room.....in and out for 6+ hours, he remained calm.  Such a sweet boy.

We played cars and Jack played Minecraft.  Thank goodness for Ipads and their chargers.


We went twice for xrays.  And, we nearly left after the initial round, but the doctor didn't feel 100% confident about his read, so we waited for radiology.  Thank goodness we did!  

He has a fracture at his elbow and a small one at his wrist.  


Rady's is as fabulous as everyone had said.....fantastic care and built beautifully for kids.

And, while Jack was there suffering through this broken arm, he still thought to ask me to take a picture of this for Carter:


Time for the cast!

The ER does not typically keep colored casts on hand, but they found a blue one just for Jackie.


Our happy kid.  So proud of his strength.  




He fell asleep on the way home.  ER time seems to go on forever.  We were exhausted.  


A quick stop at Sonic for a blue coconut slush and home for a quiet night. 

He woke to everyone wanting to sign his cast.  It's quite a piece of artwork already.  Blake drew an awesome spider web on his elbow.  So cool.


What a roller coaster.  This was a strange day for all of us.  I started that morning, a mess after seeing someone post a picture of a Make-A-Wish celebration at one of the local airports.  A family was preparing for Disney World, taking their child on a dream vacation....likely their last.  That stayed with me throughout the day, as we waited at the hospital.  I thought about other parents there for life-threatening issues, wondering how they were tolerating that hell.  And, I kept thinking of how lucky I was to be dealing with a broken arm.  On our goofy, happy, fantastically healthy 7 year old boy.

We can handle this.

Now we learn a whole new way of bathing, dressing, carrying backpacks, opening doors and more.  We're rookies here in this house.  This is our 4th (Blake says 3rd) ER visit and first broken bone.  Lots to figure out.

Stay tuned!

18 comments:

Unknown said...

So lucky for healthy children. Pic of the cast tattoo by Blake?

Tutus and Choo-Choos said...

Get Well Soon Jack!

Malinda said...

Poor Jack! You'll be surprised how quickly he adapts to the cast. Cason had a blue cast just like that on his left arm when he was two. He did fine with the cast, but completely freaked out when they took it off after 6 weeks. He wore the splint and extra 2 weeks because he got so used to having something on his arm and would cry when we took it off. He did it in the Summer so at least he could wear a lot of tank tops! I hope he gets well soon!

starnes family said...

I'll post a picture soon of the web tattoo. So awesome!

Dee Stephens said...

So glad it was nothing more serious. How long does he have to keep it on?

Jo said...

Tiger broke his writs the first day of the summer holidays .... So he spent his entire summer with a cast on. When the cast finally came off his wrist was extra skinny and hairy. He was horrified. 'A good-looking boy like me just can't have such an ugly wrist!'

Sarah said...

I'm glad Jack's ok! And sounds like he handled it like a champ....way better than I would have for sure.

at least he didn't break his arm because a girl pushed him off the top of the jungle gym when he tried to kiss her. yes, that happened to my younger brother when he was in 1st grade. hahaha.

Emmy said...

So glad they did take a second look so that it can get better.

I have been to Rady's, it is great! I actually went there as an adult, when I was pregnant with Ryder as they wanted me to get a special ultrasound to make sure his heart was okay (based on my heart history). It felt funny being there for myself at a children's hospital, but it ended up being great as I sat next to some parents whose little baby has very similar heart problems as I do and I ended up being able to bring them a lot of hope and peace as I am great and healthy now and was able to have kids (all things they worried about for their little girl)

Jodee said...

Bless his sweet heart. He was such a trooper! We are wishing him a speedy recovery!

Jboo said...

Hope he feels better and a bit like a rockstar with having friends sign his cast!

Vincent Family said...

Poor Jack! I hope he feels better soon.

Kristen said...

Love the perspective... and love your Jackie. He is one amazing kid.
Wonder if Quinney and I could mail a signature sticker for the cast? Think that would work?!?!?

Monica said...

Poor little buddy.

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