Dear Natalie and Sophia,

I have decided September will officially be known as broken bone awareness month. Here's why:

Natalie:
Rewind back to September 3, 2012 (Labor Day). I'm sitting at work, and it's almost time for me to come home. That's when the phone rings, and it's your dad. I can hear you screaming in the background, and my heart sinks to my stomach. I had never heard that type of cry coming out of you before. Dad tells me that you hurt yourself, and that you couldn't even stop crying long enough to eat a Popsicle. In case you don't remember, you put a foot stool on top of another foot stool, climbed to the top and tried to jump off. I spend the next 15 minutes or so desperately trying to find an open urgent care that does x-rays, and is open on a holiday. I finally find one and dad takes you on your way. Lucky for me, someone came in early to relieve me and I meet you guys at St Luke's before you're taken back to see the Dr. By this point you are no longer crying and seem to be in less pain (thank goodness). The x-ray tech let me come in the room with you, and I got to see exactly why you were crying so hard. Both bones near your wrist were obviously broken. They stabilized your arm, and we headed home. The cool part is, they sent us home with your x-rays on a disk! I realize by the time you read this, technology will have changed a lot, and this concept probably won't really be all that cool. Compared to when I broke bones as a kid though, this is pretty neat.

Two days later you got your cast. It went all the way up past your elbow and you got to wear it for several weeks (6 I think). It even shows a little in your 1st grade year book picture.

Here we are the day you got it off. You actually enjoyed watching this young man cut your cast off.

 And here are the x-rays from the day the cast came off.



You got to wear a little brace for three weeks after this, and everything healed nicely. I'm very glad we kept that brace, because it came in very useful later!

Sophia:
Fast forward to September 27, 2013. It's a beautiful Friday night, and the whole family is outside. Dad and I are grilling dinner, and there's a fire in the fire pit. I decide it would be fun for everyone to get in the trampoline. Everyone's having fun playing crack the egg until we crash into each other. You scream for a minute, tell me your wrist "bended" then go about playing. I try to warn you not to run around the yard, but you do it anyway. And you fall. A Lot. Every time you fall, you cry a little then start playing again. Dad and I figure it's a sprain and let you enjoy your evening. Our friends come down and everyone plays for a while the moms and dads enjoy the fire. Typical Friday night really. You wake up at 2 AM, your arm is bothering you again. Enter Natalie's brace. Putting it on helps you sleep, and Saturday morning you tell me you're all better. It doesn't hurt at all anymore, hooray! The celebration is short lived though. You put pressure on it at a Birthday party and it is no longer all better. It hurts again, but you're quickly over it, and back to playing. After the party it's strait to Grandma Sue and Papa Ron's. We send you with the brace, and you seem to be fine again. But alas, Grandma tells me Sunday that you woke up at 2 again, and that you cannot put any pressure on it at all. Plus, it's swollen. St Luke's here we come! Dad got to go with you to the x-ray room, and when the Dr came in and told us that you're arm was broken I felt TERRIBLE.

        

What kind of mom waits two days to take her hurt child to get checked on? This one... Mother of the Year, right here. Everyone we talked to just kept saying "She sure doesn't act like a kid with a broken arm"! Which is exactly why we waited so long to take you. Your's is a buckle fracture, and because it only fractured one bone (not both like sissy's) you only have to wear the brace during the day (no cast). You sure are one tough cookie! I just wish I could turn off your clumsiness. You are running around, like the 3 year old you are, and falling out of chairs, and scraping your knees, and I'm terrified that one of your falls is going to break it worse! I honestly think this injury is taking its toll on me more than it is on you!

Dear Natalie and Sophia,
You both get your clumsiness from me. I've broken bones, then broke the same bones again plus some, dislocated shoulders, needed stitches etc. In fact the first time I broke my shoulder, Grandma Sue waited a day to take me for x-rays too, and I healed just fine. I do give her a little grief over it every now and then though, so I'm sure I will get that from you Sophie when you're older. :)

Love you always,

Worlds Okayest Mom