Denman breaks his arm. :(
Oh my!!! Where to start on this day! The emotions that are rolling around still from this moment are so hard to control. I will start from the beginning so you can see what an amazing little boy I have here with me. It is only God's presence that allowed me to make it through this one!
So we all get loaded up and head over to Jen's house for our last night with Tracy and her family. They are leaving the next day so we are all going to give her all of our love and hugs so she can take them back with her.
This is my Aberdeen family.
Momma Renee, Renee, Tracy, Jen and me
When we get there all the kids head straight outside to go and play. They have a huge backyard, a trampoline, and imaginations to keep them busy for hours. All the guys were headed to play golf while we ate pizza and hung out. It was a blast. We told stories, shared recipes, toured Jen's house, and watched the kids go in and out of the door as they changed games.
All the kids came in for dinner and then headed back outside to play another game. All the moms gathered around the table to chat and just enjoy each other when Kaitlyn came to the door with HUGE eyes. She said, "It's Denman!"
My heart dropped because that look on her face was a very scared look. All the kids had their hands in their ears or over their eyes. Denman was in the chair by the house with a visible broken arm. I later found out that it was Kaitlyn that took Denman to the chair, told him it was going to be okay, and ran to get me. I took a deep breath, grabbed his arm, and then said a cry of help to God to myself.
I prayed Ok God, I KNOW I can't do this one by myself so HELP ME! KEEP ME CALM! AND PROTECT MY BABY! I said that same prayer over and over until we walked into the hospital doors.
I picked him up and walked into Jen's house. I only sort of remember the moments after that. I know I said we need to call Rusty. I need an ace bandage, and ice. We need to get to the hospital. Renee who is also Kaitlyn's mom was my angel that day. She was an ER nurse and looked me straight in the eyes and said, It's going to be ok. I just looked at her and said I don't know what to do! She said, We are going to take him to the hospital.
I held him so tight and just kept saying over and over, please let it just be his arm, please protect him. I can't even begin to tell you the bravery that Denman had that day. When I got to him he was screaming but no tears which really scared me. He stopped screaming when I picked him up and just said, "My arm really hurts, and it is really twisted." I said yes baby it is but we are going to fix it.
I am not sure what all took place as I headed to my car with Denman. I know I called for Natalie to come too, but she was so scared. Renee and Tracy said to leave her there and they would keep her as long as we needed. I have NO idea what I would do without all of these amazing moms. Jen got in the driver seat and started searching for where on earth the hospital was located. We got out the phone book, google, and started calling around.
It was all happening so fast and I was just trying to keep Denman calm and still. I buckled up Denman and held on to his arm as we headed to the hospital. I talked to Rusty and he was going to meet us there. As we drove I tried to keep Denman talking and awake just in case he had hit his head. We ran a couple of red lights along the way and after the second one that we ran Denman said, "Momma, why aren't you buckled?". Now that almost made me loose it. I just smiled and said because I want to be right next to you.
Jen found the hospital and Rusty was there waiting. We went into the ER and were taken straight back. We had the most amazing care. The nurses were so good to Denman and were so sweet to me too. I didn't want to leave his side and they were completely okay with that. I held onto his arm while they gave him some pain meds, and asked a ton of questions. Rusty was came in and out trying to make sure they had all of the information they needed to work on Denman. After a few minutes they came and put a temporary cast on him to keep it from moving. We were then ready for x-rays.
I told Denman I wanted to take a picture of my brave little man!
He turned and grinned! Love that sweet boy! He did NOT like that blue thing on his arm at all.
He kept telling the nurse it needed to come off.
We went back to the room and waited for the results. We soon found out that he broke both bones in his left arm. They called them both clean breaks. He said they would have to go in and straighten them back up before they put on a cast. Now that made me sick. I think the doctor could tell because he then told me that he would be asleep for that part. They said sometimes breaks like this require pins to help keep the bones in place but they wouldn't know until they started if they would need them.
They came in to mark his arm so they would know which arm needed to be fixed.
As soon as Denman heard he had a smiley face on his arm he wanted to see it so we took a picture.
Denman rode back to our room for the night in a wheelchair.
He said it looked just like NaNa's wheelchair.
Denman was asleep when the doctors came in to talk about his x-rays and reports from the night. I was so glad he stayed asleep because I didn't want him to see me so upset. I think it was at that moment that I could finally breathe. I didn't realize how scared I was until I heard everything really was going to be ok.
