The (Poor Little) Elbow

Ask anyone that knows him, and they will tell you that Logan is (usually) a calm, cautious child. Why then, I must ask, has he had two broken bones by the age of four? (Read about broken bone number one, here.)

Broken bone number two happened Friday night, and was a little more serious than number one.

We were getting ready to pick up Tom from the MAX station. Logan was in the bathroom washing his hands (while sitting on the counter, apparently) when I heard a crash, followed by a scream that no parent ever wants to here. I rushed in there and he was so upset.

"I... I... I ALMOST DIED!!!" he said while screaming and crying.

As we rushed to pick up Tom, Logan was still screaming, but was also trying to tell me how much it hurt.

"It hurts this much," he said while trying to hold out both arms. He realized that he couldn't move his left arm and that wasn't going to work, so he said, "It hurts more than I love you!!!"

By the time we picked up Tom, Logan was exhausted from screaming so much that he fell asleep. Tom didn't realize, when stepping into the calm, quiet car that it had been full of screams and cries for the last 15 minutes, and therefore thought I was joking when I told him we needed to go to the emergency room.

"Are you serious?" he asked with a smile.

"Very," I said.

After some x-rays, the doctor informed us that he had broken his elbow. They put a splint on his arm, gave us a sling and some vicodin and then told us to call an Orthopedic Surgeon on Monday.

Orthopedic Surgeon.

Surgery.

The bathroom counter isn't that high.

We saw the Orthopedic Surgeon yesterday afternoon who said that yes, Logan would have to have surgery. He had broken a piece of his elbow and it wasn't where it was supposed to be. If it healed that way, he would not be able to bend his arm all the way. The surgery, luckily, would be quick and easy. They would push the bone back into place and put a couple pins in to hold it there.

Today was the day. We woke up at 4:45, got ready and headed to the hospital. As we were driving to the hospital, Tom was reminding Logan about a toy we had gotten him the day before.

"Remember that special toy we got for after you wake up from surgery?" Tom asked. "Do you remember why we got it for you?"

Silence from Logan. (Pain medication apparently makes him annoyed with us. Most of the time when we ask him something, he just glares at us.)

"Remember? You got it because you are...?"

"Useful," Logan finally said.

Tom was looking for brave, but I guess useful works too.

Logan was scared about the surgery. He kept asking about needles. Luckily, they did all the needles once he was asleep. After he was all ready for surgery, they gave him something to drink that made him loopy, then rolled him away for surgery. He was happy and smiling at that point, which made it easier for me to let them take him away.

Surgery went well. As I said before, it was quick and easy. He was upset afterward, but once they gave him something for the pain, a few popsicles and a movie to watch he was feeling better and we went home.

(Taken with Tom's phone.)

He has an appointment to take off the splint and pull out the pins in three weeks.

Life will (hopefully) be back to normal after that.