Monday, April 11, 2011

Broken Leg

Things have been going well and we're all getting into new routines and settling in well. Apparently too well! Dan has been awesome about getting up and putting Dawson on the bus at noon so I don't have to. I'm usually nursing Gabriel or something anyway, so that really helps. The boys and I have been venturing out more. Today we played on the playground after getting Dawson off the bus. It went really well. Tyler has discovered the big swing and does great. He hasn't fallen off and he must've spent a good 15 minutes or more just swinging and smiling.

We went to class tonight, which went pretty good. Dawson wanted to play outside instead of coming inside, but he did finally come inside without me having to go get him. The parent time was nice, they had 4 ladies who used to be in the support group. Their kids are in their early teens now and they were talking about things and answering questions. It was nice to have some insight and get some questions answered. They brought the kids outside to play since it was nice out, so we joined the kids outside after our discussion was over. Tyler was being held by his favorite para, he looked very pale and tired. She said he just wanted to be held because he went down the slide a few times and then was suddenly crying and wanted to be held. He leaned toward me, so I took him from her and asked him if he wants to go play. Gabriel had woken up also, so I put Tyler down and he just dropped to the ground without trying to stand up. I was still holding onto him, I'm just used to making sure he has good footing before letting him go, since he's had weak leg issues in the past. I stood him back up and he cried and was shaking a bit. The teacher was standing there and I told her I'm gonna have to bring him in because something is wrong with his leg. I asked the para if his leg was caught or anything going down the slide and she said it was. The teacher wanted me to wait it out a bit and see if he'd walk on it, but I had a feeling it was broken. If it was just sore, he'd be walking on it. He always pushes through the pain if he can, so him not walking and acting like that is serious. I got the kids in the van and headed out. I was nervous since we didn't have much for entertainment. Usually we head to the ER from home, so I just grab the hospital bag on the way out the door, which already has bubbles, toys and other things for entertainment. Thankfully Dan had just refilled the animal crackers in the diaper bag, so I did have those.

We got there and Dawson was excited. We entered the parking ramp and Dawson said "2!", which is the level we park on. He happily went into the hospital and pushed the door opener buttons and then the elevator buttons. He's a very good helper when it comes to doors. The ER got us in right away, thanks to Tyler not being allowed in waiting rooms. They put us right in the x-ray room to make things easier. Tyler was flirting with all the nurses, he was all smiles and they seemed to think it must not be too bad if he's acting so happy! They acted like the Dr might not even do an x-ray. Thankfully they believed me when I told them that Tyler has always been hard to figure out pain with since he's always so darn smiley. He refused to walk for them at first and then put on a brave face and limped about 4 steps over to me. The Dr said he still couldn't tell where the problem was. He felt his hips, ankles and legs and finally applied pressure to the right spot, because Tyler started crying when he pushed about mid-way up the bottom part of his leg. The x-rays went really well. He looked at me with a panicked look on his face like he wanted to jump off the table. I told him it's ok and kept talking to him and he settled down. He still looked nervous, but kept an intense focus on me through the whole thing and he did great. He held perfectly still, though I still held his leg in position, he never even tried to fight me. He's such a brave little guy.

Gabriel hanging out with me in the evening
 Gabriel getting a spongebath
 Tyler with his temporary cast
 I asked Dawson to go get a train book. He got one and even read it to Tyler too! He gave Tyler a hug and said "it's ok". It was so sweet! He was lightly touching Tyler's leg and I told him that Tyler has an owie. He seemed pretty concerned. He's so attached to his little brother.
Dawson doesn't pay a lot of attention to Gabriel. He seems to like having him around though. Last night before bed I was playing with Gabriel and he was very awake. Dawson was on the floor, so I held Gabriel upright on the floor and Dawson got very excited and said "Walk!". He seemed to think the time had come for Gabriel to just up and start walking so he could play with him. Sorry Dawson, about a year to go for that! It was just so cute how excited he was, like he's just been patiently waiting for that these last couple weeks.

Tonight has been hard, Tyler got up twice tonight, and just carrying him to and from bed those couple times was really hard on me. I'm nervous about how tomorrow will go, with him needing to be carried and probably being frustrated about not being able to walk. I also have to figure out what he's going to wear for pants for the next month or so! That cast is not going to fit in any of his jeans.

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