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"Life is random and unfair, life is pandemonium."*
Ben fell while skating this evening. He landed on his butt, but he also instinctively put out his hand to catch himself and wound up fracturing his arm just below the wrist. All in all he was good about it, and it could have been much, much worse. I knew something was very wrong as soon as he fell, but I must admit I was extremely relieved when he was moving his hand and flexing his fingers. I held him in my lap to keep him still, and called 911 to get a paramedic out to see him since I didn't think it would be a good idea to drive him immediately after the fall. The ambulance arrived within a matter of minutes, and the paramedic confiermed that it did not appear to be broken. He also suggested that rather than taking Ben to the emergency room, I should take him to the pediatric urgent care place right up the street. That turned out to be a very good suggestion. We walked in the door at 6:05 pm, and by 7:15 he had been examined by the doctor, had three x-rays taken of his arm and hand, had the x-rays read, had a splint placed on the arm, and was ready to go home. If we had gone to the hospital, we would probably still be there now.
He will need to have a cast put on, but that can't happen until Monday. In the meantime he has been prescribed liquid tylenol with codiene for the pain. The fracture is very small and nothing is displaced, and once the initial pain subsided he seemed to be doing very well. When last I saw him, he was well on the way to falling asleep for the night.
For all its worth, Sara was very good about the whole thing. Obviously worried about Ben (she arrived at the urgent care within a few minutes, and before Ben was back to see the doctor), but not the least bit nasty or accusatory to me. She seemed to accept at face value that this was nothing more than an accident, and that no negligence was involved. If she felt otherwise, she certainly worked very hard not to show it. For my part, I can't help but kick myself a little. I never, ever go skating myself without the full protective gear including wrist guards. When Ben skates I have always made him wear a helmet, but I have never even bought pads and wrist guards for him. Obviously that will change. I know I shouldn't feel guilty, but there you have it.
So hey, fun evening, what?
*lyrics from "Pandemonium", The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Ben fell while skating this evening. He landed on his butt, but he also instinctively put out his hand to catch himself and wound up fracturing his arm just below the wrist. All in all he was good about it, and it could have been much, much worse. I knew something was very wrong as soon as he fell, but I must admit I was extremely relieved when he was moving his hand and flexing his fingers. I held him in my lap to keep him still, and called 911 to get a paramedic out to see him since I didn't think it would be a good idea to drive him immediately after the fall. The ambulance arrived within a matter of minutes, and the paramedic confiermed that it did not appear to be broken. He also suggested that rather than taking Ben to the emergency room, I should take him to the pediatric urgent care place right up the street. That turned out to be a very good suggestion. We walked in the door at 6:05 pm, and by 7:15 he had been examined by the doctor, had three x-rays taken of his arm and hand, had the x-rays read, had a splint placed on the arm, and was ready to go home. If we had gone to the hospital, we would probably still be there now.
He will need to have a cast put on, but that can't happen until Monday. In the meantime he has been prescribed liquid tylenol with codiene for the pain. The fracture is very small and nothing is displaced, and once the initial pain subsided he seemed to be doing very well. When last I saw him, he was well on the way to falling asleep for the night.
For all its worth, Sara was very good about the whole thing. Obviously worried about Ben (she arrived at the urgent care within a few minutes, and before Ben was back to see the doctor), but not the least bit nasty or accusatory to me. She seemed to accept at face value that this was nothing more than an accident, and that no negligence was involved. If she felt otherwise, she certainly worked very hard not to show it. For my part, I can't help but kick myself a little. I never, ever go skating myself without the full protective gear including wrist guards. When Ben skates I have always made him wear a helmet, but I have never even bought pads and wrist guards for him. Obviously that will change. I know I shouldn't feel guilty, but there you have it.
So hey, fun evening, what?
*lyrics from "Pandemonium", The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
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