Jackson’s broken arm…

Before the bad news, just a quick little uplifting anecdote! *Jackson and Scarlett were in the car and we were headed to a friend’s house in Edina.  There wasn’t any traffic so when I took the on ramp to 62 I sort of sailed around the corner kind of quickly.  Jackson said, “Whoa…. Good job mommy.”*

So the nightmare began a couple of weeks ago.  I was doing a shoot and dropped Jackson off at a friend’s and Scarlett off at a different friend’s house.   I figured that way they would be split up and it would be easier for each of the friends I had called on to take care of them.  The shoot went longer than expected and I showed up to the friend who had Scarlett right after she had put her down for her nap.  I knew she needed a nap (she has been transitioning to one nap a day already at 14 months- my children hate sleep, what can I do- and so I knew she needed to get at least one really good nap in.  I phoned the friend who had J and let her know I would be a while.  She said it was no problem because they were just about to have a little play date and a couple of mutual friends were showing up with their kids.  Great.  No problem.  Be there in a bit.

About an hour later I got a phone call and my friend sounded a little upset.  I could hear Jackson crying in the background.  She said he and a couple of the kids were sort of jumping off the end of the couch.  J jumped first and a bigger boy jumped and maybe ended up bumping Jackson.  He was complaining that his arm hurt-  even 20 minutes after the incident, and he wouldn’t move it at all.  I started to panic a little because I’m a panicky person when it comes to my children and injury.  I left immediately and called Nick to go pick up Scarlett right after she woke up from her nap.  When I got there Jackson’s arm looked definitely wrong to me.  It was very swollen, he would move it at all, and when I tried to touch it he started freaking out.  So I knew something was truly wrong but I was still hoping for a sprain… something not too serious.

I took him to his pediatrician first but they couldn’t even get him to move his arm at all for an x-ray.  They ended up getting one x-ray and told us to take him to the ER. “Likely broken.”  Fantastic.

We show up to Children’s ER at about 8:45pm.  Jackson was taken to get x-rays and Nick went with him because I couldn’t (since I am pregnant.)   I stood outside of the x-ray room bawling my eyes out as Jackson screamed like they were stabbing him while they maneuvered his arm to get three or four x-rays.  He kept saying, “Why are you doing this to me? Why are you hurting me?!”  I couldn’t stop crying, I was already an emotional wreck from the beginning and being pregnant makes things even more ridiculous when it comes to emotions.

We waited in the room for quite some time until they came back and told us his humerus (large bone above the elbow)  is broken and would need a splint for 5 to 7 days and then a cast for likely 3 to 4 weeks. Since we were not yet talking to an orthopedic doctor we had little information and didn’t get to look at the x-rays at all. A nurse put J’s arm in a splint and we were off to wait for the enormous amount of swelling to go down before the cast could go on.  Jackson didn’t sleep that night- even with the narcotic pain meds they gave us for him.

After a couple of days he seemed to be doing a bit better and we were scheduled to get his cast on Tuesday (last week.)  When we went in the Pediatric Orthopedic surgeon told us his elbow was slightly rotated, but he was going to put the cast on and take some more x-rays to see what the next step may be.  Next step?  You mean we don’t just get to let him heal now?  The nightmare continues.  He tells us to schedule a follow up appt. with another specialist, since he happens to be retiring in a couple of days, and have him advise us on the next steps to take.

We go BACK the next day to Children’s- this time in St. Paul,  to yet another specialist $$$ and he tells us his advice is to schedule SURGERY for next week to get his elbow rotated back in line where it should be, pins put in, a new cast on, pins taken out a couple of weeks later, and yet another cast put on for another couple of weeks.  Now- see what we did right here? We just added about another month to recovery, put my baby under anesthesia for surgery at THREE years of age, and added yet another dimension to the amount of money we would be spending for this whole ordeal.  Not to mention putting Jackson back at square one for pain and recovery.  The alternative that it may not heal correctly and he could forever have a problem with that arm is obviously too grave for us to risk.  So surgery it is. Tomorrow.

I am a nervous wreck.  I have felt sick to my stomach for the past couple of days and had my first real anxiety attack last night while lying awake in bed.  I couldn’t breathe.  I am praying and crying a lot.  Jackson has no clue that they will be back in major pain- after finally running around and happy now that his cast has been on and his arm is starting to heal.  My arthritis is flaring from the stress and I have not the slightest clue what I am going to do with Scarlett for the next couple of days while Jackson is back to being very needy. Very simply and immaturely put, this SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS.  Please pray for my son.  I will check back in when things settle down.

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