When Derek does things....

...he does things big!

Before the new year is one week old Derek has tested our new insurance.

He had a friend over Saturday afternoon they were rough housing and wrestling until I stopped it and got them doing something a little safer.... Or so I thought.

They were shooting nerf guns and seeing who could should them the farthest. (pretty safe right?) On a bullet retreival mission, Derek jumped over the couch from the front to the back. He braced his left arm on the back to hop his legs over. His arm slipped and his body landed on his arm. He came running upstairs saying he broke his arm. "I broke my arm, I just know it, ow, ow, I broke my arm." Jake and I were like, "Ya right, you hurt your arm." But it took 2 looks and one small touch of his arm to know that he was right.

We sent the friends home, got help for the other kids coming, made a sling, (from Jake's scout neckerchief!) put ice on it and headed to the ER!

It was almost dark, and freezing! Jake and I grabbed jackets but missed one for Derek. He was in extreme pain and didn't want to move an inch.

The x-ray shows how when Derek does things he does it all the way. Both the radius and ulna were completely broken. He is in a small and lucky window to not have to have surgery. At least not yet, and if the bones stays set than he won't need it. -crossing our fingers-

We decided to cut his shirt off rather than try and get it off. He didn't like the idea of cutting it off until we told him we would have to move his arm to get his shirt off. Then he was okay with the cutting.

They had to sedate him to set the arms, I can't imagine how much that would have to hurt.

They set the arm and put it in a splint. 

He had fun waking up and was really hungry but his orange juice didn't stay down for long. 

He was such a tough kid at the ER and in the days to follow. Since we are good parents who forgot Derek's coat, they gave him a scrub shirt to take home. He like's his new shirt!

 RICE: rest, ice, compression and elevation! Some Motrin, swelling, itching, but he is a tough kid! We used WD-40 to get those pesky heart monitor stickers off of his chest. (He has had them 4 times in his 7 years!) They came off so much easier that way!

We saw an orthopedic surgeon, who was pleased with how his bones were set.

Fast forward another week and he is healing well. There is still a chance that the bones will move and we will have to start over, but so far so good. His cast is huge and bright. Again, when Derek does things he does it all the way.

We have several more x-rays and Dr. visits to come. But hopefully by mid-March he will be all healed and ready to go!

Just to recap: 

June: anaphylactic reaction and subsequent allergy to wasps (ER trip)

October: glasses

November: broken toe (not ER, thank heavens)

He has had a busy year. We sure hope he will slow down a bit.

He has had a lot help from his school mates and can't wait until I let people sign his cast.