A First Time for Everything

This afternoon Sarah was riding her scooter home from Activity Days, carefully balancing a gingerbread house on the handlebar. She'd almost made it home when unfortunately she hit a bump that sent the gingerbread and scooter flying in opposite directions and she fell, bracing herself with her left arm. She instantly knew that it hurt more than it should and walked home holding her arm. Ella, bless her heart, ran back out to get the scooter and gingerbread from the sidewalk in front of our neighbor's house. We first called Mary Ann to ask her how to tell if a bone is broken (as she sadly knows from incidents in December of the past two years). She gave some good advice and reminded me to call our friend Chad who is an ER doctor. He hurried over, asked doctorly questions, and advised us to go to the ER for x-rays and treatment. So that is what we did. Sarah was shivering with shock, but was so very brave and sweetly thankful to all of the people there who helped us. The x-ray revealed a buckle fracture in her radius bone about two inches up from her wrist on the left arm -- her writing arm, of course. So they put it in a splint and we'll follow up with an orthopedist in a week. Poor girl. She's pretty bummed about having to miss her first clarinet recital next week and the fun Christmas Piano Performance class where the students all play for each other. The other girls were so worried for her that they filled her bed with their favorite stuffed animals to comfort her on her return. Still not sure how we're going to manage homework and everything else that she does with that left arm. . .

This was our first ever trip to the ER with a child. Sarah quite enjoyed it aside from the sore arm part. They brought her a little doll and game to cheer her up. All of the nurses, techs, and doctor were gentle and patient. And, after my own broken arm experience as a child, I managed not to ask her over and over again if it really did hurt enough for us to go to a doctor about.