Broken Brian Update

As Jen said the other day, Brian broke his arm on Friday. Monday morning was spent calling orthopedists to see if any of them could see him. One of them said they didn’t want to see him for seven to ten days, and that someone “would call us back before the end of the day to set up an appointment.” That seemed kind of silly to me, especially if the kid just needed a hard cast. So, I called our pediatrician’s office to make sure I wasn’t overreacting. The very pleasant nurse I talked to said that sounded a little weird and gave me a couple other local orthopedists to try. First call, I got an appointment for Brian yesterday morning. We saw her yesterday, and Brian’s going in in a couple hours to have the bone set.\
Well, hopefully have the bone set. He has a non-displaced fracture of his elbow (the humerus, right at the end). It’s at an angle, and the doctor is going to try to just push it back in place. If that doesn’t work, she’s going to have to pin it. We’re hoping for option number one. Because he’s three and setting bones hurts like hell, they’re going to put him to sleep to do it. That way, if they have to pin the bone, he’ll already be under.\
Brian’s been great through this whole thing. He gets grumpy because he hates being stuck on the couch, but he was an absolute champ at the doctor’s, and has been pretty cheerful throughout considering this is his first real experience with being hurt. Last night, he was giddy and playful and even got up for a little while to play soccer with Jen. He’s on codeine and a little wobbly, so I had to hold him up so he didn’t topple over, but we still had fun.\
This is my first experience with a broken kid. I’ve been on the patient side of the equation several times (ask my mom… we got to know pretty much every emergency room in NATO). I’m pretty good at being the patient. I know my job (say “ouch a lot”, let people help you, say thank you and try not to be too big a baby). I don’t know how to be on the parent side of the broken kid equation. It’s new, and frustrating. Thankfully, this is our first real injury for either boy, which is amazing when you consider that half of their genetic makeup comes from one of the least graceful, most accident-prone people ever to stumble into the world. Jen, on the other hand, is awesome. She’s doing a great job with him and I’m in awe (hence my saying she’s awesome). She’s extremely patient and hasn’t even thrown anything through the wall in a fit of Spongebob-induced mania.\
I don’t know how good the cell reception will be at the surgery center, but I’ll most likely update twitter as soon as we know anything.\
Late Update: Sorry, I should have posted this sooner, but we’re all tired. Brian was a super kid at the surgery center. He didn’t cry, did everything the nurses asked him to, and came through with flying colors (OK, he cried coming out of anesthesia, but that’s perfectly normal), and he didn’t need surgery! His awesome orthopedist was able to set the bone by hand without pins and casted him. He was in and out of the operating room in about twenty minutes. He slept most of the afternoon and then ordered me around for the rest of it (“I want to watch Spongebob.” “Play Burnout.” “I want more juice.” “Come sit with me.”). We’re all going to try to sleep in our own beds tonight, even! This is pretty much the best case scenario for what could have happened today.\
And one more thing – I just want to say thank you to everyone who reached out with words of comfort, advice and sympathy. It was overwhelming and much appreciated. Thank you!