We took Andrew to the fair two nights ago and he was having SO much fun, but on the last ride, one of those big slides in the kid's area, Andrew ended up hurting his leg really badly when he was coming down. The EMTs at the fair checked out his leg for about two seconds and said he was fine, but I had a hunch something else was wrong. We thought it was partly due to how tired he was and waited until the next morning to do anything major about it, but when he woke up he was crying about his leg hurting so bad. So yesterday my mom and I took him to his pediatrician, got X-rays, and then we were then sent all the way down to Children's Hospital to see an orthopedic specialist! It turns out that he has a tibial fracture right below his knee on the tibia bone. It is a fracture that goes right into the growth plate in his leg, so it is a pretty serious break and we will have to have X-rays every six months for the foreseeable future in order to make sure this fracture isn't affecting how he is growing at all. Andrew now has a HUGE orange cast on his leg, all the way up his thigh, so he will be immobilized for six weeks. WOW. I sure didn't think a broken leg would be part of our summer plans....
Before we got the "broken leg" news... Andrew hasn't been able to put weight on his leg since he hurt it, so he was tooling around in a wheelchair all day yesterday. He hated it at first, but got used to the idea pretty quick when he realized that he could move himself around in it. We will be going to rent a wheelchair for him tomorrow so that he can still go places with us and try to get a change of scenery once in a while. Believe me, it is very difficult to carry around a 45-pound child with a full leg cast! Thank goodness for wheelchairs, woo!And now, behold the massive orange leg cast!
A very sad Andrew right before we left the hospital... he has muttered "I hate my cast.." about a million times in the past 24 hours, but it seems he is getting a bit more used to it as the day goes on. I do feel sorry for him though... It is hard for a very active 4-year old who loves to swim and play outside in the dirt... to be in a cast for over six weeks is going to get interesting...
Any good ideas for fun things to do for him???
On a happier note, I hope you all enjoy a relaxing Fourth of July and can celebrate and see some fireworks! Enjoy this fun day with your family! I hope Andrew is feeling up to driving down to see some fireworks later... he would so enjoy that, even with an immobilized little leg!! :) xo!
12 comments:
I am SO SORRY to read about Andrew's broken leg. He looks like he is being brave though! The poor kid. I can't imagine being in a cast for the summer!! My son used to have to go the orthopedic dept. of Children's Hospital in Boston every few weeks for almost a year. I know how you feel!!!!
I hope you all are able to make the best of it.
My thoughts are with you.
take care,
Dawn
What a bummer! Guess he won't be swimming the rest of the summer.
I will be keeping my grandson some before school starts, and I think I am going to try to get him interested in photography!
Maybe you could do that...have him start a blog! LOL
Hope he has a speedy recovery!
Well, yuck! Poor Andrew. And, poor Mommy Holly.
When my son was a little guy he had to stay off of his leg completely for weeks and weeks. We played games, colored, painted, used Play-Doh, drew pictures, played Dominoes, played cards, etc, etc.
You are so lucky to be with your family. I know they will help you every step of the way. I'm glad you saw the doctor yesterday instead of having to get care on a holiday weekend.
Give Andrew a big hug. If you send me your mailing address, I will mail him a card. He is so cute.
Oh NO! I feel bad for the little guy!! It will be a little challenging, but there are lots of things to do with a little research.
Living in the southwest our summers are scorchers and even if you have a pool, you really don't swim during the day, so we do other things: board games, puzzles, crafts and go to our local library where they have all sorts of fun activities ie. book character bingo, story time, movies. We've been reading a lot more too! Check your local library to see what they have available.
Wishing Andrew a speedy recovery!
Denise
omg, poor little guy :( i can't believe the EMT just wrote it off as fine!
that cast is unbelievable, i have a little guy the same age and can't imagine :(
(((hugs))) andrew!
Poor thing! Is there anything he wants to do that doesn't involve running around or swimming? are there any good shows?
how sad for andrew!! (and mommy!)
why is it that breaks always happen in the summer?
i would be so LIVID about the EMT's!! and now i'm scared of those big slides! i hope he finds ways to entertain himself without jumping all over the place.
looks like you had fun BEFORE that tho.
take care of yourselves!! try not to go stir crazy!
My son broke his leg when he was 5 right before Christmas. We watched many hours of video since he couldn't walk on it. The time will pass fast.
Awww, poor little Andrew, I don't think there could be many things worse than a broken leg for a 4 year old boy : ( My Isabella broke her leg in the same place at about the same age, she was jumping on the trampoline and came down wrong on it. she had a HOT PINK cast ,though LOL We rented a wheelchair for her, but unless she was out and about wanting to show off, she pretty much just dragged herself around the house LOL
I remember she watched alot of tv and played alot of video games, maybe try setting him up with some art supplies and crafts. Isabella is my easiest going child, so it wasn't so bad, I hope Andrew is as good as she was for you. A broken leg is hard on Mommies too : )
It looked like y'all had a great time before he broke his leg, at least it happened at the end of the day!
I just found that you found me on my blog, so I hopped on over to your blog and read about your cutie son and his sad orange cast. I am so sorry. He needs a big heart drawn with sharpie on it!!!
Karen
So sorry to hear about Andrew's accident!!!! DANG! Kellen has had many trips to the ER and a broken leg as well....no fun!
Hang in there mom!
colleen
Dang!! This boy is big enough to throw away his Pacifier... for Goodness sake!!!!!!!!!! Ridiculous!
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