It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon, Emma wakes up from a nap that wasn't nearly as long as I would have liked. So, Emma and I went to the park with Sara and Grady to play.
The swings are fun, the kiddos are giggling, and then Emma starts squeeling for the slide.
It's a BIG slide, so why not ... I'll go down with her to keep her safe.
Weeeeeeeeeee .... turns into a blood curdeling scream.
Nothing is worse than hearing your child scream in pain. Try as hard as you can to keep your children safe, they will get hurt.
If you haven't seen the recent "Everyday I'm hovering" parody video about helicopter parents, you are in for a treat.
Unfortunately in this situation, hovering wasn't the issue. 5 hours in the ER later, Emma was rocking a cast from her toes all the way shy of her hip. While they were putting on the cast, she laid there like a rockstar eating a popcicle, some jello, and graham crackers. I was in awe of her. Anyone at least 2, 3, 4, and even 30 times her age would be crying, carrying on, and be pretty upset about having to spend the next several weeks in a cast ... not Emma.
Emma broke her leg while going down the slide ... in my lap. Talk about mommy guilt.
I can't say thank you enough to the doctors, nurses, and staff at Duke University Hospital. They were amazing. Even sent her home with a new baby doll.
Emma continued to amaze me with how she handled herself in the cast. Less than two days, and more Nick Jr, Disney Channel, and animated movies than Emma had ever watched before later, Emma was up running around on the cast, she didn't let it slow her down. She adapted.
Over the course of the 4 weeks she was in the cast, we decorated the cast with crayons, it turned from white to a light shade of yellow/brown (they apologize at the hospital that they didn't have any fun colors on hand), and I poured out quite a bit of sand and dirt from the cast while changing diapers. We discovered wearing one of Daddy's soccer socks over top of the cast it while playing outside at school kept both the cast and her toes much cleaner, and also discovered that masking tap along the edge of the cast is a great buffer when it starts to get rough around the edges.
It never slowed her down. And I think she rather enjoyed the get well soon presents that came from Nana and Grampa, and Uncle Jason and Kelly.
She was not such a big fan of getting the cast off however. The noise that machine makes, I don't blame her. So with the help of Elmo, some yogurt, and graham crackers, she sat still, held on to Mommy, and got freed from the cast. The art of the distraction was very important here.
One thing I learned is that you shouldn't wear shoes on the slide (particularly croc style shoes). Even more important, I learned how resilient kids are. They adapt and they overcome hurdles as if it wasn't even a challenge.
Minutes and hours out of the cast, Emma's spunk was completely back. Later that night, she was running around the house (a little peg-legged at first), and two weeks out of the cast, and you can't even tell Emma hurt her leg.
Two days later ... Daddy helped Emma (and Mommy) get right "back on the horse again", and enjoyed an afternoon at the playground ... swings and sliding boards. This time we opted for an Emma size sliding board with Daddy at the top, and Mommy catching at the bottom. Emma is still in one piece and loves the slide!
Emma will probably never remember having a broken leg, but this mom won't be letting her wear shoes on the slide anymore (doctors orders, not just mom's). Yes, there will be more bumps and tears along the way (knock on wood, no more broken bones) ... but I have an amazingly resilient girl, and I look forward to watching her grow as she continues to explore the world.