De Ja Vou

Remember this? This was Benson one year ago when we first got our trampoline. This last week Susanna jumped on Alex's right leg and broke the tibia, just below the knee. Same bone that Benson broke.

When the kids brought him in spouting "Alex broke his leg!" I thought they were joking, especially since Alex has a tendency to be the more dramatic kid when he gets hurt. So, I laid him on the bed and propped up his knee with a pillow and gave him some ice. I couldn't see anything visibly wrong, maybe a tiny bit of redness on his knee area. I waited about 2 hours and he cried for most of it until he fell asleep. An athletic trainer who happens to be in our ward came over to see if he could find something wrong before I waisted the night away in the ER. He didn't think anything was wrong, maybe a bone bruise.

Alex woke up and started crying again after he left though, so I decided to make the trip to an urgent care. As soon as we got in the car (about an hour after a dose of Motrin) he was cheerful and very talkative. I watched him swing his leg around and doubted myself but went in anyway. The doc examined him and since Alex didn't make a peep he looked at me and said he woudn't even bother to x-ray him. Then he asked him to get up and walk. He about fell on his face trying! So off to x-ray we went. It came back in just a few minutes and the doc said it looked totally normal, but if he continued to hurt to bring him back because sometimes fractures don't show up right away.

So, 24 hours later and a miserable day spent with a 3 year old crying on the couch because he "tan't walk" I took him to the ER. 5 hours and a heavy splint later we discovered it actually was broken, a tibial plateau fracture- same as Benson's. After a very late night, we had to get up at 6 am to get back to the bone doctors and get a real cast on. He chose light blue. The other kids are very jealous, he wanted it off within a few hours. Poor kid. Poor ME. He is potty trained, so I get to carry him there every time he needs to go. He is also kind of needy anyway and with a cast doubly so. Did I mention Chris is still out of town? Yup, I am on the verge of a nervous break down. I need my mommy.

Are we crazy to keep the trampoline? They just have so much fun on it, as long as the weather is decent they are out there daily. I am still debating the issue with myself, but in the meantime, Alex is laid up for the next month in a thigh high light blue cast. With 7 boys though, I have a nasty little feeling this isn't the last I will see of the ortho doc.