"I don't want to walk. I hate walking" says Carter today after his cast was taken off his leg after having been in a splint or cast for 6 weeks.
Jaida carried him in from the tramp screaming on November 23rd, Mike's birthday. We didn't even know if he was crying because he was hurt or just mad. Sometimes he gets mad when the girls "jump too high" and screams like a crazy person about it. Mike held him. he stopped crying. But then Mike moved and Carter started screaming again. I picked him up and carried him to the other room. He cried, and cried. And cried. I couldn't move his leg at all without him screaming in pain. Very uncharacteristic of him. He has a high (physical) pain thresh hold (emotional, not so much). He's a tough kid. After a few minutes of wailing, he fell asleep. It was then we knew his leg was broken. This wasn't like his first broken leg. The one he broke when he was 18 months old from jumping on the couch. He cried for about 30 seconds and then ran around for a week (with a slight, occasional limp) before we took him in for a "just in case" check.
This was different. This was obviously broken.
Cancelled our birthday dinner plans and headed to instacare. Sure enough. Broken tibia. Just below the knee. All the way through the bone.
Splint for a week so the swelling could go down. Cast for 5 weeks. No walking (no weight on the leg) for 3 weeks.
At first it all seemed daunting. Un-realistic. Impossible. How was I going to manage a 2 year old with a broken leg, cast from his toes to this upper thigh, unable to walk, and an almost one year old baby who is also not walking? Not to mention all the birthdays (Mike's, mine, Caleb's, and Carter's) and the holidays (Christmas and New years) we had to work around.
The funny thing is, it all turned out to be not that big of a deal. And though it sounds cliche, turned out to be a blessing.
Carter's broken leg taught me some valuable life lessons.
The first: SLOW DOWN. Slow the heck down. That first week with no cast, unable to get himself anywhere, we spent a lot of time together. A lot of time on the couch reading, playing games, doing puzzles, watching movies. I was forced to let everything else slide and just sit. And enjoy that little boy. I tell Mike all the time I feel like I run, run, run all day long and yet it feels like I get nothing done. What am I so busy doing? Busy doing that actually matters? That fills the soul and is worth doing? How often do I just slow down and soak in all the things that actually matter? That fill the soul and make life worth living.
I got to love on that boy more than I have in months. Lots of attention. Lots of love. And it was so good. For both of us.
I also learned a lot from Carter's attitude. The kid didn't seem to care one bit that he broke his leg. In his innocence he just accepted it for what it was. After the 3 weeks of no walking were over (well, we cheated a little and only made it 2 weeks and 5 days), I told Carter to try walking. He started timidly and then got more confidence. He quickly started "running" through the house yelling "I can walk! I can walk!" I think in his mind he thought he may never walk again. It was cute. And kind sad.
We spent a lot of time together. It was nice in a month that generally turns out to be crazy. I got really good at carrying a child on each hip. And we had to get creative with grocery shopping an other errands.
He was a champ. And hopefully has all of his broken legs (bones) out of the way!
The pictures are all jumbled but I don't have time to sort.
No comments:
Post a Comment