I received a call at work, it was the school nurse. She said my daughter had fallen during a game of Dodge Ball in Physical Education (PE) and that she hurt her arm. The nurse said she didn’t think it was too bad, but it was scratched up and a little swollen. I asked to speak to my daughter and as soon as I heard her voice, my heart sunk. I could tell it was bad. However, my husband was home, so he was going to pick her up, because I was at work.
I asked the hubby to take her to the doctor before he even got her. Once he reached the school and saw her, he said she couldn’t move her arm but he was making a “Parental executive decision” and not going to the doctor because it was just scratched up. Um Ok sir, though I didn’t feel happy about that decision.
I’m the one that usually freaks out. They call me the worry wart. But seriously, mom’s just know. She explained that she had broken her fall, a dodge, from the ball, that tripped her up and she slid and used her little forearm to protect her head. Good thinking, except that it was too much for her little bones š
I finally convinced my husband to take her to an urgent care after 4 hours of her not moving her arm. And surprise surprise, after X-rays, they confirmed, she had two broken bones in her forearm. UGH! I was so upset! We had to take her to see the orthopedic specialist. Of course she had to have a cast put on and she would be spending her Christmas and New Years in a cast. The first one in our household.
I think I was more freaked out than she was! My poor baby. It was her right arm, so how would she write, how would she do basic things like feed herself and bathe herself? I was freaking out! Well, I was pleasantly surprised at how quick the time passed and how well my daughter did with this wrench in our life.
Here’s what my daughter’s broken arm taught me.
- Kids are resilient! You may have heard this before but she totally showed me. My daughter was so incredibly optimistic during this time frame that I couldn’t have asked for a better viewpoint.
- Where there’s a will, there’s a way! It’s a cliche, but so true and amazing to see it in such a short time. She learned how to use her left hand so willingly and quickly I was in aw. She didn’t fuss, or cry, it was just a matter of fact, oh well, i’ll have to write with my left hand and boom she did.
- Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react. She took this situation and flipped it around. She never complained. As a matter of a fact, it was only I who complained. Why, you wonder? The only major thing that affected me was having to help her shower. I found a reusable arm bag at Walgreens and that was a lifesaver. But just having to shampoo and condition her lonnnngg hair was annoying to me lol. But I got over it. We did one day wash, one day no, but her body was showered daily!
- Time passes quickly anyway but even quicker when you’re making it work. you just get through it without b*&^ching and complaining.
- Bones do heal. After 30 days, her cast came off and thank God cause it was getting funky. She has to be careful for the next 3 weeks but that should be fine. I know kids can break their bones again so we’ll just have to be careful.
If you ever have to go through this situation, just know it will be okay. You will all get through it and time will heal all!
