CLICK HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES »

Sunday, April 22, 2012

And This Is Why

I have said it many times before, and I will say it many more times, I love all of my children.  They are all special in their own ways.  As such, we treat each of our children differently, according to their own needs, abilities, and demeanours.  The Big One is very intelligent, but not so gifted in the common sense and physical prowess areas.  As such we tend to put things of a physical or sporty nature on the back burner for her.  In fact, we often forget about them all together.  Hence the reason she didn't learn to ride a bike without training wheels until just about a week or so ago.  My Husband had tried.  Honestly he had.  I had tried.  We worked at it.  The Big One was terrified, though, and it just wasn't happening.  So, we never pushed it.  We would try for a while, see how banged up she got, realize that she wasn't ready, and wait a while.
     A few weeks ago, not long after he came home this time, My Husband decided it was finally time for sure.  He was ready for her to be ready.  She is, after all, nearing nine years old.  So, he started working with her again.  She did better.  She did much better.  They would work at it for a few hours at a time.  I would help out when he couldn't take it anymore.  It became a family thing.  The Medium One (I think I like that better than The Big Little One for a name) hadn't ever ridden on a two wheel bike before.  We just pulled out The Biggest One's old bike, and put her on it.  Off she rode.  That one does have training wheels, but I would venture they aren't long for the bike.  So, she would ride while The Biggest One would ride.  The Littlest one would sit in a wagon, a stroller, or even on a little tricycle and get a ride, too.

     It took a few weeks, or weekends at least, but finally, this past Saturday, it all clicked.  She could not only ride, but she could turn, and she was doing it all pretty well.  We were all out there watching the kids ride, until it was time for The Littlest One to get some milk and nap.  The two of us came in, and were inside for about 30 minutes, when the back door came open, and I instantly heard crying.  My husband walked in, carrying something over his shoulder.  It was The Biggest One.  Not a good sign.  He sat her down, and as she is trying to describe her wreck to me, though tear filled sobs, he is standing over her, making gestures and facial expressions  to indicate that it was a nasty spill.  She finished her story, and basically said that she had hurt her ankle, and couldn't walk on it.  I am particularly sensitive to injuries like this, having a lost a year to of my life to an ankle injury with 5 surgeries when I was younger.  So, I checked her carefully.  She really couldn't move it.  It hadn't started to swell, yet, but I feared it would soon.  I decided we would give her 30 minutes, and then recheck.  My husband ran out to get gas, just in case, and came back just in time.  The recheck was worse.  It was still extremely painful, but had started to swell, even with ice on it.  I called our insurance to let them know we were headed to the ER, and we all got ready.  The Biggest One was so upset, she couldn't even think about hopping.  So, her father fireman carried her over his shoulder again all the way out to the truck.  We all loaded up, and off we went the Rady Children's Hospital, which is thankfully only a mile from our house.
     When we got there, My Husband dropped the two of us off at the ER.  I helped her hobble inside, and sat her just in the door while I went to check in.  After waiting in line a bit behind people who think the ER is where you go when your kids have a cold, we got called up.  I told the Triage Nurse what had happened, and pointed out The biggest One, still sitting near the door.  Thanks to the head injury that resulted in an ambulance ride there, she was already in the system, and it only took a minute to get her all registered.
     Actually, I have to say that this was one of the fastest visits to an ER ever.  We only sat in the lobby for about 10 minutes at most before we were called back.  I put her in a wheel chair, and took her back.  They did a quick exam, and sent us straight to x-ray, then back out to the lobby.  After about another 10 minutes, they came to take us to a room.  The nurse put us in the room, closed the door, and it opened right back up by the Dr.  So fast that I said comment about it out load.  The Dr did another exam, and by this point her ankle was nearly the size of a grape fruit and was extremely painful.  The news wasn't great.  Not terrible either, though.  There was no break on the x-ray, but at this age, their growth plates are still open, and there could be one in there.  Those breaks don't show up on x-rays.  So, we have to go back in a week and take a second x-ray.  If there is a break, it will form a calcification as it heals, and that will show up.  That is the only way to tell if she has a break or not right now.  She also has a really bad sprain for sure.  She has to use crutches and wear an air cast.  Not fun stuff.
     All of that is a total bummer.  She was upset.  I'm worried.  A lot.  Like I said, I'm very sensitive to this king of thing since my was changed forever by having an ankle injury.
    The only upside is that for now she is still out of school, since she is on a year round track.  We have a week to get better before we have to worry about going back and dealing with crutches and school, which I think do not mix.
     I'm hoping for the best.  It could be just a sprain and were done. Fingers and toes crossed.

0 comments: