Ellis has always been a climber and a jumper. Always. I am
surprised it took us 9 years, 4 months, and two days for our first hospital
visit.
One of the things I look forward to each school day is our
afternoon play. The parents gather around and chat about what we did or didn’t
do that day. The children participate in various games, including Ellis’s
favorite, Tiggy (tag). Wednesday, however, ended very differently.
I knew the minute I saw Ellis’s arm that it was broken. I felt
my heart breaking right along with it. He bravely walked towards me, holding
his arm so that it wouldn’t dangle from side to side. I gathered my arms around
him, did a few 360 degree turns trying to decide which way I should go, before
settling down in the dirt. I handed my phone to my friend, Bhanu, and told her
to call 000. (I always wondered in a state of emergency if I would think to
call 000 before 911. Now I know.) Meanwhile, Ellis is somewhere between a
scream and a cry. For the amount of pain he was in, I am so proud of how well
he kept it together. Although loud, it wasn’t ear piercing. As Bhanu is telling
000 our location, I feel my heart rate changing, my face starts to tingle and
everything began to look light in color. Crap. I am going to faint. I manage to
toss my bag towards the feet standing next to me and ask the person to get my
water. After a few sips, I looked at Bhanu in desperation. The good
multi-tasker that she is, she continues to talk to 000 and tells me to put my
head between my knees. At this point, my
head is pretty much next to Ellis’s. I calmly tell him that the doctors are on
the way and will give him medicine for the pain. The good mama that I am then
continues to tell him to try not to cry. I needed him to be brave for me. Yep,
that’s right, brave for his mama that can hardly keep it together. Nice.
The ambulance arrived almost immediately. Simon and John were
the medics that jumped right in and took care of my sweet baby. Seeing his arm,
they immediately gave him some medicine to ease the pain. Thank goodness for IPhones
and the ability to convert pounds to kilograms! Also, thank goodness Ellis knew
his weight (Mama fail #2). One of the first questions: How did this happen? I
didn’t know because I wasn’t watching (mama fail #3). Turns out, Ellis was
climbing a fence that enclosed the bike rack, got his foot stuck in one of the
links and fell. He tried to catch himself with his arm, but obviously that didn’t
go very well. Later I asked how it felt after he fell and he said, “My arm was
wobbling, disconnected, and itchy.” Yuck. Ellis was loaded on to a stretcher and
then into the ambulance. At some point I removed my head between my knees and
climbed into the ambulance with him. My saving grace was my sweet friend, Jen,
who rode in the ambulance with me and guided me through all the questions in
the ambulance and at the hospital. She told me later that John (the driver)
drove extra slow to keep from disturbing Ellis’s arm on any bumps or turns.
We arrived at Mater Children’s Hospital to an incredible team!
I just can’t say enough about them! I wish I could remember all of their names
and would love to be able to thank each one of them! There was an Irish nurse
that made me laugh, Sophie, Kirsten, Meghan, and some I never met because my
head was between my knees. My friend, Jen, is a nurse and she helped me so much
when it came time to communicate with the doctors and nurses. I am sure they
were thankful to have her there with me! She helped me comprehend and answer
questions. She also accompanied Ellis into XRAY. Here we go, mama fail #4. I just
cried in the waiting room while my friend sat with my son.
I could sense the urgency in the surgeon’s voice that Ellis
needed to be operated on very quickly. He kept mentioning when Ellis heads into
“theatre”. It didn’t take me long to realize that “theatre” meant surgery. I
love that term so much more! Way to go Aussies! I guess it is quite a
production! By the time Ellis was ready to head into theatre, Bhanu had joined
Ellis, Jen, and me. Watching my baby being rolled back behind closed doors, in
a foreign country, was gut wrenching. I hugged the nurse and then balled my
eyes out. I do believe Bhanu’s shirt needs a good washing! We headed to the
recovery room where Erica joined us. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful
support group! It was here that I got great hugs from my dear friends, a few
good laughs to pass the time, and phone calls from friends and FLUOR employees.
I was surrounded by love and felt it! The doctor eventually came in to say that
Ellis did well and lots of other things that I am sure my friends took good
notes on. J
I met up with Ellis in Recovery. Goodness, what a trooper. I thought we would
have our own room, but instead we shared it with 3 other families. Ellis and I
settled in for the night. This is when my stench began to settle in. I had walked earlier in the morning, worked
up at the school, done a few things around the house, but I had not showered.
Yay. Luckily, I had Dove wipes in my bag to sponge bathe and the hospital had a
toothbrush for me. I would like to say
I was so exhausted that I went straight to sleep, but I didn’t. Between my
overworked mind, my body odor, and the person (later identified as a woman)
snoring across from me, I didn’t sleep.
The sun began to peek through and it was time to go home. We
had to wait a bit for the doctor to release us, but I was glad he did! The
nurse, Meghan, couldn’t have been more kind to us. She joked around with Ellis
and even wheeled him out to the car. He was in such good hands! The rest of our
day was spent resting. Well, rest until it came time to bathe Ellis. Good thing
Tony was here. That may have to be another blog.
Many of you have asked, “But where was Hannah Grace?”
Luckily, we have a friend (and one of Tony’s coworkers) that lives two doors
down from us. I was able to call her and tell her what happened. Kelly met up
with Hannah Grace, told her what happened, and kept an eye on her. After a while,
she was picked up by her friend’s mom and stayed the night with her. The friend’s
family fed her, packed her lunch for the next day, and got her to school.
Friends are so good!
You may think it is odd that I took pictures of the days events. I think it helped keep me out of reality. The pictures of his arm were not taken by me because I couldn't look at it. What parent fail number are we up to???
Simon and John taking good care of my boy!
Jen leads the way!
Love this child!
000..I'll never forget it!
Can you see the playground dirt that was transported with him?
Simon on the left, John on the right
Ellis wasn't fond of the green whistle at first. He quickly changed his mind.
Just making sure they operate on the correct arm. Was there any doubt?
A dinner of champions: strawberries and a microwaved Freddo bar
"The sun will come out tomorrow...." Did I make the cut?
My idea of camping
Resting well. The right arm has the IV attached.
Ellis woke up at 2:15 and wondered where his Baskin Robbins ice cream was that I had promised.
I have certainly lost count of the parent fails!
Our roommates
Meghan was by Ellis's side all morning.
We were sent home with lots of goodies. I am beginning to wonder if the barf bags were for me.
All clean and ready to be tucked in!
