Xander is the proud owner of a new light blue cast! We saw Dr. H. Friday morning to check on how his left arm is healing. The bones are still together, albeit at a slight angle. When the new cast was put on and hardening, the doc put some pressure on Xander's arm at a few specific points to hopefully reduce/remove the angle the bones were sitting at. We have to go in for more x-rays at the end of this coming week to see if it worked. We're sure hoping so. If not, it's back for another operation--and a much more complicated one at that. Crossing fingers again...
On another note, it doesn't seem to be slowing Xander down all too much. He spent much of today outside with his brothers, rough and tumble as usual. They ran around the property, exploring for bugs, riding their scooters on the drive, bouncing on the trampoline, and generally getting dirty. Boys will be boys.
BBQ TIME
Fired up the grill tonight for the first time since last season. Thick ribeye steaks with an Argentinian rub, grilled medium rare, then topped with chimichurri sauce. Mmm....I forgot how much I missed the grilled food. Bring it on!
There are some around these parts who probably think we are wimps. But we just don't see any fun in trying to grill outside with -10 below temperatures and a howling wind during the winter. We'll stick with braises, stews, and crock pot recipes during those cold months, thank you very much!
THE REMODEL
Progress on the Strawhouse is slowly but surely being made. The more visual changes of the construction project are about to commence. We should see some new walls and flooring going up this week. I wonder if the deadline for the end of June is going to be met. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Sorry-no pics. It's going to be a surprise, remember?
Latest Food Musings: Chimichurri rub, fruit smoothies from frozen berries and ripe bananas (and nothing else), crab cakes.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Sticks and Stones
April 8th. Tuesday late afternoon.
I get a call from the preschool. The news: Xander had fallen on the playground and his arm was hurting and swelling. The person calling sounded very calm. It couldn't be that bad, I thought. Big brother Kalvin and I jumped into the car and headed to town.
When I got there, I experienced one of the saddest, most heart-wrenching moments I've ever had as a mother. My little boy was sitting in one of the tiny chairs at a work table, his left arm resting on an ice pack. Tears were streaming down his face. He looked at me with his large puppy dog eyes and just cried out, "Mama!" His left forearm just below the wrist was turning blue and was indeed swelling. And it was distorted. Very obviously so.
I scooped up my little boy, trying to not move or jar his arm in the process. He just cried and cried. We made it to the car, I buckled him in as carefully as possible, and drove to Daddy's office. When I walked in holding Xander, Matt and Dr. S., our anesthesiologist we work with, could see from across the room that his arm was probably broken. A splint was applied to Xander's little arm, and we were then off to the Emergency Dept.
Waiting for the doctor
Poor little guy. We had the usual wait before being taken back to be seen by the doctor. A few x-rays and the verdict was in: two very broken bones, and they needed to be reset in place. An IV, medication, and some painful tugs later, our brave little guy was put back together. Thank goodness for sedation medication--he doesn't remember the very uncomfortable resetting part.
A cast laden arm and some hours later, Xander and I finally left the hospital. He was sure tired after the whole ordeal, especially with it also being 2 hours past his normal bedtime.
Unfortunately, the drama continued throughout the rest of the week. The next day, Wednesday, Xander's little arm was swelling so much under the cast that the circulation to his hand was being cut off. His fingers looked like little sausages. At the Dr's office, they had to cut an incision down the length of the cast to allow it to expand. The color of Xander's fingers immediately improved, and he wasn't complaining so much about them hurting. They took another x-ray as well. The bones had shifted in the past 24 hrs, and the Dr said Xander would need to have surgery on Friday to get it fixed.
Thursday was fairly uneventful, aside from the fun of trying to conjure a waterproof covering over the cast so Xander could have a shower.
