June: Our Family's First Broken Bone

Our family experienced our first broken bone three weeks ago.  Owen and Kate were jumping from the guest bed to an air mattress on the floor one afternoon.  I watched them do it a few times and then suggested that they not jump anymore so as not to hurt themselves or the air mattress.  Owen was standing beside me on the floor and Kate was still on the guest bed.  I told them I was going to let the air out of the mattress to put it away.  Just as I opened the valve Kate decided to jump onto the air mattress which was quickly losing air.  She landed on her knees on the floor and immediately started crying.  I picked her up to see what was wrong and she couldn't put weight on her right leg.  I immediately panicked and called Tyson who told me to call the pediatrician to see if they could get her in to check it out. I was hopeful that it was just a sprain because within 5 minutes she had stopped crying and was eating a snack.  Owen was so concerned about her and kept telling her that she'd be okay. 

The pediatrician thankfully got us in within 30 minutes.  On our way to the doctor she fell asleep in the car because the accident happened right before naptime.  The doctor took some xrays of her right leg.  We both thought that she might have sprained or possibly broken her ankle because Kate told both of us "don't touch it".  As it turned out she had a buckle fracture on her tibia just below her right knee.  We were given a prescription for Lortab and sent home for the night.  I'm sure that she was in pain but Kate did so well that night.  We gave her a dose of Lortab and put her to bed assuming that she would have a rough night.  She slept from 9pm-7am without making a sound!

The next day we made an appointment to see an orthopedist for a cast.  Thankfully Grandmother offered to come help since we weren't sure what the next few days would be like.  She made it just in time to go to the appointment with us which was such a huge help.  She entertained Owen and held Kate while I filled out all the paperwork at the doctors office.  The kids were entertained by the fish aquarium that was in the waiting room.  Kate did amazingly well at the appointment.  When given a swatch of colors for her cast, she chose "bink" aka pink.  She sat very still on my lap while the nurse wrapped her leg.  Owen was very interested in the casting process and ordered a blue cast for when he gets a cast.  Let's hope that doesn't ever happen!

On our way home from the orthopedist's office we stopped at Target and I bought Kate a special present for being such a good patient.  She was happy to have a new baby doll and a baby swing to put her in.  That evening she had a hard time adjusting to the cast.  She actually had a tearful breakdown while trying to play upstairs with Grandmother, Owen and Daddy.  She hit her cast with her little hand and said "get it off, I want to walk".  Then she laid in the floor and sobbed for a few minutes.  After that she started trying to take steps and crawling to get toys.

Over the next few days she took more steps and managed to climb onto the couch and up the stairs.  She also figured out a way to do a somersault out of her brother's pottery barn chair.  Thankfully it's low to the ground!  She did a perfect somersault, cast and all!

We took her back for a one week checkup and the doctor and nurses were amazed at how well she was doing.  She didn't want me to carry her or hold her hand in the office. So she walked her sassy self back to the casting room. The nurse saw the wear and tear on Kate's cast shoe and said "this hasn't slowed her down much"!  They took an xray of her leg through the cast and said that the fracture was lining up nicely and we should come back in two more weeks.  They said that there's a chance that the break will be healed and she can have the cast removed then.  That would mean 3 weeks with the cast rather than 6 weeks as originally suggested. 

Fast-forward three weeks from the accident and she is doing great with her cast. It's waterproof and can be submerged in a bath or a pool. So far we've taken her swimming once and she had a great time. We've mostly given her "shower baths" as Owen calls them with the handheld shower head. The cast dries quickly with the help of a hair dryer. Kate walks everywhere now and climbs on everything: the stairs, her chair at the kitchen table, the couch and Owen's bed. She started sleeping all night again which is such a blessing. She is a tough and spunky little girl and I am so proud of how she has handled this hurdle.

New family rule: NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!

The morning after the break and before the cast.
Notice the black eyes that remain from her earlier accident!

She loved riding as Owen pushed.

Gettting her "bink" cast.

Owen was very interested in the process.

She was so patient and still.

Love my little mama!

At home with her new baby doll.

Having fun with the baby swing and doll.

Realizing that she can't walk just yet.  Poor baby girl.