Monte's Miserable Mis-hap

Sometimes the most undesirable things happen at the most unexpected times in the most unsuspecting places. Playgrounds seem safe enough these days.  Hardly a place to get hurt.  Mostly a place for fun and exercise.  Which is exactly what was happening last Saturday.  Boyd was relearning how to go down the big slide after the long winter.  Tyler was taking Monte down the twirly slide on his lap.  They were buzzing down the slides and up the ladders again and again, big smiles, lots of excitement.  I stopped them at the top to take the above photo.  I believe it was the very next trip down the slide, Monte cried out before they even reached the bottom.  They had been in a tunnel, so hard to say what actually happened, but he was obviously in some pain.  We comforted him, gathered up the troops, and went home for some lunch.  At home he would not bear any weight on his right leg and cried when we set him down.  As long as he was in the sling, he was content.  After a good long nap and some supper, he was still unable to walk and still quite fussy about his leg.  We assumed that it must have twisted under him on the trip down the slide and decided to see a doctor.

 

A trip to the emergency room and some x-rays revealed a non-displaced spiral fracture in Monte's tibia.  The doctor splinted the leg and wrapped it in ace bandages.  He also gave Monte a dose of motrin which had him feeling better in no time.  We went home and had a good night's rest.

On Monday, we went to visit the orthopedic doctor.  After looking at Monte's leg and x-rays, he decided to cast the leg.  He is confident it will heal in three weeks and Monte will be able to walk on it after that.

Monte has taken all of this surprisingly well.  He is finding new ways to get himself around.  He doesn't seem to be bothered much by pain.

From a mother's standpoint there's actually an upside to this little misfortune.  It's like we've taken a step back in time, about 5 months.  Back to the crawling stage, back to being a little less mobile, back to a little more cuddle time.  That's just fine with me.

 And though he can't buzz about with them anymore, he still loves his brothers and loves the times when they slow down and sit a spell with him.

Tyler Turns 6!

The Tinkerin' Team

Here's a better pic of the "new" pick-up, or vroom as Monte calls it.  It's funny how we've all been enjoying it.  Whenever we get a chance, we all pile in and take a drive.  It brings back childhood memories of berry pickin', pine cone collecting, and hunting.  Driving up winding, narrow logging roads, perched on the pick-up seat, squished between my brother and sister, craning my neck to see out the windows and make sure we weren't getting too close to the edge!  Bumpin' along with the windows down, wind blowing through the cab, the smell of pine needles and fresh mountain air.  Man, I loved those days!  And now a little piece of it is back!