This morning I called the pediatrician's office to set up Ella's appointment with the Orthopedist. I spoke with our favorite nurse, Maggie (who rocks!), and she got Ella in to see the ortho this morning! The doctors at the ER figured we wouldn't be able to get in until next week, because of the holiday.
When I took Ella to the appointment, she was a rockstar :) She was being her normal outgoing self, saying "hi" to everyone she saw, in that sweet little voice that we all love (to people in the elevator, the receptionists, the nurses, the doctor, etc.).
When the Orthopedist saw her x-rays, he immediately confirmed the two fractures in her arm, the "buckle fractures." He said that with her being so young, her bones will heal very quickly and she will only need to wear her new cast for 3 weeks (as opposed to 6)!
We've never had a cast in the family before, so I wasn't sure how she would react to the technicians putting it on her. While I didn't think she would scream and cry, her reaction wasn't exactly what I expected...
I guess I never thought having a cast put on would be so much fun!
The reason the cast has to go all the way up her arm is to prevent it from falling off (since her arm/hand is so small). The positive of this is that she can't get her fingers to her mouth. The negative is that she can't reach the wheel of her wheelchair on that side, so if she goes in it, she'll pretty much go in circles.
She'll definitely need a lot of extra help over the next few weeks, but it could have been worse. So much worse.
To say that this past weekend was a rough one for us would be quite the understatement. I think I experienced the lowest low in my entire life. To be trying so hard to sort out all of our feelings about SMA and then have something like this happen was extremely difficult for us. I wasn't sure if I would ever get out of the "dark place" last night.
But going to the Orthopedist today and seeing how casual he was about the fractures really helped.
Our Squishy is ok.
God was watching over her on Friday night.
Sure, I'm still playing that dreadful scene over and over in my head, and probably will for some time. I don't think I'll ever forget the sound of her going down those stairs. And yes, I'm continuing to think of all the "what-ifs"...
But our Squishy is ok.
