Broken Arm + Elbow Dislocation - Check! (Or do we get two checks for that??)

J & L were visiting Papa and Honey in June to kick off the summer when this happened to J's elbow.  (What you probably cannot see unless you specialize in radiology is that his humerus also has a fracture in the growth plate.)

"I was chasing after a drone and I was helping the mascot get through kids that were tagging and stuff and giving him swords-those noisemakers-so he could fight off the other kids and it was kind of like a game we were playing, just to let everybody know.  The mascot came over to give the other kids high fives but when they were chasing the drone I tripped over his big foot and landed on one arm and dislocated and fractured it.  The mascot fell down, too."

What was the mascot?

"A giant french fry."

This conversation was had the next day, but the one I had with him over the phone as he was on the way to the emergency center immediately following the accident was similar; a shortened version.

His level of calmness paired with the absence of wailing prompted me to remind Papa (my dad) that we're very frugal and don't rush to the doctor for anything short of a real emergency.

"Are you sure he really needs to see someone tonight?"  To which Papa replied, "Yeah, I'm pretty certain it's broken."

A little while later we received pics of his x-rays, which, of course, confirmed he did have a serious injury.

Honey, J, & L, before his elbow was set  (See?! It doesn't look bad at all from this angle!)

The medical staff, as well as Papa and Honey, were excellent and as hard as it was not being there, we were confident J was in excellent hands an honestly a little glad we got a pass on seeing a dislocated elbow up close and personal and on our own child (#momoftheyear).

Papa and L clowning around in the waiting room

I think Papa had the hardest time so it was great that L was there to entertain him and keep him company.  :)

They did put J under anesthesia to set the arm, put a splint on it, and sent him home to Papa's and Honey's with orders to see an orthopedic within the week.  We decided to let him/them rest the next day and that I would meet up with them to collect J & L the following day.

Out cold

This made my momma heart hurt,

but he was awake before I knew it!

Here is the after pic.  All back in its proper place and ready to go!

Fortunately the boys did get to see Nonnie (& Papa Jim!) before heading home.  :)

SK and I met Papa & Honey to get the boys and we were all very disappointed their trip got cut short.

The accident happened on Monday night and we saw the doctor that Thursday.

Like I mentioned, Dr. V is a good friend and got us in right away.  (I've got a feeling we'll be good for business.)  Hots had sent him the x-rays from Texarkana that night and Dr. V took a couple more at his office.

After seeing the new x-rays and manipulating J's arm he told us the physician in Texarkana "did everything exactly right" and that J's elbow seemed to be very stable.  He also noted a fracture in the growth plate of J's humerus, telling us the combination of injuries is very unique.  This was all GREAT news.  This type of fracture as well as the dislocation (since it had stabilized so well) required no surgery and not even a cast!

The splint came off that day and J was to wear his sling 80% of the time and come back in a week. Most of that 80% of sling wearing time ended up being the strap around his neck with his arm outside.

On July 4th we were home, Hots was grilling and the kids were riding their bikes on the deck (yes, riding his bike because it would be impossible and life threatening to the boy and the mom to try to keep the boy still) when J ran in to tell me excitedly, "Look, Momma!  I fell off my bike and now I can extend my arm the whole way!" demonstrating it, of course.

Kind of like this at our followup with Dr. V.

And he got the all clear!

I was most excited since we'd already spent most of our summer in the water, on the water, or playing basketball.  We dodged a bullet for sure!