......Her Arm, My Heart......
Resting after a good dose of morphine....Daddy brought her 2 oldest, best buddies when he came, Piggie & Blankie....
Just waking up & so HAPPY about a PINK cast!
Sorry for such a long post......
Our wonderful day of celebrating Easter & Daniel's baptism came to a quick halt about 5:30 Sunday evening. I was inside cleaning the kitchen & Dan was outside watering the garden. Laura Ann, Merrill & Jeb were playing on the playset. Merrill called over to Dan & said that Laura Ann had fallen off the monkey bars & was hurt. When Dan got to her, her arm was very obviously broken at the wrist, so he picked her up & headed to the house. I heard her crying & saw him out the window walking across the yard with her & knew that something was bad wrong. I met him at the door & he said that her arm was broken & for me to meet him at the car. I flew downstairs, Dan put her in the car & we headed to the ER. Dan was coming behind me.....had to put up dogs, turn off water in the garden & get Daniel somewhere. Laura Ann was crying a cry that I had never heard before and she had the most horrible expression on her face. I knew that the pain was really bad. She wasn't hysterical, just the most pitiful cry/moan, all the while holding that little arm. It was the most heartbreaking thing I've ever experienced. She was in terrible pain & there was nothing I could do to stop it......I couldn't even touch her because I was in the front seat driving. She just kept asking 'how long until we get there?' & asking if she would have to get an IV. Of course, my first call was to our resident doctor & sweet friend, Jeremy & he said that Children's was the best place to go. I then called the nurse at our pediatrician's office & she told me that she would call ahead & let them know that we were on our way. I found out from hospital security that there is free valet parking at the ER at Children's (FYI for all of you B'ham friends), so we got to pull right up to the door. We got there about 6:00. I got Laura Ann into a wheelchair and walked up to the desk & the attendant asked if she was the broken arm from Pediatrics East. I should mention that she was still in horrible pain.....I had a breakdown getting her out of the car (it was that bad!). When I said, yes, the nurse took us straight back (thank goodness because the waiting room was packed!) & they immediately got an IV in & ordered morphine. Once again, Laura Ann was so brave about the IV....bless her! She got morphine within about 15 minutes & that definitely took the edge off. She was still in pain, but not nearly as bad. Dan arrived shortly after the morphine & was a total basketcase! I informed him quickly that he had missed the very worst part!! :) The xrays were rough because of all the ways they had to move her arm to do them, but confirmed that both of the bones in her arm were broken into. We had to wait quite awhile to see the orthopedic because Laura Ann was the 4th broken arm to come in that afternoon! While we were waiting, Laura Ann got sick & vomited from the morphine. Dan & I tried to turn her, but because of her broken arm, couldn't move her much & vomit went everywhere.....literally. Me, Dan & the nurses did our best to clean her up without moving her too much. We ended up having to cut her dress (brand new in her Easter bag from Nanna) off of her. The nurse changed the sheets & Dan & I cleaned her hair. Then she got meds to keep her from getting sick again. Bless her! Dr. George finally came in around 8:30 & explained that they would put her to sleep to set it & would be ready to start in about an hour. In the meantime, the nurse asked Laura Ann if she wanted a pink or blue cast. Laura Ann replied, 'blue', but I quickly overruled. I knew when she wasn't on morphine anymore, that blue wouldn't be too appealing. It ended up being a little longer than an hour, but eventually they were ready. We got to stay with her until she was asleep & then we waited in a little conference room until the doctors finished. It only took about 12 minutes to set it & we got to go back in the room. Laura Ann was still completely out. We tried to wake her up with no luck. I started to worry that she would freak out about the cast when she woke up because I hadn't explained to her what it was going to be like. My worries ended quickly. Her eyes fluttered, she opened them, looked down at her cast & said, "Ooohhhh, it's PINK! I LOVE it!" Ha! And that was pretty much her attitude about everything the rest of the night! She was a champ! I think they could've put her in a body cast & she'd have been happy....anything to make it stop hurting! We got home about 11:30 & she went straight to bed and slept all night long. It was a traumatic night for this mama (and her daddy too). There is nothing worse than watching/listening to your child in pain and being able to do nothing about it. During all of the trauma though, I was so, so very thankful that it wasn't worse, because it definitely could have been. Any trip to Children's Hospital will make you count your blessings and ours are MANY!! It was traumatic for Laura Ann too, but she is one very tough, brave little girl.....just further confirming what we already know about her! She had all of the nurses wrapped around her little finger by the time we left. And I can't end this post without giving a shout out to the doctors, nurses & staff at Children's who did a fantastic job of taking care of my baby. We are blessed and thankful to live so close to a great hospital!
I forgot to mention that Daniel stayed next door at the Bettis' & was beyond thrilled to have his first sleepover with Jeb!!! I called Ann from the ER & she said that Daniel was doing well, but was worried about Laura Ann. I talked to him & told him that she was going to get a cast & be fine. What a sweet brother! We are also blessed and thankful to have such wonderful neighbors!!
