Broken Boy

So we slammed head first into a parenting milestone this past Friday. At precisely 5:30pm, my big boy flipped himself over the arm of the couch and broke his sweet little arm. It's been quite the experience, but we are all doing remarkably well.

So the most common question (other than what happened) is "how did you know it was broken"? The answer is - I really didn't. He cried his normal "I fell" cry, but it lasted longer this time. When I asked him what hurt, he kept saying "elbow" and reaching for him arm. He cried when I took his shirt off and on and he was not as active as usual. He was, however still smiling and laughing, so we did what any stellar parents would do - we gave him Tylenol and put him to bed.

The next morning he again had issues with his shirt and was still saying "elbow". He was also having trouble getting himself off the floor (with only one arm) and just wasn't himself. I called the pediatrician and they suggested I take him to the after hours clinic, but after much internal debate, I opted for the ER. All of us went - yes, all 4 of us. We got there about 8:30 and by 9:30 we had a diagnosis: a spiral fracture of the Humerus bone (between the elbow and shoulder). When they showed me the x-ray of his little arm with that so obviously broken bone I lost it. My sweet baby was broken and in pain and there it was - right in front of my face. Horrifying. My heart was completely broken.

It was a full but clean break. They doped him up, gave him a splint and told us to call the pediatric orthopedic on Monday. We got a 10:00am appointment on Monday. They told us that this was an "interesting" break because it was so big - stretched a good portion of the bone. Also surprising that it occurred from such a seemingly benign fall. They assured us that these things happen and he probably just tried to catch himself with that arm, then twisted and "presto"!

Jennifer put on his cast. She was great. She let him pick his color and was super sweet. She also informed me that the hospital didn't do a very good job with the splint since it was much too short and was hitting him directly in the break. My poor baby! He's such a trooper. So, they built in a "loop" which allows for a sling that is connected to the cast that he has to wear all the time. It's kind of funny looking and makes dressing even more difficult, but it serves it's purpose. Dr. Capelo (who we also loved) says he will wear this for approximately 5 weeks then hopefully we will be free again - just in time for swim season.

Everyone has been so wonderful. KK came right away from Houston (even though she was just here last weekend). Papa came on Sunday to check in. Aunt Brenda and family sent a cookie bouquet that he is LOVING and for those if you that have seen the video from a few blogs back...mom made him CAKE!

Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. He's doing absolutely fantastic. He doesn't seem to mind the cast much at all. He's not in pain and he's getting back up to his normal speed very quickly.