She's Free!

This morning, 11 weeks to the day after breaking her arm, Annika's arm was officially freed from being in a cast.

Needless to say, we have one VERY happy girl. She graduated to a brace that she'll wear for the next 4 weeks. On an up note, she can take it off to bathe, sleep, and to do her PT stretches. (I'm also pretty excited that it can be washed ... unlike the casts!)

She received the green light to ease back in to participating in the activities she'd been banned from since breaking her arm. She can participate in Irish dance again (so long as she isn't risking tripping and falling) starting next week, and she can return to taking part in PE class at school in 2 more weeks (again, so long as it is safe/comfortable for her arm).

The orthopedics team members at Children's Hospital were incredible and we are grateful for their level of care throughout this entire process. That said, I hope they aren't offended when I say, "I hope we never have a reason to see you again!" 😄

Way to heal, Annika!! Just no more monkey bars, please!

One very excited girl!

Skinny little arm!

So much better than a cast

Annika's Arm Saga Continues

On Tuesday, I picked up Annika from school and we headed to Children's Hospital with the hope she'd have her cast removed and she'd start the "brace" phase of her recovery process. Let's just say things don't always work out as we hope they will...

In the weeks leading up to the appointment, I cautioned Annika against being 100% sure the cast would be a thing of the past. I really expected it to be done, but you just never know. We gave her really silly reasons why it might not pan out ... UFO lands on the hospital, etc. Boy, am I glad we prepped her for the possibility of the cast being around longer than that appointment because that's exactly what happened. (Much to her chagrin.)

Excited girl

At previous appointments, she had x-rays taken through her cast, which is what I'd expected this time. Nope. We went straight into the cast room and had her cast taken off. Annika was a ball of nerves and excitement leading up to the removal process. She giggled as the saw cut her cast into two pieces, and then became VERY protective of her arm... she was acutely aware of how vulnerable it was and how stiff her elbow felt.

Buh-bye green cast

It tickles!!!

Free arm!

We popped across the hall to the x-ray room and had a couple of images taken of her arm, so a proper evaluation of her progress could take place. We waited awhile for the results to be evaluated ... longer than I had expected. In hindsight, it makes sense because the providers consulted with each other before filling us in on the results. While Annika's healing bones look great in terms of angles and such, the bone growth rate isn't such that the medical team felt comfortable freeing her arm from being in a cast... yet. Because Annika is in the twilight of her childhood growth timeline, her bones are slower to rebuild themselves. (If she was 5 or 6, she'd most likely be out of her cast by now.)

After a few tears, talking through the importance of the long-term goal of a fully-healed arm in the shortest amount of time (aka, not experiencing a setback by taking her arm out of the cast too early and re-injuring it and starting the WHOLE process over), and lots of hugs, and realizing that her new cast would allow her elbow to move freely, Annika was able to move forward and picked out the colors for her new cast: 1/2 green and 1/2 pink to represent a spring flower.

Not the outcome we'd hope for, but things could be a lot worse

To ease the sting of her still-casted arm, we opted for dinner from Dick's. Let's be honest.. a cheeseburger and some greasy fries can't fix her broken arm but they can put a smile on her face! (They also made our dinner planning after an unexpectedly long ... 2 hour ... appointment very easy!)

YUM

After realizing how vulnerable her arm felt in its new cast, Annika almost seemed relieved to have an transitional cast experience. Her elbow is very stiff and she's working on remembering to use it so it can start to loosen up a bit. It's all a process and she's many steps closer to the finish line.... just not quite as far as she'd hoped. We'll return to Children's on Eric's birthday for another check-up; if her bones still hurt when they are touched, she'll stay in the cast longer. If they don't hurt, she'll graduate to the brace. Stay tuned, dear readers!

Annika's new cast

On Monday, aka mid-Snowmagedden, Annika and I ventured out into the cold, snowy world for her scheduled appointment at Children's. Fortunately, Eric worked from home that day, so we took his car  to the appointment (all wheel drive for the win). Driving was a piece of cake (mmmm.... cake!) because we were able to stick to the plowed roads used by the buses on their emergency routes.

Annika could hardly wait to get the cast swapped out... the original one was a plaster cast under a fiberglass cast. So bulky! So heavy! (And, let's face it .... so smelly!)

Annika giggled through the removal process and was fascinated by the various layers of the cast. (I love how inquisitive our girls is!) The clinician gave Annika's arm a nice sponge bath using baby wipes to help remove some of the dead skin and ripeness, shall we say.

Annika picked a green cast for her second go-around, which she was thrilled to report gave her more finger freedom and was MUCH lighter. (This newfound freedom left her feeling more sore than she'd been in a few weeks... not a surprise, but still a good reminder that she's still healing and needs to be careful.)

