First Trip to the ER

A few short weeks ago, I posed the question on Facebook, "which of my boys will end up in the ER first?"  Well, Andrew lost (or won?) that bet.

On Monday night (Aug. 11th) I was in the kitchen making the boys macaroni and cheese for dinner.  Andrew kept asking for his "mmum muum cheese"   which needed to be cooled.  Both boys were super wound up, per normal.

Ethan jumped onto the couch and stood along the back edge.  I promptly hollered these words at him for what seemed to be the 1000th time in the past few months.  "Ethan, you can't stand on the back of the couch like that.  You're gonna fall and get hurt!  Plus, Andrew watches every single move you do and, you know, he's always copying you."

Like a movie in slow motion, just as those last words escaped my mouth, Andrew hopped onto the back of the couch just as big brother had done.  I lunged forward to grab Andrew.  At that exact moment, the little guy lost his balance and went slamming to the ground behind him.  He screamed bloody murder.

I promptly picked him up off the ground (which I probably shouldn't have done given how he fell and how he landed.)  I checked his head, his back, his neck, everything seemed to be ok but he was still screaming hysterically.  It was at that moment that I noticed Andrew's right arm, bent at a sickening angle, pale, already swollen, and starting to turn black and blue.  I knew it was broken.

I yelled for Ethan to put his shoes back on while I quickly grabbed my purse.  Ethan starts crying, asking if Andrew was going to die.  It was mayhem.

I buckled Andrew into his carseat as gingerly as possibly, trying with everything I had to not move his arm.  The kid continued to scream...until his seat was buckled.  I kid you not, Andrew rode to the hospital in almost total silence, no cries, few whimpers, nothing.  Ethan on the other hand was a mess!  I'm driving as fast as I can while still being safe.  I repeatedly called Chris who was leaving work at any moment but was not answering his phone.  I text grandparents to let them know that we were headed to the hospital.

We arrive at Anderson Mercy's ER where they take x-rays.  I did not personally hear the results but it was clear that Andrew's elbow was, at the very least, dislocated and he needed to be transferred to Children's Hospital.  Apparently because of the risks associated with his injury, it was necessary to take us via ambulance.  Pawpaw Craig and Mimi Linda picked Ethan up from the hospital, Chris drove the van, and I rode with Andrew in the ambulance to Children's Hospital.

Around 10 pm we finally arrived at Childrens.  We were shifted from room to room, asked a million times to explain the incident, questioned in an accusatory manner, sat and waited.  After throwing around a few options, the doctors decided it was best for Andrew to have surgery to set his arm, insert 2 pins, and cast it.  We were admitted to the hospital at 4 am where we attempted to sleep until surgery in the morning.  Chris returned home to relieve the grandparents for the evening.

At 6:30 am, we were told it was time for surgery.  Andrew had to be cut out of his froggy shirt in order to change into the hospital gown.  Having barely slept and not having any food since lunch the previous day, Andrew was a bit fussy.  As soon as they gave him the sedative, however, he instantly smiled and giggled at me.  I cried as they wheeled him into surgery.  I returned to the waiting room, by myself, until Chris returned.

Soon after, we met Andrew in the post-op room where he was sporting a bright orange cast, the color chosen by big brother Ethan.  Andrew tolerated surgery and the subsequent hospital stay amazingly well.  You would've never known the kid had had surgery that morning.

We return to the doctor in 3 weeks to check the progress of his arm.  We're hoping, at that time, the pins will be removed, along with the cast.  Until then, Ethan is learning to be extra gentle with his little brother and hopefully, both boys have learned not to stand on furniture anymore!