I got a call from my sister about 10:00 this morning letting me know that Gracie fell off the couch. Usually pretty harmless but this time she kept saying her arm hurt and when my sister tried to touch it she screamed bloody blue murder. She waited a couple of minutes to see if the shock would wear off but it became clear that she was hurt. She thought maybe her shoulder was dislocated but by the time we met up at the pediatrician's office a short time later she was pretty sure it was her left elbow. They sent us down for X-Rays and man, that was traumatic. She was in so much pain and they made me hold her arm out straight so they could get a good picture and the look on her face just said, Really, mom, you're helping them make this thing hurt? I felt like a criminal but it had to be done. They sent us back upstairs to the pediatricians and they told me she broke her elbow. My poor sister burst into tears. She felt terrible but really, it was an accident. It could easily have been on my watch. So they sent us off and we went home for a bit and then off to the orthopedist where we spent the next two hours. I was fine for the most part until we saw the doctor and she told me she wanted to get another X-ray because the angle they had on the previous one led her to think she might need surgery. Well I just about lost it. It took everything I had not to break into tears. Luckily she doesn't need surgery at least at this juncture but she might. I guess they will know for sure in a couple of weeks but I am hoping for the best.
After the new X-Ray we got prepared to have the cast put on. Gracie chose Orange as it's the color of Tasha from the Backyardigan's dress and her favorite flavor of jello. And no, I'm not making this up. I chose a waterproof cast for my sanity. She screamed for the first couple of minutes but once they put it back into position she started to feel better and stopped fighting them. All in all, she was a trooper. And she is rocking that orange cast. Her cousins have already signed it. She is feeling much better and I think I am too. Man, seeing your child hurt is the worst. I just wish I could have waived my wand and made it all better. Instead, she ended up with an orange cast, a bunch of stickers and a chocolate milk.
