Patrick and I had a great week. We really did. We bonded and are ultimately much closer again. He goes back and forth with his "favorite" parent and, although he's super-excited to have Daddy back, I've slid into the #1 slot again. Hooray!
In a pattern I have now learned to expect, our little string of bad luck in Adam's absence continued. His response to the week's events was, "What the hell happens when I leave?" I wish I knew...
It was a pretty light week as far as school was concerned, but we started injections and I wanted the chance to practice without Patrick being around, so my very helpful mother-in-law offered to take Patrick for the evening on St. Patty's Day. They went to the park and all was well until some much older kid sat on Patrick's leg while trying to cut in front of him in line for the slide. The angle of Patrick's leg and the right pressure from the other little boy meant for a spiral fracture all the way up Patrick's tibia. The night it happened, I thought maybe he had a sprain. No bruising, no swelling. After about 12 hours, Patrick still refused to walk and would immediately start to cry if I touched his leg, so we went in for an x-ray. As soon as I saw the image on the screen, my heart sank.
He's casted up to the middle of his thigh, and will be for the next 3.5 weeks. He's completely immobile, at least for a little while. It's like having a baby all over again, but a really heavy one. I'm re-learning how to manage with a child who needs constant care. It's an adjustment, for sure. For one, Patrick will have to sleep in our bed for the next few weeks. He can't put pressure on his leg and I can't risk him trying to get out of his own bed unsupervised, although his first attempt to walk on his cast may have scared him enough to stop him. Still, I don't want to risk him injuring himself further, at least not yet. We just gave our first bath, which was a two-man job. Adam had to get into the tub with Patrick, we double-bagged his cast in plastic grocery bags and Adam held it above water level while I washed as fast as possible. Overall, it wasn't too bad...just not something we can do single-handedly. He's going to be a dirtier-than-usual little kid.
To be honest, and at the risk of sounding like a really selfish mother, it's really not too bad having a temporarily immobile child. Granted, I'm already carrying around an extra 20 lbs with one child in utero and have to add another 26 to that. It makes me tired. On the other hand, though, my house stays picked up. Patrick has his little spot on the couch and he really doesn't even try to move. He's so calm and quiet. He doesn't seem to mind the cast much, and is even kind of proud of it. We get a lot (A LOT) of snuggle time, and though Patrick has learned to be very bossy (trying to stop that before it gets out of hand), he's insanely loving. He needs his mom. It's a cheap way to get some loving from my only child, but I'll take it.
For now, I only have pics from my phone. Colleen should be sending me some actual ones from her camera, and I wish that I could get the xray images, but I doubt that's going to happen. Spiral fractures are actually pretty interesting to see (and are exactly what the name implies. Google it.) Please see below:
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