I just kept saying Thank you God for protecting my baby! It was the emails, texts, and facebook messages that helped me make it through the next 24 hours. I know the doctors handle broken bones all the time because the hospital was full of kiddos with all kinds of needs, but I was struggling with keeping it all together. I started looking around for something for Denman to do and realized that the tv they had would play his favorite cartoon channel here. Now that was my God wink. That was his favorite thing to do in the mornings when he first wakes up at home so that would be perfect if he could watch it now to make everything feel as close to normal as we can.
He was so content watching his cartoons as we waited for Rusty and Natalie to come.
Rusty was taking Natalie to her New Student orientation at the International School this morning. We kept going back and forth on if Rusty and Natalie should go to that or if they should come to the hospital. The doctor finally came in a said that it would be 12:00 before they would take Denman in for the procedure. So we then decided they should go and then come up. That was going to kill me to miss out on meeting her teacher.
Renee and her girls were also at the New Student Orientation and she sent me some pictures to show me how great Natalie was doing. Rusty said she held on pretty tight to his hand most of the time but did great when talking to all the new students and teachers.
This is at the school in front of the bus office and the nurses office.
While we waited that morning the nicest lady came by to see if Denman wanted something to play with to pass the time. He told her that he liked to paint so she brought him doters to use. He played with those forever. This reminded me of sweet Timo and all the crafty things they did at my house while they played. Denman turned to me and said..."The hospital is so much fun! We get to paint in bed!"
He tried to be patient but the time was really starting to wear on him. He doesn't even like to be still at night. They gave him his robe to wear when he went back and he was not amused. He wanted a blue one instead.
He was not liking the monster robe.
We had about 20 more minutes before we would be going back for the procedure. They told me that I could go back with him and be there when he went to sleep. I was soo glad. I do not like it when they wheel your child off into a room and you don't get to go see what they are doing.
Denman fell asleep waiting to be taken back.
When it was time, Natalie and Rusty kissed him and said they couldn't wait to see his new cast. He got to ride in a wheelchair again as we headed to the room. When we got their the doctors were amazing. They explained what they were going to do, introduced themselves to me and to Denman, and asked him if he was ready to go to sleep. They gave him a mask and it took about five seconds and he was OUT!
I of course cried the whole way back to Rusty and Natalie because I just can't stand to leave him, but I knew it was just a matter of time and he would be all done. They said it would take 30 minutes with no pins and an hour and 30 minutes if they had to do pins.
We then headed downstairs to try and keep our minds busy. We were all hungry and ready for some caffeine. When we got back, the nurse came in and said Denman was done and waking up now. I went back to the recovery room and brought him back with us. He was sound asleep with his new strong cast on. They said they didn't have to do pins but that he also had another break in his elbow. We have to go back in a week to see them to make sure it is all healing like it should.
I can't explain how proud I am of this little dude. He was so strong to have had three breaks in his arm and the whole time worrying about how many lights we ran and if I had on my seat belt.
Some of my favorite comments that he made were... Will I get to jump on the trampoline again tomorrow? Can I ride back to get some more pictures of my arm? Did Ms. Jen get a ticket for running the red lights? Can I get a green cast like the Hulk?
These were all said at priceless moments throughout this experience.
This is Denman right after his procedure. He slept for a while after it was all done.
Rusty and Natalie played Guess Who while we waited for him to wake up.
When he woke up Natalie showed him his Fireman Sam Balloon. He turned just in time to say cheese. Can you tell I take a few pictures. :)
Denman kept going in and out for the next few hours, but when he was awake everyone tried to get him to smile. I think Ms. Helen, the play therapist, really liked Denman. While he was sleeping a band came to play in the playroom at the hospital but he missed it. As soon as she saw Denman was up she had the band come to him and play any songs that he wanted. They played, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Row Row Row Your Boat and a couple of more. Renee, her mom, Kaitlyn, and Keeley all were there to help us sing to our sweet Denman. They all brought him a police remote control car, a spiderman balloon, a monkey pillow pet, and Natalie a sticker book and stuffed dragon. They were both so excited to see them.
We are soo grateful to have them here with us to explore Aberdeen and take care of each other. We are just all hoping this is our last trip to the ER. :)
This is Rusty trying to get Denman to help the band by playing an Egg Maraca.
