Rough Day

Ready to go into the ambulance

Overwhelmed In the Ambulance

Entering Primary Children's Hospital

As you may or may not have heard, on Wednesday Van took a wrong turn and rolled down our stairs. I came home from work ASAP and then we took him to the Pediatrician. They couldn't pinpoint what it was so they sent us to the Skyridge ER. They did a catscan of his head and then full body x-rays of his skull, neck, chest, ribs, spine front and side, pelvis, hands, arms, legs, & feet. Van did pretty well except when they had to touch his right leg. He also had an IV in his left arm which he did not like at all because it was all wrapped up and he couldn't use that hand. He kept trying to bite it and pull on it with his other hand. It wasn't very fun as a parent to see your baby in that kind of pain. They brought me (LUKE) in to help with the x-rays. I didn't tell Janna this, but they don't like moms and sometimes parents at all in their because they have to get a good picture of the bone and sometimes that causes a lot of pain. I helped, but it wasn't very fun.

A little while later the doctor came in and said the catscan looked good, no head trauma. He said the x-rays all looked good except for the right leg. He said Van broke his right femur just above the knee. He also said that because the femur is full of marrow, there would be extra swelling and to expect that. He had a trauma doctor that was going to look at the x-rays and then give us the next step. After the trauma surgeon saw the film, they determined that we would need to go to the Children's Hospital for proper treatment. Children's is huge and has Children's Orthopedic Surgeons, and they determined that this type of injury would be better treated there with the right doctors. So they ordered an ambulance, yes an ambulance to mobilize him across town to Aurora. I rode with him in the ambulance while Janna took the boys home to get their PJs on and so she could get stuff to stay for the night.

Another ambulance picture

Once we got to the Children's Hospital I had to fill out more paperwork and they got us a room and then moved us to a different room a little while later. Less than a minute before Janna and the boys walked in, Van decided he was done with his IV and somehow was able to get his finger in there and yank it out. Of course that meant blood got all over and onto his elephant blanket. They had to put another one in of course and Janna said that was probably the hardest part of watching everything. She said he would turn and look at her with this look of "why are you letting them do this to me?" Sad.

They kept him overnight to monitor him and Janna stayed there. They moved him upstairs to a more comfortable room and gave him some narcotics for the pain so he could sleep. Janna was able to get a little bit of sleep too. I had taken the boys home around midnight and I was finally able to sleep around 2am.

They took him into the Operating Room at 7:30am the next morning and had to put him under in order to evaluate the break and be able to set and cast the leg without him moving. That went well they said and only took about 45 minutes. I don't have a good picture of it yet, but he now has a cast that goes around his belly as high as about his nipples, down his waist and down his right leg to the ankle. We had to rent a special car seat for him to use but hopefully we won't have to take him out much. After more observation for a few more hours we were finally able to bring him home around noon.

Headed home with his 2 tired brothers.

That is our adventure for this week. Van is home now and though we want him to rest and let the leg heal, he is already trying to roll over and crawl. Hard to keep the little guy down. He doesn't cry or even whine much, just adapts to his situation and moves on. He has been in pretty good spirits and is laughing when he gets to play with his brothers. Stone laid by him for a few hours after we got home and propped his legs up. The boys are being pretty careful with him.

Van with his Iguana, Rainbow (we didn't pick the name, was on the Beanie Baby tag) given to him by the Ambulance Drivers.

Thanks to everyone who has called, brought food, helped out in any way. Thanks to the grandparents who are pretty worried. Janna's mom Elaine is coming out today to help and my mom next week. You certainly don't expect things like this to happen, but when they do it is comforting to know you are surrounded by family and friends who love you.

P.S. Janna is still moded b/c she has to speak on Sunday. It is inevitable that we both will have to speak eventually and since she already started preparing she is going to go for it. I could have filled in for her but better now than never.