All wrapped up for a shower
Friday. 11:10 am. My little boy is wheeled into the OR. A good friend, another anesthesiologist, graciously agreed to come in on his day off, to take care of our Xander. About 45 min later, I look out of the waiting room and see and hear some familiar crying. The nurse has carried Xander out of the OR in her arms, and he is looking around rather dazed and confused. He settles down as soon as I hold him. How good that made me feel to know that I, his mother, could provide the comfort he was desperately seeking. I carried him to his room and we got to snuggle together for the next three hours while he recovered from the anesthesia. As much as I hated to see him have to go through the experience, I thoroughly enjoyed the quiet time we were able to share together. I think he did too. At least he smiled alot.
Just before surgery
Today, our X-man is doing great. We let him go without the sling today, and no swelling or other problems popped up. He complains of no pain, and hasn't needed any pain medication for two days now. Of course, he is running around the house at full force, which terrifies his Dad and I. We're sure he's going to take a tumble and upset whatever healing has been able to take place thus far. Xander has a follow up with the orthopedic surgeon on Friday to see how things are going. We're crossing our fingers for good news!
I get a call from the preschool. The news: Xander had fallen on the playground and his arm was hurting and swelling. The person calling sounded very calm. It couldn't be that bad, I thought. Big brother Kalvin and I jumped into the car and headed to town.
When I got there, I experienced one of the saddest, most heart-wrenching moments I've ever had as a mother. My little boy was sitting in one of the tiny chairs at a work table, his left arm resting on an ice pack. Tears were streaming down his face. He looked at me with his large puppy dog eyes and just cried out, "Mama!" His left forearm just below the wrist was turning blue and was indeed swelling. And it was distorted. Very obviously so.
I scooped up my little boy, trying to not move or jar his arm in the process. He just cried and cried. We made it to the car, I buckled him in as carefully as possible, and drove to Daddy's office. When I walked in holding Xander, Matt and Dr. S., our anesthesiologist we work with, could see from across the room that his arm was probably broken. A splint was applied to Xander's little arm, and we were then off to the Emergency Dept.
Waiting for the doctorPoor little guy. We had the usual wait before being taken back to be seen by the doctor. A few x-rays and the verdict was in: two very broken bones, and they needed to be reset in place. An IV, medication, and some painful tugs later, our brave little guy was put back together. Thank goodness for sedation medication--he doesn't remember the very uncomfortable resetting part.
A cast laden arm and some hours later, Xander and I finally left the hospital. He was sure tired after the whole ordeal, especially with it also being 2 hours past his normal bedtime.
Unfortunately, the drama continued throughout the rest of the week. The next day, Wednesday, Xander's little arm was swelling so much under the cast that the circulation to his hand was being cut off. His fingers looked like little sausages. At the Dr's office, they had to cut an incision down the length of the cast to allow it to expand. The color of Xander's fingers immediately improved, and he wasn't complaining so much about them hurting. They took another x-ray as well. The bones had shifted in the past 24 hrs, and the Dr said Xander would need to have surgery on Friday to get it fixed.
Thursday was fairly uneventful, aside from the fun of trying to conjure a waterproof covering over the cast so Xander could have a shower.
All wrapped up for a showerFriday. 11:10 am. My little boy is wheeled into the OR. A good friend, another anesthesiologist, graciously agreed to come in on his day off, to take care of our Xander. About 45 min later, I look out of the waiting room and see and hear some familiar crying. The nurse has carried Xander out of the OR in her arms, and he is looking around rather dazed and confused. He settles down as soon as I hold him. How good that made me feel to know that I, his mother, could provide the comfort he was desperately seeking. I carried him to his room and we got to snuggle together for the next three hours while he recovered from the anesthesia. As much as I hated to see him have to go through the experience, I thoroughly enjoyed the quiet time we were able to share together. I think he did too. At least he smiled alot.
Just before surgeryToday, our X-man is doing great. We let him go without the sling today, and no swelling or other problems popped up. He complains of no pain, and hasn't needed any pain medication for two days now. Of course, he is running around the house at full force, which terrifies his Dad and I. We're sure he's going to take a tumble and upset whatever healing has been able to take place thus far. Xander has a follow up with the orthopedic surgeon on Friday to see how things are going. We're crossing our fingers for good news!
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