Chase's Broken Arm

So my little monkey decided to go and give me some extra gray hair!

Back on February 23, he was standing on a chair helping wash dishes playing in the water when he turned, lost his balance and fell off the chair.  He put his arm out to catch his fall, but...

He cried when it happened but after he calmed down went on to eat his lunch and take his morning nap.  He woke up and played just fine the rest of the day...only he wasn't using that arm.

By that evening, it was just slightly swollen right below the elbow but he let me squeeze up and down his arm and didn't really act like it even hurt.  Still he wasn't using that arm.

During the night when we checked on him, he was holding his arm and whimpering in his sleep so we decided to take him in to get it checked out first thing in the morning.

The Doctor didn't even seem sure it was broken or anything because Chase was moving his arm all around, but agreed he was favoring it and it was slightly swollen in that one spot, so he sent us on for x-rays.  They wouldn't let me in with him for x-rays since I am pregnant, so my Mom was able to go in with him.  I just had to stand outside the door while he screamed "Mommy!  Mommy!" the whole time :(

 The Doctor had requested to get the results right away so we just waited in the waiting room until we got the call from him.  They called and confirmed 2 bones right below the elbow were fractured from his fall.  He was handling the whole thing like a champ so I was almost in disbelief and yet felt so bad I hadn't brought him in the day before!

They sent us to the Orthopedic Surgeon's office that afternoon so we didn't know if we were preparing for surgery or just a cast.  Thankfully it was a clean break and he was able to sport this little black cast for just 3 weeks.

So this cast could be fully submerged in water - greatest improvement they've made in the last 10 years ;)  Made things so easy on this mommy.  And I only had to end up cutting a few of his sleeves in order to keep him in shirts during that time.  His Dad taught him that his cast was his armor and that is what Chase would call it!

The night we got home from getting the cast on, he was still trying to climb on everything.  I was so stressed thinking "boy! I cannot take you back to the doctor with another broken limb this very same day!" :)

 The worst part was probably getting the cast off.  They use a saw that is loud & messy.  I wouldn't like the idea of a saw coming at my arm either.  He had x-rays again after they cut his cast off and just stretching his arm out for those after it had been in a bent position for 3 weeks was pretty uncomfortable!  

I was kind of nervous when I saw his arm because it looked bowed.  Apparently (and maybe this in just in children - I don't know) the body tells itself there is an injury and it heals with extra tissue to protect everything.  They showed us the x-ray and it shows a bump there on his arm where the extra tissue is around the original break.  They assured us that it just goes away within a few months once the body realizes it has healed.  Where does this tissue go, I wonder? :)

Anyhow, he's all good now.  I've never had a broken bone in my life and here he didn't even make it until 2 years old.  I know this is just the 1st of many more scares for this Mommy!