Miss Goody Two Shoes

That is Rachel's new nickname now that she can wear two shoes. After three months in either a cast or aircast, she is delighted to be able to wear two shoes.

Here she is on her first day back to school wearing two shoes.

She had to wear this aircast for the entire month of March. It was a welcome change after having been in the "plaster" cast for two months. She had to wear the aircast all the time except when she was showering. Showering with the previous cast required garbage bags and duct tape. The aircast also allowed her to once again wear jeans. She managed to make sweatpants stylish.

Realizing her life on crutches was going to last a while, she decided to make the most out of it. She added some fun ribbon and a little bling. She received tons of comments on her crutches. I am very proud of her. She made the best out of a bad situation the entire time! (Well...most of the time. She is a pre-teen and I am finding with that comes a certain amount of complaining that is mostly aimed at the Momma!)

This picture is from one of the trips to the orthopedic surgeon. I think it is the second trip. She had already had the thigh high cast for a while and I had been under the impression she would be getting it off on this particular visit. Fortunately, at the previous visit Rachel understood the doctor to say he would x-ray it and we would go from there.

When she had the thigh high cast, she was doomed to a life of sponge baths. We tried washing her hair over the sink. That was not an easy task. I splurged a couple times and took her to a salon to have her hair washed. One of the stylists did a fantastic job blow drying it straight. Rachel has wanted her hair straight for about as long as I can remember. The grass is always greener. She loves having it straightened and was thankful for the treat.

Now she still walks a bit slow and has to build up the muscle in that leg, but she knows that she is capable of enduring which is a great lesson for us all to learn.

How High?

We took Rachel to the orthopedic surgeon on Monday. Thankfully, she did not require surgery. The doctor said he has to perform surgery on 85% of his cases. He reviewed her x-rays and said the next step was to place a cast on her leg. She had a splint that was wrapped up and really looked like a cast from the ER. The actual break is in her tibia which is the shinbone. We were all surprised when the doctor said she would have to wear a cast up to her thigh for two weeks. He said it is important to stabilize the joints above and below the break.

The doctor was much more cooperative on prescribing pain medication than the ER doc was. I just asked for something to help her sleep at night since that seemed to be when she was having the most discomfort, but he gave her enough for around the clock until we see him again. Bless that man! However, she has not needed it.

There was some confusion because the nurse was prepping her for a knee high cast. Although, that probably would have been easier for her to get around on, I asked if it was supposed to be higher. She went to ask the doctor and came back with a second nurse which in her words was to act as "reinforcements." I was glad because the second nurse seemed to be much more experienced. P.K. helped Rachel support her leg while we waited for the nurse to return.

This is the look I got when I asked her to look at the camera. She was less than amused. She was able to choose the color she wanted her cast to be.

Purple! That made it kind of fun for her. Here she is maneuvering out of the doctor's office.

Once we got out of the office we got her back in a wheelchair for the ride to the car. She was starting to get into the picture taking by now.

I got to be the first person to sign her cast. I can envision Aaron having a tattoo just like this when he is a Navy Seal (ha, ha!)!

Then the rest of the family had a turn.

Here she is ready to go back to her first day of school since the accident which coincidentally was the first day back from Christmas break. Her sweatpants look blue in the picture, but they are purple as is her toenail polish. She put on her purple scarf and earrings......the little fashionista that she is.

She had a good first day back. In one of her most humiliating middle school moments, I walked her to her homeroom and talked to two of her teachers. We all tried to convince her to stay just half a day, but she insisted on staying at school. I so would have milked it for all it was worth. I think she was tired of sitting home. Really she is sitting at school a lot during the day. She was able to leave each class five minutes early to get to the next class and have a friend help her with her books. I was surprised she wasn't exhausted.

That girl has some stamina and determination. Like eveything else she sets her mind to, she is figuring out how to make this work.

Roller Skating

Hannah loves to roller skate. She gets that from me. I remember spending countless hours skating on our back patio when I was growing up. I didn't give away my own skates until I was pregnant with Rachel. There was a young girl in Memphis who loved to skate, so I passed them on.

Hannah asked if we could go skating over Christmas break. I told her we would go the week after Christmas. Aaron doesn't like to skate and he had plans with a friend yesterday, so I thought it would be a great day to take the girls.

Rachel's friend came along and we started out having a blast.

The pictures at the rink are a bit dark and blurry. I couldn't seem to fix the problem. This picture of Rachel and her friend is the last one I took before things went downhill.

Rachel fell which isn't unusual for kids when they are skating. I always tell the kids if they feel like they are losing their balance or think they might fall to just sit down. I was watching Rachel when she went down. Her right leg went behind her and her left leg was slightly bent in front. At first, I thought she was fine. Even when she crawled to the side, I wasn't alarmed. The kids often have a hard time regaining their balance on the slick floor and crawl to the side to pull up. She sat on a bench and I skated over to her. She was already crying and that is when I knew something was wrong. She kept saying her ankle hurt, so my first thought was to get the skate off before swelling made it too difficult. I went to get her some ice and when I came back she said she felt like she was going to throw up and she had little beads of sweat on her nose. I asked her if she wanted to try to make it to the bathroom. She tried to stand and fell back. She wasn't able to put any pressure on the leg. That is probably when I noticed the BASEBALL SIZED knot on her shin.

Rachel's friend helped get Hannah ready to go and the manager of the rink helped me get Rachel to the car. She gave us free passes probably in hopes we weren't going to sue.

We went straight to the ER. I tried calling PK on the way, but he wasn't in his office. I decided that I would see what the doctor had to say and if she had a broken bone that required surgery, I would track him down.

