Pearce's first big injury!

So, Thursday night, I was vacuuming the house.  Whenever I vacuum, Pearce likes it when I act like I'm going to get him with the vacuum.....he always jumps out of the way or jumps onto the couch.  So, I was in a hurry and told Pearce that was enough and that I needed to hurry up and finish.  Well, I wasn't finished playing the game, and I was in the zone and wasn't paying attention.  He tried to jump over the vacuum, but I didn't realize he was and ended up catching his foot and he fell hard on his right arm.  I heard a crack sound and then he immediately started crying hysterically and holding his arm.  I panicked and was so scared to look at it.  Thankfully it didn't look broken, so I scooped him up and just started holding him and tried to calm him down and inspect his arm more.  He wouldn't let me touch it touch it too much, but could move his hand and fingers.  He finally calmed down enough for me to really inspect it.....he said it hurt when I touched it which concerned me but he wasn't crying anymore.  He went to sleep just fine and I thought that maybe he just bruised it and the fall just scared him.  Friday, he woke up and said his arm didn't hurt anymore.  I was so relieved!  BUT he wouldn't use his arm.  Every once in a while, I would put pressure on his arm to see how he reacted only because he had made the statement that it would be fun to have a cast....so I wasn't 100% sure he seriously hurt it or was putting on a bit.  Whenever I did touch it, though, he would wince and say "ow!"  As the day went on, he still wasn't using it much, so I called his pediatrician.  The nurse told me to wait until Monday and if it was still hurting, to bring him in, that maybe it's just bruised.  I agreed to this.  He went to bed just fine that night and slept well.  On Saturday, we went to the Sweet Eats Fruit Farm for the Easter egg hunt.  Pearce couldn't wait to do all the fun things he had.  The first thing he did was the big jump surface.  After a few minutes on that, he wanted to get down because he said his arm hurt.  Then he wanted to do the rope swing....he tried to hold on but couldn't.  This was when I realized something really was wrong because he was soooo excited to try this because the owner had told him it was something Indian Jones would do and Pearce LOVES Indiana Jones!  By the time we left, I noticed he was just letting his arm dangle.  I decided I couldn't wait until Monday and called the pediatric Urgent Care and asked if they could do an x-ray.  They said yes.....but Pearce was looking sooooo forward to a birthday party he was invited to at a lego place, so even though I was pretty much convinced he had a fracture, I kept second guessing myself and decided we would go after the party.  At the party, he just rested his arm on the table and used his left hand and snapped legos together by putting them to his chest or he would ask me to do it.  My friend said his arm did look swollen, too.  After the party, we went straight to Urgent Care.  The doctor asked him where it hurt and Pearce pointed to his wrist.  They took 3 x-rays which he thought was really fun :)  When I saw the x-rays, I could tell there was no obvious break, but then realized they didn't x-ray his entire arm....just his had, wrist and a little bit up from his wrist and I questioned this in my mind, but didn't speak up, which I now regret.  It just seems like a 5 year old wouldn't be able to express clearly what hurts and what doesn't, so to be safe, x-ray the whole arm.  The doctor said he was concerned about a possible break in his growth plate in his wrist because there was swelling, so he put a splint on and told me a radiologist would look at his x-rays and that I would hear from them on Sunday and then would probably need to follow up with the pediatrician on Monday.  On Sunday, he started complaining about the middle of his arm hurting....great!  He did great with his splint and sling and thought it was fun to have it....until he realized he couldn't play certain games on his iPad, but he's been a real trooper!  So, Monday morning, I called and got an appointment with his pediatrician because I never heard back from Urgent Care about a radiologist looking at his x-rays.  I told his doctor the whole story and she did a thorough exam of his arm and there was one part in the middle of his arm that kept hurting him when she pushed on it.  She was disappointed that there wasn't an x-ray of his whole arm because she said young kids can't always adequately pinpoint where something hurts....exactly what I thought!  So, off to get another x-ray and specifically of the middle part of his arm.  He went in all by himself to get his x-rays and I waited right outside the door.  I could hear the nurses praising him and telling him what a good job he was doing :)  They finally called me in and the head nurse said "Now, I can't tell you anything because we have to have the radiologist review these and call your doctor, BUT, it's a good thing you got more x-rays.  Do not let him use this arm, and keep this splint on....wink, wink."  I was holding his arm at this point and starting to put the splint back on and then she said "See where your thumb is?  Be very careful right there."  UGH!!!!!  I knew it!!!!!!  My thumb was right in the middle of his arm.  A little bit later, the pediatrician called and said he had a fractured ulna....the bone that goes from his elbow to his pinky....the side that he fell on.  I felt sooooooo bad for not speaking up about his x-rays at Urgent Care and also for not pressing more to get in to the doctor on Friday.  Now I know....trust my mommy instincts!!!!  She said he will need to get a cast but could go to school Tuesday since he has a splint, but that he has to limit his activity at school.  I explained all of this to Mrs. B. and she was so sweet and understanding.  I could tell Pearce was excited to show all of his friends his splint and sling :)  I picked him up and then we went to Texas Orthopedics to get his cast.  Just in time for Easter and right after I paid for him to have private swim lessons....of course, LOL!!!  Dr. Sargent showed me his x-ray and I could immediately see the fracture.  She said he would have to have a cast that goes up his arm past his elbow because she didn't want him to be able to rotate his arm at all.  Good news is that at 4 weeks, he'll get another x-ray and if that looks good, will get the cast off and have a removable splint for another 4 weeks.  I am just soooooo thankful it wasn't a full break!  Pearce got to pick out his cast color and I was relieved he chose light blue :)  The nurses were quick getting his cast on and I must say, he does look pretty cute with it!  Right now, he's excited....we'll see how excited he is in a week :)  The doctor talked to him and told him absolutely NO running, no climbing, no scooter, no playing in the sand....in my mind I said "Basically, no fun!"  She also said for him to have indoor recess because she doesn't trust teachers to be able to watch the kids outside, which I would agree with if he were at a public school, but since Bethany's classes are so small and the playground is relatively small and I trust his teacher so much, I'm just going to talk to her and see what she thinks....could he still go to recess with his class, but no running or climbing.  I remember still playing when I had my casts and I always had bad breaks, so I just can't stand the thought of Pearce sitting inside.  Now, if Mrs. B. has to constantly remind him to not run, etc..., then he will have to do quiet time inside.  We will see!  After his cast, we went to Walgreens to pick out a little prize.  When we were checking out, he told the cashier all about his broken arm.  She told him that today was her birthday and that her friends had brought her cupcakes and would he like one....yes, please!  I thought that was soooo sweet of her and of course, Pearce use his nice manners with her....always a silver lining!

