Wednesday was a day to clean house, go grocery shopping, catch up on school work and play at the park near our flat. I accomplished one of those things. I had gotten things cleaned up and was encouraging the kids to finish their Math work when Spencer appeared in the kitchen doorway crying about his arm. I looked down and instantly knew something was very wrong. About two inches up from his wrist there was a strange bend in his arm. I figured he'd fractured both the radius and the ulna. Unfortunately this was one patch job I couldn't patch. Apparently, after being encouraged by Jonathan, he'd jumped from a pile of blankets on a desk onto the couch and the cushion had slid off the couch and somehow his arm had gotten twisted and broken in the process.
Arms don't normally bend that way.
With Hyrum gone, I called a local member of the Church to watch the kids while I took him to the ER. Mariam came without any hesitation and while we waited for her to arrive I was able to call the travel medical insurance company and figure out just where I should take Spencer. Finally I sent Hyrum a text telling him Spencer had broken his arm. It was around 3 am in California so I didn't really expect a response.
Mariam arrived and we carefully walked to the Tube station and caught a train up the way to High Barnet where we jumped on a bus and rode the rest of the way to the hospital. At the hospital, things actually went quite quickly after an initial wait of maybe 15-20 minutes. We had x-rays done, a temporary plaster more x-rays and a few conversations with doctors. At one point surgery was mentioned and I was a wreck. I couldn't believe that a fairly straight forward broken arm was going to require surgery.
Initial plaster on waiting for more x-rays and consult with the doctor.
Thankfully I found out that here surgery is anything requiring general anesthesia that may or may not require an incision for greater stability to fix the wound. I was still worried but after talking to the doctor and making arrangements to come back early Thursday morning, I felt a bit better. We had a plan and cutting into my little boy was the last possible eventuality.
There was a great play room with a lot of toys including this indoor football table.
I am so thankful for the Church and people wiling to help. Mariam has spent the better part of the past two days with my children, taking care of them and helping me. Last night we called two brethren to give Spencer a priesthood blessing and they came. There was no hesitation on their part, just offers of consolation and help. With my local family gone, I am grateful to be able to lean on my church family even though we are virtual strangers. I'm so glad I can find people I can trust so far away from home.
There was even an outdoor section. You can see Spencer's striped shirt in the yellow house.
This morning Spencer and I headed up to the hospital around 6:15 am. We arrived here around 7 am and waited for almost 50 minutes but then we moved from room to room and by 8:35, Spencer was anesthetized and having his arm set and re-plastered. Holding while they put him to sleep was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done. He has been so scared and just wanted me with him. To hold him and then kiss his little forehead and leave him there was almost more than I could handle.
I grabbed a quick bite to eat to calm my nerves and fill my stomach and then just wait for them to call me back up to the recovery room. I think we woke him up around 9:45 or so and we went back down to the bed area. He perked up pretty good and was happy to get dressed again. We got some squash in him and then some lunch. After lunch, he played but was anxious to get home. It had been a long day. We were discharged just after 4 and with the bus and tube ride home, we final arrived around 4:30 or so.
Spencer will wear his cast for a total of 6 weeks. We have to go to follow up appointments for the next three weeks to make sure the bones don't shift. This is a bit inconvenient as we are leaving London early next week. The whole process will take place over three countries and countless doctors. We'll figure it out thought and all will be well. I'm just glad he didn't required surgery and it will heal just fine. Maybe my kids will realize I'm not joking when I tell them not to jump on the furniture.
He was in much better spirits after he'd eaten. A few minutes after taking this picture he asked when they were going to take him to fix his arm. He was pretty shocked when I told him they already had.