Not again...

Who knew having a toddler running around could put gray hairs on at such an early age! If you follow this blog, you know that Micah burned his entire hand back in July and had to have it wrapped in gauze and ointment and bandages for about 3 weeks or so before it was completely healed. What an ordeal for both baby and parents! But we got through it and figured we could check it off the list for a while...unfortunately that only lasted less than 2 months, because we were thrown in to a scary parenting situation all over again last night:(.

This was how our Friday was going...

It had been a great Friday, was about 4:15, and Christian decided to take Micah to the park so that I could relax a little at home by myself (a very rare, but welcomed event!). Not more than 4 minutes after arriving at the park, I receive a panicked call from Christian informing me that Micah had fallen off of a 4 foot platform from the playground. In the 1 second Christian turned his head to see kids arguing behind him, Micah proceeded to fall face first onto the spongy asphalt below. How does that happen so quickly?!?! After about 10 minutes of crying, and finally settling, Christian brought Micah back home so we could come up with a plan together.

He seemed okay at first as I was checking him out, trying to figure out just how he might have landed, and we began to see slight red and purplish marks showing up on the left side of his cheek and head. Knowing a side head injury could be potentially damaging, we called our on-call nurse to get further guidance. As Christian was talking to the nurse, I noticed Micah wasn't really using his left arm at all. It was just hanging on his side, limp and still. Any action done was with the right arm, and before Christian hung up with the nurse, I knew we needed to take him to the doctor.

About 5:15 we headed out to urgent care to get Micah checked out, and while waiting, Micah was all smiles sitting at a table coloring. All with his right hand though, mind you. But no tears. No true signs of severe pain. When we were called back to see the doctor, once they started touching and pushing on his left arm tears began to emerge. I knew something was definitely wrong at that point, and off to X-Rays we were sent.

Christian went in with him to get the X-Rays taken and I stayed in the waiting room, hearing my baby screaming as his hand and arm were being held still. 10 minutes later (with a brief visit from the technician giving me the, "it's not good" look) and we were back in the urgent care's office staring at the results. And that's when I lost it. Micah's left arm had 2 severe breaks (radius and ulna) as well as possible displacement and angulation that the doctor feared might need surgery. The reality hit me and I started sobbing...to which Micah did as well, but ONLY because he saw me losing it. The nurses comforted me, while Christian comforted Micah and we went back into the room to wait further instructions. The picture was becoming more clear, and it seems that Micah "broke" his fall with the assistance of his left arm.

In light of the timing, being 7:30 at this point on a Friday night, we were instructed to go to the ER to confirm the need for surgery or not. Urgent care did not have a radiologist on site to further read the X-Rays and they would probably not get to it until Monday - and apparently we didn't have that luxury of time. They placed Micah in a molded cast, gave him his first dose of ibuprofen (that's right - 2 broken bones, potentially surgery, and he was getting his first dose of any pain meds 3 hours later...that's how little he was crying! What a tough, tough little boy!!) and sent us on our way.

The nurse holding Micah's arm at the right angle to mold the cast appropriately.

Look at those puppy dog eyes :(

At 8pm we arrived at the ER, were brought back to a room about 9:15, waited until about 10 until we got the good news that NO surgery was needed - praise the Lord!!! - and had a different molded cast placed on his arm about 10:30. We left the ER, arrived home, and placed Micah in bed around 11pm. We are now to call the Orthopeadics on Monday to figure out when we need to come in for a more secure cast.

Clearly not a fan of the sling around his neck.

Clearly ready for bed, at 4 hours past bedtime.

Amazingly, he slept solid until about 6:45 this morning. No waking in the night in pain. No restless sleeping, once he finally fell asleep. So we are definitely grateful we were all able to get a decent night's sleep after a trying few hours.

After a decent night's sleep, in the only shirt we could find to fit over his casted arm.

Reading one of his favorite books with Daddy, the Micah year-in-review book. :)

And there is the reason my title is "Not again..." We knew we can get through this, Lord willing:), as "this too shall pass". It might be easier if Christian weren't supposed to take off Sunday night for 4 days. But we'll make it. And we are so grateful that surgery was not needed and pray this heals as quickly as possible.

If you can, please pray for the little sweetie as he, once again, has to figure out life with only one hand in use:)