Last Monday we headed to Baltimore for Omi and Opa’s 60th wedding anniversary and Hannah and Toros’s wedding. Vera, Chas, Jonas, and Brittany were already there. So, after the long train ride we headed to Woodbridge Elementary for a little playground fun with Liam. The fun came to a stop when he took a step onto the slide and plopped down with one leg in front of him and one twisted awkwardly behind him. He cried and clung to me on the walk home while trying to rub the top of his left leg. However, his non-bruised and non-swollen leg led me to believe he was probably alright. I put him down for a nap and noticed that every time he tried to move, he winced and cried in pain. After the 5th or 6th time he managed to wake himself up entirely. I called the pediatrician in New York to find out what I should do. Upon her recommendation my mom, Vera, Liam, and I headed to the ER at Hopkins for xrays. As expected, we waited and waited and waited. First we waited to be seen by a doctor, then we waited for xrays, then we waited for the results of the xrays. Just before midnight, with Liam sleeping in my lap, I learned that he had indeed fractured his femur (seriously??!), that he would need a cast (what?!), and that they would need to sedate him (no!) to put the cast on. Luckily, the break didn’t need to be set first. The other good news was that unlike most kids with a broken femur, Liam was going to have a new, experimental, one legged spica cast instead of having both legs in a cast. Liam was a trooper through the whole thing. They woke him up to put an IV in his arm in preparation for the sedation and he looked at me like “why the hell did you wake me up for this?!” There isn’t much Liam is afraid of, but the hospital seemed to be up there on the fear list for him. He obviously didn’t like the poking and prodding from the nurses, but the beeping on the IV machine and the monitors also seemed to make him very nervous. Finally, after waiting and waiting, it was time to bring Liam back to get his sedation and cast. They gave him a shot in his IV and within a few seconds he was basically asleep (though, with his eyes open). I had to leave the room while they put the cast on. About 45 minutes later they called me back as he started to wake up. I came back to a baby in a big blue cast with a frightened look on his face. The cast was big and awkward, but it was finally holding that broken little leg in place, so I felt thankful for it. At 5am we were strapping Liam into the car seat to bring him back home. Vera and my mom had camped out the entire night with us in the ER. Thank goodness for them…. I’m not sure what I would have done on my own.
The next few days brought a lot of pain and discomfort for poor Liam. I think that in addition to the fracture, the cast was tight due to swelling and may have been pinching and rubbing his skin. We drugged him up on codine and stayed with Carol and Tim (thank goodness for them too!) for a few days while my family celebrated Omi and Opa and their 60 years of marriage. As Saturday, Hannah’s wedding day, rolled around things were looking up quite a bit. Jason had arrived from New York, Liam was off the codine , and picking him up didn’t seem to cause him pain anymore (with a little help from Dr. Josh who turned out to be infinitely more helpful than anyone I tried to follow up with over the phone). I was happy to have a night off for Hannah’s wedding (which was awesome!), while Liam remained in the loving care of his Nana and Grampa.
Now we’re mostly dealing with a frustrated kid who remembers that he used to walk, run, and play. I wish there were some way to explain to him that this is only temporary. However, in Liam’s little world, four weeks (which is how long we expect him to be in the cast) probably feels more like forever than it does like 'only temporary'. However, now we’re back in New York and I do think he gets comfort from being in his own home. I also took him to school today where the teachers treated him like a king, the other kids brought him toys, and Liam seemed to be having a genuinely great time. I’m hoping it only gets better from here.
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