Yeah. I don't know squat.
The Monkey is an overachiever even in injuries. He only fell a few feet from the steps of the playground equipement but the act of trying to catch himself managed to break his arm just above the elbow...and cause a fairly spectacular (though, thankfully, closed) disloaction. The x-rays were nothing short of alarming....I didn't know bones that were supposed to be together could be so...not...together.
I was pretty calm and strong for him...right up until the part where the anesthesioligst explained in a calm, polite way that they normally don't sedate patients who've eaten within 8 hours because the risk of aspirating stomach contents is a concern. However, in the Monkey's case, because his left arm was broken and swelling rapidly, the doctors were actually far MORE concerned about the fact that the swelling from the fracture could constrict some of the major blood vessles (that go to the heart!?!)...and that risk was much worse than the aspiration. Then there was talk of breathing tubes and stomach suctioning and... I was glad my little guy was pretty out of it on morphine and couldn't see me collapse into tears.
A broken arm I was prepared for...surgery and breathing tubes and constricted blood vessels, not so much.
In the end, with a lot of help from friends (SVen made an airport run, TOWWAS Monkeysat while I gathered overnight supplies and took a much needed shower, MrR sat with me through the wee hours of the morning while I worked) and family (my Mom was on a plane within a few hours), we survived the day and the night. I got the crushing workload that I was under done and submitted (at 3:45 a.m. today!) and the Monkey is finally home, chillin' on the couch with his arm up in the air trying to turn the squishy, immobile sausages on his hand back into fingers. I think we'll all sleep a lot tonight.
So the Monkey's had his first big break. Not quite the "discovered at the Mall" story that I sort of envisioned...but a heckuva story, nonetheless.
4 comments:
Wow - I hope you and the Monkey are on the mend soon!
If it makes you feel any better, when I was admitted to the hospital when I was 5 (for some pretty bad influenza that they thought might be Reye Syndrome), they made my mom leave the room when they put the IV in because they said that parents can never, ever, ever handle even that, even if they're super-strong up to that point. So it sounds like your reaction was very typical - especially since the Monkey had to deal with a lot more than an IV!
I'm glad your home and Monkey is doing OK - very traumatic for all. Rest, recuperate and keep us posted. We'll be thinking of you.
Wow - Monkey sounds really brave! I've never broken anything - not a single bone, including easy-to-fracture fingers and toes - so he's already tougher than me. Sign his cast for me!
Yeah - I had a stress fracture in my foot once. I think the Monkey (at the age of four) has already surpassed me in bad-ass-ness. Also, I had an IV once and basically whined the entire time, not just sporadically. (And I was 23.)
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