Oh Deer!

On Thursday afternoon, the kids were all playing in the backyard after school. I heard Sabrina cry and didn’t think much of it because it seemed like an argument type of cry.  A couple minutes later Hannah came and told me I needed to see something outside. I walked outside to see Emma carrying Sabrina toward the door. Then after lots of questions from me I was told that the concrete statue of a deer (with antlers)  had fallen on Sabrina when she tried to climb onto it. I guess she wanted to ride on it’s back, and it fell over pinning her down at the shins. Emma had been able to move the deer off of Sabrina enough to pull her out from underneath it.

After holding Sabrina on my lap for a while, I went to go look at the fallen deer. I wondered if it had broken and how heavy it was. Nothing on it had broken and I could not move it at all!  The thing is solid; I’m guessing at least 200 pounds. Emma must have had a real adrenaline rush to have moved it at all. I came right back inside and Sabrina was still sitting very quiet and still with sort of a blank look on her face. I knew she had really been hurt because she seemed to just be in shock. I called Rob and he gave me the answer I was hoping for. He came right home. I then took Sabrina to the Urgent Care center, and Rob went with the other kids to Open House at the elementary school.

The doctors decided we should definitely take an x-ray. Sabrina was really nervous and did not want anything to do with the doctors or the big x-ray machine.  But she was a tough girl and didn’t fight it. She was just quiet and sad. When the results came back there was one bit of good news- only one of her legs had been effected. However, the left tibia was fractured in five places! So the nurses put a splint on it, and called the children’s hospital orthopedics to tell them that I would be calling to come in. By now it had been over 3 hours since we arrived, so Sabrina was very ready to come home and sleep.

That night Sabrina slept in our bed with us, and shortly after midnight Hannah came in crying saying she was worried about Sabrina’s leg. I told her she would be okay, but Hannah still climbed into bed with us too. I made up a little bed on the floor, and moved Hannah onto it twice during the night, but she kept waking up and wanting to be right there with Sabrina. It was very touching to see her concern for her little sister, but also heart wrenching to see her get so upset about it.

The next morning I called the children’s hospital and was told I couldn’t get in for a cast until Tuesday. I told them that the doctor at Urgent Care was very clear that she needed to be in a cast that day (Friday). After being transferred twice, I found an orthopedic nurse who had compassion and common sense and she found us an appointment for 10:00. Rob and I brought her to the hospital and the doctor there was nice and helpful. He looked at the x-rays and said that Sabrina could do a below the knee cast since the fractures were not spiral and the bone could take the movement. I was relieved because having a full leg cast would be really hard for her.

before the cast

prepping the leg

setting and wrapping the cast

the finished cast

Sabrina will wear her cast for 4-6 weeks. The doctor said if an adult had this same injury, it would be 4-6 months in a cast- Another example of how miraculous a growing body is! She cannot bear any weight on it for the first two weeks, but they gave her a little boot that she will use when she can walk with it. She chose light blue because she and Hannah love Silvermist and the other water fairies.

We celebrated being done with the doctors by going to get lunch and a happy meal. Sabrina would only let us get it for her if she could wait to eat it at home. Once we got home and she had her lunch she really perked up and has done very well since. I think this first week with be tough, but luckily it is our Spring break and we can stay home and the other kids will be here too to help entertain her. The toughest thing for me is when she says, “I’m sad because I want to be normal.” I keep telling her that she will be, and every day will get a little better.