We don't have to go back for four weeks. (WOO HOO!) That upcoming appointment *should* be when she can get out of a cast and into a brace. Fingers crossed!

Goodbye, old cast

Ready for the saw

It tickles!

New cast ready for signatures!

Mamas with Cameras 365 Project: Week 3

Another week of 2016 has zoomed past and is officially in the history books. It has been a wet, wet, wet week here in Seattle, so plenty of opportunities for weather-related photos. I've actually had to challenge myself NOT to do too many weather photos because drops and splashes are so easy to come by right now.

Conor looking at baby photos while snuggling with my childhood Snoopy doll

Rainbow over Seattle

Proof that the boy sleeps, even though he says, "Sleeping is boring, so I don't do it."

Mission Impossible Yarn Maze

Annika peering through Mama's new photography toy

Waiting room hug-turned-wrestling-match

Our neighbor's house reflected in a raindrop

Annika's Road to Recovery

Yesterday was a greatly-anticipated day in our home... especially for Annika. This year, she didn't have a Christmas countdown calendar like most children; instead, she had a "cast off" countdown calendar. Each day, she marked off one more day as she anxiously waited to have her cast removed and yesterday was THE day.

All four of us piled into the car on a wet/blustery day and made our way to Children's Hospital for Annika's appointment. Yes, this appointment was momentous enough for ALL of us to be there.

Goodbye, cast!!

We started off with the tech removing the cast, which surprised me... I'd expected the x-rays to happen first. Shows ya what I know! Both kids got to wear the ear protection (Annika didn't want Conor to feel left out by not having something on his ears, too!)

Even though Annika had her first cast removed two weeks after her injury and knew what it felt like, she was still a bit nervous about having this cast removed. Once the saw started up and she felt the tickly sensation as it cut off her cast, she was nothing but giggles and laughter!

After the cast was off, it was time to pop across the hall for a quick set of x-rays and then back into the orthopedics cast room for a final exam. Cheryl, Annika's ortho specialist, was really happy with Annika's healing; that said, she pointed out that the bones weren't quite healed yet. She said that Annika didn't need another cast (whew!) but would need to wear a brace for the next 4 weeks. Even so, Annika was given the green light to return to a more active lifestyle, but not one with complete freedom. Cheryl made sure to point out that Annika still has to stay off of the playground equipment and can't do any contact sport (such as football, rugby, and lacrosse ... Umm... yeah, NOT a problem!). Annika can now jump rope, ride her bike, swim, participate in PE class, etc. So, great news in the big picture!!

To celebrate her big day, Annika got to pick where we went to lunch. She chose Panera because she's such a big fan of that restaurant's tomato soup. Going to the mall two days before Christmas wasn't exactly high on Eric's and my to-do list, so we opted to do take-out instead. Yum and easy!!

One of the biggest advantages of the brace over the cast is Annika can remove it for bedtime and bathing ... no more Hefty bags when she's in the bath or shower! In fact, it was recommended that she spend a bit of time soaking in the tub to help rehab her arm, which Annika gladly did as soon as she was home from the hospital. She's a bit achy (no surprise after not using her wrist for the past 7 weeks), but is handling it like a champ!

Modeling her new brace

A huge thank you to everyone at NW Hospital and Children's Hospital for all of the wonderful, compassionate care they provided during this journey. We are incredibly grateful for you taking care of our little girl!!

Annika's Big Owie

Last Tuesday, as I was driving from the park and ride to the kids' school to pick them up, I got a call from the Extended Care teacher saying Annika fell from the playground equipment and hurt her wrist and it looked pretty serious. Fortunately, I was only about 3/4 of a mile from the school when my phone rang, so I was there in a flash. Even with a degree in English and only basic First Aid/CPR training under my belt, I could tell it was broken. There was an odd angle to her wrist and I knew it wasn't because of some funky swelling. 

Before I got to the school and saw her wrist, I called Eric and told him that based on how she was, I'd either meet him at school (so he could take Conor home) or I'd have him meet us at the ER. No doubt about it ... he was meeting us at the ER. I have to say, our local ER is wonderful. Their staff and care providers are always compassionate and efficient. Plus, it isn't a major hospital, so the wait times are often shorter than if we went to UW or Harvorview, for example. The ER doctor examined Annika's wrist and very kindly ordered pain meds for her before they bothered with x-rays (which did eventually confirm that she completely broke her left radius and ulna. The bones were at about a 25-degree angle, and the doctor (who has a friend/former colleague named Annika, by the way!) said setting the bones would require Annika to be sedated. NW Hospital's ER wasn't set up to do a pediatric sedation and after consulting with the orthopedic doctor at Children's Hospital, it was decided that we should switch hospitals. So, they splinted Annika's arm and sent us on our way. 

