On Monday, September 24 we celebrated Kid Appreciation Day. A personal holiday we celebrate as a family. A good friend lost her son at age three and every year we take the entire day off to remember him and hold our babies a little tighter. This year was Madison's first day in full time school so we thought she could take the day off to make it extra special. We spent the day at the Children's Museum in Lehi. Had lunch with Mimi and did anything and everything our kids wanted to do. It was a blast! When we arrived home, as I was getting Braden out of his carseat, I heard a scream. It was Madi. She said she slammed her finger in the door and it wasn't until I rushed around to the other side of the car to realize the door had completely closed on her finger. OUCH! We ran inside the house to grab ice and facetime Daddy. Just then my friend Kara walked through the door. My gut said take her to the ER and so I quickly told me friend to stay with Braden and rushed her to the emergency room.
Once there they gave her some pain medication and an x ray. She finally began to calm down and we snuggled in the hospital room while we waited for results. The doctor came in and told us she had an open fracture just above the top knuckle on her right thumb. It is considered an "open fracture" because the skin is broken above the fracture.... not because the bone is sticking out. None the less, they gave her an antibiotic for the next 10 days, wrapped it up, and told us to follow with a hand doctor.
I left late Wednesday night for a girls trip to New York I had planned many months previous. Thursday she had her follow up appointment with Dr. Fraser. He checked the scans and decided she needed surgery. THE NEXT DAY! WHILE I WAS IN NEW YORK! Zach called me and I cried A LOT. I was going to miss my daughters first surgery and for whatever reason felt like this was my fault and felt like a horrible mother for being on a girls trip when this all happened. I know she was in good hands with Zach being there but it just isn't the same. She was scheduled for surgery Friday morning and as I wandered around the city, my mind could only think of my scared little girl. While she was in surgery we were roller blading and I fell and bruised the HELL out of my hands. So at least if I couldn't be there I would feel her pain on some level right? Zach finally called to let me know she was out of surgery and waking up. She was crying and wanted her mom. I was in the middle of Time Square and couldn't hear anything but could see her little crying face. I quickly jumped in a cab to be able to hear and talk to her. She wanted me to sing a song and it took everything in me to hold it together and try and sing and calm her down. Then the minute I hung up I burst in to tears, sobbing, in the back of this dirty taxi. THE MOM GUILT WAS SO STRONG.
However, it was just a reaction of her coming off the medication and when she called back a few hours later she was just fine. They placed TWO pins in her finger and bandaged her up.
It was a long 5 weeks of follow up doctor appointments, casts for the weekend, re wrapping, difficult showers and all around hygiene. All in the first couple months of starting first grade! She handled it like a champ and only got nervous when they first unwrapped it and she saw the pins, dried blood, bruising and stitches in all its nasty glory. It did put her out of commission for the entire fall soccer season but she really didn't seem to mind.
However folks, the moral of the story is NEVER TO SKIP SCHOOL. We skip ONE day and end up with surgery and a $3,000 medical bill.
