L. had a medical issue as an infant and spent several years in physical therapy from the time she was about one year old until she was 4. She didn't take her first step until she was 18 months old and was unsteady on her feet for years.
The physical therapist suggested several activities for us to do with her in addition to weekly visits to physical therapy to get her on track with other kids her age (this is one of the reasons I started writing Kid Tracks because we had to stay active to help her get her muscles in to shape). And by the time she was 4 years old, she tested out of PT.
It seemed like a great accomplishment at the time but shortly after PT ended, L. fell and broke her arm. This was not a shock though because I thought it a miracle we'd gone that long without a broken bone given the frequency of her falls (some were really nasty) learning to walk and climb up and down stairs.
Unfortunately it was summer time and dealing with a cast in the summer on a 4-year-old was a real drag. But we made it through the 6 weeks and all seemed OK.
Then L. broke her arm the following spring jumping off a swing set with her sister. Another 6 weeks went by and her cast was removed two weeks before her first dance recital in June, which we thought was great timing.
But a week later L. fell off a couch chair. It was a standard L.-fall-off-the-couch scenario I'd seen her do many times before (no jumping or horsing around, just L. misjudging her ability to climb off) and should have been nothing to be overly concerned with. But I recognized the crying as being something more serious and took L. to the hospital.
It turned out that she had a compound fracture this time (and I should note that all three breaks were the same arm and the bone in that arm hadn't fully healed from the previous breaks and why it broke so easily again).
Suffice it to say we were questioned for hours by the hospital staff when they checked L.'s records and realized this was the third broken bone in a year. It took lots of explaining on our part and another record check from the PT to confirm L.'s medical condition before we were released from the hospital.
The really unfortunate thing about this break was that the ER doctors missed that the compound fracture needed to be set (they didn't take x-rays from the correct angle to see the mismatched bones of her arm).
So the day before L.'s dance recital during a follow up office visit with L.'s doctor we got the news that L. needed surgery to set the bone asap. Like, the next morning. The day of the recital.
L. was devastated and we promised that if she wanted to, she could dance in the recital after her surgery, never believing it would actually happen.
The surgery required she be put under anesthesia and we assumed she'd be out of it for at least a couple of hours and miss the show. But we brought along the pink tutu to the hospital to appease her.
The surgery went smoothly and L. woke up right afterward wondering why her mouth felt different (L. had a loose tooth that needed to be pulled when they put her under as an anti-choking precaution) and happy to see the tooth fairy paid her a visit during the surgery (her orthopedic doctor was great).
After a few popsicles and much bragging about her $5 bill after the surgery (this was a real pick-me-up for her), she was ready to put on her tutu and go to the recital. I checked in with her doctor and he said if she wanted to dance in the recital I could let her do it. He did warn me that she'd likely be feeling the pain a bit later in the day once all the meds she'd be given during the surgery fully wore off and to be prepared for that with some extra Tylenol.
So we left the hospital only a few hours after the surgery and made it to the recital with less than a half hour to spare. L.'s friends were thrilled to see her (there was much hugging) and she went out on the stage to perform her routine.
But that's L. She's a determined little cookie. If she gets something in her head she wants to do, she's going to do it. It's a personality trait that I believe will serve her well in life but I know all too well that it's not always an easy thing to parent.
So as I watched my now 11-year-old L. (who has not broken a bone since) looking like a teenager in her Arabian girl costume, I couldn't help but remember her in that little pink tutu we dragged to the hospital for her all those years ago.
L.'s surgery was around 8 a.m. as I recall and by noon she was ready to hit the road for her stage performance.
L. today (she's in front just left of the black pole)
Oh, and in case you were wondering, we survived a second summer with her in a cast more easily than the first. Lessons learned included the discovery of a special latex "sock" to cover her arm and cast and it worked like a charm. Just FYI for any of you who are facing a summer with a young child in an arm cast.
We bought this "sock" at a medical supply store in Portland and it worked great. Her cast never got wet with it on.
I believe L. became a stronger swimmer simply from the strength it took to paddle with a lead weight on her arm for two summers in a row. (Swimming had been part of her PT program and her favorite activity as a toddler/preschooler so saying no to it during the summer was NOT an option. The 'sock' was a life-saver and perfect compromise for us.)
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