Nora's Broken Arm

 I suppose this was the universe's way of telling me letting the kids play hookey from school for the day wasn't the best idea I've ever had. But it sounded like so much fun...

And the beginning of the day was fun. I planned an afternoon with my mom, who was home recovering from a chemo treatment. (As many of you know my mom is currently fighting breast cancer. I don't really write about it here in the blog because I feel that its her story to share, not mine). Anyhow, we went to the store for some delicious chocolate almond milk, got a picinic lunch to boot, then headed over to my mom's house on one of those beautiful fall days that looks like a postcard. Blue skies, the trees in every shade of red and yellow you can imagine, and the long grasses were brown and rustlng in the wind. Who'd want to go to school?

We visited with my mom for a bit, but the kids were getting antsy and my mom was looking tired, so we headed to the park. Since it was only 2pm, the other kids weren't home from school yet and we had the place to ourselves. Emily loves the slide there. I like the swings because my feet don't drag on the ground. Nora was excited to try a new set of monkey bars. We were all having a good time. I was on the swing, watching Nora when she jumped to reach the monkey bars and missed. She grabbed at the air as she fell, and she hit the ground hard.

My mom alarm went off. She didn't get up, and the cry got stuck in her throat. It only took me 2 or 3 seconds to reach her, but oh my god it felt like eons. I reached her little crumpled body on the mulchly ground, and for a second I wasn't even looking at Nora. I was looking at me, and I was 11 years old crumpled on the ground one block over from that very park, with a broken arm. I knew that arm was broken without even looking at her.

The walk home was just awful. No kidding. Sometimes, no matter what you do, you can't win. Since we hadn't been at the park all that long, Emily wasn't ready to go. When I said, "Nora's hurt! Time to go!" she started screaming. I had to carry her to mom's, and she kicked and screamed most of the way. Since I had one writhing toddler in my arms, there was no way I could carry Nora too. She had to walk next to me, and she was crying and said, "Mom!!! You're going too fast. Every time I step it HURTTTTSSSS....". That walk home took forever, and the park is only 4 doors down.

I laid Nora on the couch, and she didn't move. Her little wrist was so swollen. I drove like a maniac to the store to get her some pain killers, because past experience from my broken arm taught me that sports creme is not an effecive cure-all. Once I got the meds in her, I made arrangements to drop Emily at home with Ryan while I took Nora to the clinic. Another long drive...75 miles in fact between mom's and the docs. But we missed rush hour and made it safe.

Once at the clinic, Nora was a star patient. I couldn't have been prouder! She listened to all of the instructions when her x-rays were taken. She sat as calm as could be waiting for Dr. Patel, who was a very nice and very funny doctor. She was brave when they put on the temporary cast, and managed to eat every last bite of her Happy Meal. She even went to school the next day. Since then, she has been to the orthopedic doctor twice. They've moved her into a permanent cast, which is the brighest pink you can imagine. She will probably be in the cast for 3 months. So far she has adjusted to life with the cast. The only thing she misses are her long baths with Emily. Obviously the cast can't get wet, so she has to sit by herself with no bath toys. She also misses the park, and continues to ask me if we can go and play when the weather is nice. It's good to know that even after such a big fall, she's ready and willing to get right back up.