Easter Bunny and Egg Hunts!

Last week we went to the mall to see the Easter bunny.  Pearce was soooo excited and like always, just went right up to him and started talking away :)  The pictures turned out so cute!!!  He asked him for an Imaginext toy and LOTS of chocolate....I bet the Easter bunny will bring him those things!  After that, we rode the train.  While we were on the train, Pearce saw this big trampoline jumpy thing and said "I would do that, but I bet we don't have time to do it today."  Well, right then I decided what the heck, I'm going to let him do it :)  After the train ride, I led Pearce over to the trampoline and told him he could do it.  He just looked at me and smiled so big and said "Thank you Mommy!!!"  The operator asked him if he wanted to jump high or super high.  Of course Pearce said super high!  He had so much fun and can't wait to do it again.  After playing in the play area for a while, I took Pearce to get a big soft pretzel....he LOVES those things!  The lady gave him a hat, too :)  Then we went to Macy's for me to look at swimsuits....sweet little Pearce kept telling me how pretty I looked.  There were several Easter egg hunts going on that weekend, but I decided to try a new one at a new fruit farm called Sweet Eats Fruit Farm.  Oh my gosh.....this place was soooooo much fun!  As soon as we drove in, I couldn't believe how pretty it was with tons of big trees, lots of shade and wide open spaces.  We had about an hour before the scheduled egg hunt, so we just explored a bit.  When we were checking in, the owner asked Pearce if he liked Indiana Jones....ummmm YES!  Pearce told him he had seen all the movies and that Temple of Doom was his favorite :)  The guy just started laughing and told Pearce he could pretend like he was Indy and do the rope swing.  From that moment on, whenever he saw us, he called Pearce Indiana, which Pearce totally loved!  There were rope swings, hammocks, hay bales to climb on, a giant dirt pile that kids to climb on and dig for real treasures, a river to wade in, a petting zoo, bunnies to love on, a tractor train, a maze, a giant bounce surface, pony rides, and of course, the egg hunt.  I can't wait to take Pearce back here....all of these activities are permanent.....our new favorite place!  Pearce got a bucket full of eggs and was a happy camper.  We spent another few hours just having fun.  He could not get enough of the bunnies....LOVED holding those bunnies!!  The next day, I took Pearce to the Cedar Park egg hunt.  I thought he looked so cute in his little yellow plaid shorts.  By this time, he had his arm in a sling.....that will be the next post!  So, he had fun collecting another bucket full of eggs, but the event was really crowded and he couldn't do a lot of the other activities, so we left and went to get ice cream :)  A sweet story while we were at Baskin Robbins:  I'm always telling Pearce to smile or wave at people and that most of the time, that person will smile or wave back and he will have made their day a little brighter just by that act of kindness.  So, we got our ice cream and were sitting at our table and in walked an elderly woman.  She sat down at a table across from us while her husband went to get her ice cream.  I was busy cleaning up the table from melted ice cream when I noticed Pearce waving and smiling at her and she was doing the same back to him.  Then he said to me, "Mommy, I smiled at her and she smiled back at me."  I told him that was so kind of him to do.  We were ready to go, but before we left, Pearce stopped at her table to say hello to her.  She told me he was a "darling boy."  Sooooo sweet!  There are so many times that I see Pearce waving to people in their cars from the backseat, haha!