I knew where the hospital was (Isn't that one of the first things every mom finds when moving to a new town?), but had never been to the ER. We managed to find the entrance and a ramp that was marked "Emergency Room Drop Off." There were some wheelchairs, so I grabbed one of those and managed to get Rachel out of the car. Rachel's friend waited in the car with Hannah while I got Rachel settled.

When I went into the ER, the receptionist directed me to the Pediatric ER. I got half way down the hallway and heard, "The vehicle parked on the Emergency Room ramp must be moved immediately." I said out loud to anyone who might be listening and offer some assistance, "That is my car. What do I do?" I parked Rachel on the side of the hall and handed her the insurance card. If I got lost in the ER maze or had to play tug-of-war with a tow truck, at least she was covered.

I go by the reception area and just say in the general direction that the car that needs to be moved is mine, but I still need to get my daughter to the ER. A security guard goes to take Rachel to the Pediatric ER and I go to park the car.

When I get outside there is an EMT standing by an ambulance. I thought he was the one that needed to get through because there were two EMPTY ambulances parked in front of him while my car was parked in the unloading spot. Seems the more simple route would have been to pull the drivers away from their coffee and let a mom take care of her child, but what do I know? I mumble apologies to him for blocking his path and he says something like, "No problem." I asked if he knew where the appropriate parking was and he said, "I'm not sure. I've never come in a personal vehicle." I am sure he received a dead on eye roll in the fashion only Jody Ray can deliver.

I find parking, try to glance at the sign to see how much cash I need on the way out to cover the cost (as if I will remember to hit an ATM), gather the girls and head back in. As we are crossing the street back to the ER, the security guard who took Rachel calls to me and takes me in the secret Bat Cave passage. He was very kind and said something about being seen more quickly with children.

I get to the Pediatric ER and some young guy is being trained in the admissions process. Luckily, we are the only ones there. He gives us bracelets and I tell Rachel these would be great to put in her new scrapbook she is working on. She is actually beginning to understand why I asked if I could take a picture earlier. She will be a great blogger one day.

We are taken back to a waiting room and a nurse takes her vitals. We wait some more. I manage to talk her into letting me take a picture with my phone to send to PK.

She held her foot like this the entire time. It was so pitiful.

This picture really does not do the knot or swelling justice. It was baseball -ish.

A nurse comes and wheels her down to x-ray. She actually has an ultrasound. I was left in a waiting area while she had the tests. When the tech came to get me, Rachel said, "It is twisted." I said, "Oh. Is it just sprained?" The tech said, "No. It is broken. It is a spiral fracture. The bone twists and breaks." I think that is when I really felt sad for Rachel.

We are wheeled back to the waiting room. Rachel told me the tech told her they would put her to sleep to set the bone. She didn't seem too worried about it. I was relieved when the doctor came in and told us most kids with this type of break heal nicely with just a splint. He consulted with an orthopedic surgeon who concurred. He also told me that Motrin is usually enough to relieve the pain. However, if Rachel felt she needed it he was willing to give her a narcotic to ease the pain. She said, "Yes." The doctor left the room and a nurse brought Rachel some medicine. They must have given her a fairly large dose because she became a little giddy.

The doctor returned and told Rachel he did want to get a closer look at the injury. If looks could kill, that doctor would have been a dead man from the glare Rachel sent his way. She was determined to hold her foot in the same manner she had since being in the wheelchair. She had already experienced moving when she went for the ultrasound and was having no part of moving it again. The doctor was very patient and gentle with her. He made sure she was able to move her foot and felt an indentation on her leg. He turned to me and smiled in that way only doctors who get excited about their work do and said, "I can feel the indentation where the break is." In that moment of SHIVER, I realized that I am not called to the medical profession. I am cool in an emergency and can do what needs to be done, but I don't want to think about the breaks, blood and gore.

Two nurses came in to put the splint on. The first thing one of the nurses notices is Rachel's pants. He said he could give her a couple hospital gowns to put on, but we would never be able to get her pants off over the splint. I think this is more annoying to Rachel than the broken leg. I can't blame her. Who likes wearing those gowns? He was kind enough to give her two, one for the front and one for the back. That was a great idea. If you have been in the hospital, you know you spend a lot of time tugging at the back of your gown trying to cover your backside. The male nurse asked if I wanted the female nurse to help get her changed or if I thought we could manage. Rachel said, "We've got it." I was thinking, "Please don't leave me alone. This pretty little girl isn't afraid to eat her mother alive while experiencing the worst pain of her life." The nurse left and we were alone to conquer the task. My saving grace was I could move more quickly than Rachel.

Rachel had to get out of the wheelchair and lay on her stomach to have the splint put on. Every adult in the room offered assistance to which she replied, "I've got it." She said that to me several times when I offered help. I think it was less painful for her to move on her own terms.

Once the splint was applied and wrapped, she had to stay like this for a few minutes to allow it to dry. She was given crutches which she thinks is cool. They sent us home with a prescription to be filled "just in case" and orders to follow up with an orthopedic surgeon.

I had a hard time getting her back in the car and she cried almost all the way home. By the time she stopped crying, we were almost home. We had a hard time getting her out of the car and into the house. She was sure she didn't want to go see the orthopedic surgeon if it meant getting back out that same day. I honestly didn't think I could get her back to the car. Our follow up is Monday. PK will go with me before he is off to work to help get her in and out of the car.

I am all about managing pain before it gets out of control, so I had the prescription filled and rotated it with Motrin through the night. I don't think we would have made it through the night without the medicines. Rachel was in a lot of discomfort. I think it was partly due to being in the same position, so about every hour we would find a new position for her.

She asked me to take this picture about 4 a.m. It as a long night. I am praying that the pain will be a little better before tonight.

The moral of the story is: It is easier to let your kids sit home in front of the tv or computer than to get out an interact with them!