He was a little hesitant.
We had a violinist, a clarinet, and a percussionist singing all the fun songs.
This is my favorite picture. I finally saw a TRUE Denman smile. :)
Renee took Natalie with her because Denman was sleeping a lot and there was just NOT much to do at the hospital besides stare at each other. She said she could keep her until Rusty was ready to head home for the night. Natalie was so excited to go because she LOVES Keeley and Kaitlyn. Such a blessing to all of us!
After everyone left we met with the doctors again and they said that they wanted us to stay another night to watch the swelling and movement of Denman's fingers. Oh my that was NOT music to my ears!!! Did I mention that we are in a room with six other patients and their parents with only a chair for parents to sleep in. I kept saying... I can do this... I can do this... then I looked down and I had taken off all of my jewelry except for my bracelet that Michelle gave me...It says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." So I said OK God, I'm gonna need some strength here!
So we pulled out the oreos and ate them for dinner. Denman was all for an oreo as a meal.
I could see that the medicine was beginning to wear off because Denman started chatting away. He is just so funny. Rusty came up to bring some things from home and to see Denman before bedtime. Rusty found out how to rent movies on the TV which SAVED THE DAY! Denman was so excited!He also loves his new pillow pet.
After a few chats, he was out again.
Tracy sent us many texts and a picture of spiderman to show Denman. I hate that everyone had to experience his break, but so glad they were there to help us through it.
After another day of rest, Denman was ready to take on the world with one arm. He was DONE laying in bed so we headed to the play area with Natalie to play. The nurse came and put a sling on him to help with the weight of the cast. She said it should take 48 hours for the cast to be completely dry and not be quite as heavy. So off we went.
When we got there, they had a face painting station. Now THAT made the day perfect. Denman got batman painted on and Natalie got a unicorn. The doctors came in and said we could go home at 12 so we were doing our best to pass the time.
Here is Denman as Batman.
This is Natalie's Unicorn.
Denman got tired again so we headed back to see if maybe we could find a movie on to watch.
Natalie was headed to the movies that day while me and Denman waited for him to be released. Rusty had to go in to work so I am soo grateful for Jen. She came to the hospital to grab Natalie so she could have a fun day before she had to start school tomorrow.
I love this picture because Denman threw in three coins into this fountain and made a wish. I asked him what his wish was and he said that he could get a green cast. That was the first thing that he said when he got out of recovery. They said it was going to be GREEN! He was so sad that it wasn't green. They told him it needed to dry good first.
So we were headed to the car when I realized that we still needed to stop by the ER to make our next appointment, get part of the cast trimmed, and to see if they had a number to call to get a waterproof case for taking a bath. I was sooo exhausted and DIDN'T want to go do all of that, but something was telling me to go. So I went!
Pretty sure Denman knew where we were because he grabbed my hand when we walked in the door. We found the desk and scheduled the appointment. We also found my new favorite person in Aberdeen. It was the Orthopedic Surgeon. He was AWESOME. He made Denman a new sling that fit him just right, told him how to use his cast to help him do fun things, and then asked if we wanted a different color on the cast. Denman gave him the biggest smile and said GREEN!
So here we are in the ER again getting all of our prayers and wishes answered and of course I am crying AGAIN! The doctor asked if I was ok and I told him that I was just really exhausted. He told Denman to take me home and take good care of me. Denman laughed. :)
So finally we were headed home. It took Denman all of about five minutes to change clothes and find his place on the couch.
Check out my precious Denman! Now THAT is the SMILE that I LOVE To see!
We will still need prayer through this one... I don't know if you know this little dude, but he changes clothes at least 20 times a day... no kidding.... PLEASE pray he figures out how to do this on his own SOON!!!
I want to thank everyone for all of their prayers, thoughts, emails, texts, facebook messages, visits, and phone calls through all of this. There is NO way I would have made it without them.
Mark 11:24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
I could ask so many questions and doubt our Lord about this day, but I choose to trust HIM instead. I feel that HE used this experience to bring our friends in closer and to show that there is power in prayer. Our friends are now family to us. And this experience made the bond within our family even stronger. I am grateful that HE was right there beside us the whole time! God makes the impossible possible! So, Let's TRUST HIM!
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