Side story: About an hour before we left NW Hospital, Eric and Conor headed home so they could let Buca outside and to get dinner into Conor. I didn't need my coat in the ER, so sent it home with Eric. Guess what! My car keys were in the coat pocket. WHOOPS! Fortunately, we live fairly close to the hospital and Eric/Conor were able to pop back with my coat and keys.

Waiting for Daddy to bring Mama's keys

We barely got settled in the waiting room at Children's when they called us back to get Annika ready to have her arm set. The silver lining? Eric's cousin happened to be on shift that night and was one of Annika's nurses!) Jensine walked in to the room Annika was happily watching cartoons in (God bless oxycodone and good hospital planning!) and said, "I wondered if this is the Annika Olson I know!" She gave Annika two little stuffed animals, as well as some marvelously kind/supportive words. 

Watching cartoons while waiting for her turn to get fixed up

Soon, Annika was wheeled into another room that was big enough for the medical staff to treat her arm. The nurse put in an IV and soon realized it didn't go in right, so he had to do it a second time, much to Annika's chagrin. I have to give our little girl credit, she was in pain and scared, yet really did a fabulous job putting on a brave face and breathing through the owie parts. Fortunately, she was sedated for the REALLY owie part... the setting of her bones. I swear, it looked like the doctor was trying to pull her arm off completely at some points during the procedure!! That said, when he was done and the cast was on, he took new x-rays, which showed how nicely the bones were aligned. 

Sleeping it off

It took awhile for Annika to get out of the sedation fog. The doctor in charge of the sedation warned me that Annika would probably see double as she came out of the sedation, and she was right! Annika, it turns out, is a really funny "drunk". She kept saying, "Mama!! Why I see two Mamas? You have four eyes and two noses!" She also tried to "catch" the leaf decorations on the walls in her recovery room. 

Once she was somewhat lucid, she was wheeled to an x-ray room, for one last set of images before we were  given the green light to go home. We rolled up to the house a few minutes before 1 AM ... and found a very tired/worried Eric standing at the door waiting for us. Poor guy couldn't sleep knowing his baby girl was hurt. Eric, Annika, and I stayed home on Wednesday to (a) get some sleep and (b) care for Annika's arm. There were a few tears when the reality of her injury started to sink in ... namely, no diving/swimming classes until she's better. Talk about a broken heart to go with her broken arm!

Feeling a bit perkier ... still enjoying the good meds

By Friday, she was ready to head back to school for a half day. She loved the celebrity associated with being back at school and had many people asking to sign her cast. 

Excited to go back to school

She'll return to Children's tomorrow for a follow-up appointment and to have the current cast removed and then a longer-term cast put in its place. She's hoping the new one will be pink and purple stripes ... much flashier than the plain white one she has now. I'm guessing a whole new round of friend signatures is on her horizon!

She's doing quite well now and is getting feistier each day. She's still sore, but that's to be expected. That said, I told her this morning that she was already almost a week into her healing and she exclaimed, "WOW! That was fast!" (Now, let's see if she still thinks that a month or so from now!) :)

A special thank you to everyone who expressed concern for Annika during this ordeal. We are so grateful for your kindness and compassion!

Visiting Ethan

On Sunday, Annika and I visisted her little friend Ethan at Children's Hospital. Ethan is one of the sweetest kids you'll ever have the chance to meet; he and Annika are just a few month apart in age and play really beautifully together. I truly hope this is a friendship that lasts the test of time, and I have to believe it has a good chance of doing so because we're also friends with Ethan's parents, Jim and Elaine. (Back story: When I was expecting Conor, we quickly discovered that two of our friends (Elaine and Rachel) were also pregnant and due about the same time. Our babies were born in a 6-day timeframe; we had Conor, Elaine and Jim had Grace, and Rachel and Eric had Liam.)

Ethan was born with a congenital heart defect and had surgery on October 20th to basically replumb how his heart works. We were very excited that Ethan was up for us to visit him yesterday and I think it was good for Ethan to have some fun kid time, too. The look of sheer delight on his face when we walked into his room just about brought tears to my eyes. It was beyond a look of utter joy. We brought Ethan a little get well care package that contained some invisible ink books and a sticker/activity book. He and Annika cozied up at his hospital table and had a great time coloring and making their way through his activity books.

While the kids played, I caught up with Jim and Elaine. I can't even imagine the stress and fatigue they must be experiencing. Not only do they have their 4-year-old son in the hospital for multiple weeks, but they also have a little girl at home who is 19 months old. Oh, and they have full-time jobs. God bless them and the care, compassion, fortitude, and endurance they're displaying.

After about 15-20 minutes, Ethan's pain level started hiking up, so Annika and I made a quick departure so Ethan could get medicated and feel a bit of relief. I hope we'll be able to visit again soon ... even better, it would be great if our next visit is at his home instead of in the hospita. Hoping he gets discharged soon and feeling better even sooner!




Color, color, color!

 

Silly kids!