I’m a firm believer that if a kid is having fun, whatever that fun may be, they are at risk of getting injured. With the exception of video games and t.v. (which I don’t consider fun), every other fun activity has risk to it. ALL OF THEM.
So when our sweet little Keri was jumping on the trampoline with Niah and Afton I was not at all surprised when we heard a cry of pain. Saturday March 10 will be etched in our memory as the first official trampoline injury. I’m sure there will be many more, but we’ll never forget the first.
Apparently Niah was trying to see how high she could bounce Keri and was really good at it! Keri came down wrong on her leg and was in instant pain. We grabbed her off the trampoline and put it up with ice (assuming it was sprained or a pulled muscle). After a good icing and some Motrin she seemed better. I did try and figure out how to take her into the doctor at 3pm on a Saturday, but that would have required an E.R. visit and I firmly believe that E.R. is for a life or death situation or the loss of a limb. Since she was not at risk for either of those, we choose to wait it out till Monday.
The weekend went well. By Monday she was a happy go lucky kid with one exception. She wouldn’t walk. Well, sprains can hurt. They can hurt a lot so we figured a few more days would heal her up really well. By Wednesday I knew in my heart that something more was wrong but was unwilling to admit it.
On Thursday Keri was willing to stand and even proud of herself for doing it. But whenever she would try and take a step she’d melt in pain. A few times she did take 6 steps before melting. That just didn’t seem right to me. So we kept her leg up as much as possible and iced it. But she kept wanting to try.
Looks fine don't it??
Finally Friday morning I called the pediatrician. It all sounded weird to them too and they almost left the phone conversation with waiting out the weekend. But something definitely didn’t seem right so we decided to bring her in and have a look. Mostly so I wouldn’t have to make an E.R. run in the middle of the weekend.
Fortunately for us, we go to the same pediatric office that my wonderful friends husband is a doctor at. AND he happen to be the doctor on call that day. So we not only got greeted with a friendly smile but we got first class service. Let me tell you, carrying Keri around is no small feat!!
Not easy to see. The originals are better.
Dr. Eyre got us into x-ray right away. Then had us in his office with the results right away. Yep, I’m sure you guessed it, she broke her leg! More specifically she broke her tibia (the bone between the knee and the ankle).
It was a clean break and not displaced. That's what saved us and made it so hard to visually diagnose.
Lucky for him, their doctor’s office gets a 2 hour lunch everyday. Unlucky for us, so does the person who gets the pre-authorizations from insurance companies!! So Dr. Eyre carried Keri down to x-ray for me to get actually films of her leg so I could take them to the orthopedic doctor. Then he carried her to our car. I went home to check up on things and get some lunch. I figured I had 2 hours till I heard anything about going to the orthopedics. Well, Dr. Eyre spent his lunch getting us an appointment right away instead of later in the afternoon when it might be impossible to get in before closing time.
First the "sock"
We had the most wonderful experience with the orthopedic doctor. SO NICE! Dr. Donnelly told me that Dr. Eyre had called him and told him that we were close family friends and to treat us well. And boy did they! The whole office was in there to see the cute little girl with the broken leg. A potentially horrid day turned out very nice! We did have to drive farther than usual probably, but the service and kindness were worth it.
Then the "soft layer"
Keri has to wear her pink cast for 4 weeks. Then it gets x-rayed and if all is well she’ll have it removed. Otherwise it will be on another 2 weeks. Usually no longer than 6 weeks.
Such a nice cast person
She is no worse for the wear. She seems to enjoy the extra attention and all the fun stuff she gets. Everyone is signing her cast and she loves to tell people where they can sign.
Then the "pink"
I put her outside on a blanket yesterday to soak in the sunshine. The next thing I know she is crawling through the dirt and has mud caked to her cast. Lovely! She doesn’t need any pain medicine. She sleeps fine and even told me yesterday ‘Mommy, my leg doesn’t hurt anymore, can we take this off now?’ So cute!
All done!!
I’ve learned a lot from this experience.
-Sometimes it helps to listen to your three year old. Whenever we asked her where it hurt she’d point to the same place, which didn’t make sense based on her reaction to touch and her ability to move. But the exact spot she kept pointing to is where the break was.
Loves the pink. Really, no one could convince her to do purple.
-It’s nice to know people! They treat you nicer!
-I think they need a support group for people who own trampolines in Northern California. By the end of the day Friday I felt like I was making a confession rather than relaying a story about my child’s injury. Everyone was nice about it, but I felt like I had to keep apologizing for the fact that I own a trampoline.
-The Lord loves us! He did not give up on me. He kept putting that doubt in my head about her leg. I just kept feeling like something wasn’t right. I kept having that stupor of thought. It’s times like these I hit my forehead and think “DUH Sami!!” But no matter how long it took me, the Lord did not give up. He kept prompting me, he kept me confused so that eventually, in my time, I’d get it and do something about it. We do have our agency after all and he doesn’t take that from us. I wish I could be as kind and patient with my children when they don’t listen right away. So much to learn!
Niah still feels really bad. She'll do anything Keri asks her to do. We've tried to help her understand it could happen to anyone. Such a sweet sister.
-He loves Keri too! While I was taking FOREVER to realize that I did need to take Keri to the doctor, the Lord sustained her and blessed her with health and strength and the ability to endure the trial while her mom had her “duh” moment. We are blessed and loved and He does know us. Each of us. He knows our strengths and weaknesses and is willing to work with us and be patient with us!!
The missionaries even signed it!
-Satan knows me REALLY well. Friday was a good day. I finally had peace in my heart and mind. Keri was going to be alright. But Satan knows. Satan knows he can get me with guilt and Friday night as I lay down to go to sleep, the guilt set in. I’ve been struggling with it ever since. It gets better each day. But waiting almost a week to take a child in with a broken leg can be a really guilty feeling. I did feel as though I was doing what I should while it was happening, but afterward, I realized that maybe I did wait just a little too long. Maybe I should have taken my stupor of thought more seriously. Maybe I should have endured the E.R. But then another part of me can’t help but wonder, would I have had such a good experience? Would we have gotten such wonderful doctors looking at her leg and fixing it? Everything happens for a reason. Nothing is coincidental. I believe that. Maybe I did wait too long. Maybe it was good that I did. I realize though that all that matters now is that Keri is taken care of and all is well.
Just chill'n and LOV'N it!!
Chill'n outside catching some rays!
Ummm, I really don’t want to add to the guilt because what’s done is done, but I TOLD YOU SO!! And now move on. It’ll be funny looking back on it someday.
Miss you guys!
It is always so hard to know with little people. Glad you finally figured it out and she is ok. Give her hugs from Aunt Maranda!
Kids!
Hope she heals quickly. Love you guys.