The continuing adventure of "Stool" boy - The Fourth and Final Chapter

Wondering about the title?  Apparently when you visit the ER department of your local hospital as much as we did in the past 6 weeks you acquire a nickname.  Shortly after my last post (1 day to be precise) William decided to "play" in the mud and so required a third cast.  When we arrived at the ER to have this cast replaced (and waited a nice 1 1/2 hours for a new cast once the old one was off - this town needs a cast clinic, but I'll get to that in a bit) the nurses took one look at us and said, "Is that stool boy?  What happened to his cast this time".  Thus the nickname was born. 

This adventure to the ER, and the long wait - which I completely understand as we were not an "emergency" - left me feeling extremely frustrated with the care we were getting locally.  There had to be a better way to deal with cast changes and follow-up.  This led to a trip to our family doc to discuss my frustrations with the increasing timeline and casting issues.  Here's where I make a plug for my family doctor though.  Understanding my frustrations with having no option but to wait in the ER with a 1 year old for follow-up x-rays and cast changes we came to an arrangement - my family physician offered to meet me at the hospital at an arranged time for x-rays and, if needed, cast changes so that I could bypass the emergency department.  This made our final 4 weeks much less painful.  Plus he did a ton of research - calling other doctors and reading material to determine a more realistic timeline and came up with a range of 4 to 8 weeks.  Yipee!  So last Thursday (I know, he even met us on a holiday to make sure he could check William's leg before he went on vacation, LOVE IT!), we went in for our 6 week x-ray and we walked out of the hospital cast free!  I don't know who was happier, William or me.  At least the little man will get to enjoy his summer a bit more, and if we ever get some hot days, some time in the pool with his sister. 

So, I suppose the question many of you have is..."Is he walking yet?".  The answer is "no".  He is starting to alternate between his "cast" crawl (which has one leg sticking out to the side) and a normal crawl (1 week post cast), but when he stands he still stands as though his leg is in a cast and is showing no interest in walking solo or parent assisted.  He is still "cruising" as well as he has been for the past 5 months or so, and right now the longer he takes to "walk" the more recovery time he continues to give his leg.  He is starting to get a bit frustrated with how slow crawling is when he wants to catch his sister, so we're hoping that might motivate him to try walking in the near future, and will be sure to post video of the event once it occurs. 

Thus ends the first adventure of "Stool Boy" - let's hope he gives us a bit of a breather before his next adventure (he still has no fear). 

Cast Adventure - Part Three

No pictures this time; just a quick update on the little man. 

We were back at x-ray today for our 2 week follow-up.  Two days early - I know - but in a small town radiology has to be called in on weekends so it was faster to come in during the week.  I had this afternoon off anyway so we went today.  Anyway, the good news is that the fracture didn't look as bad today, but it is still quite visible on the x-ray.  Plus the x-ray was taken through the cast so the fracture was a bit "muted".  So what does this mean?  It means that William will be in this cast for a bit longer.  We will head back in for new x-rays in four weeks or when this cast gets smelly (i.e., needs replacement), whichever comes first.  Plus, the doctor today told us that it will be 8 to 12 weeks before the bone is completely healed (this being the same doctor that increased the original 2 weeks to 8 weeks the last time) so I am a little disappointed.

On a good note, William slept through the night for the first time since breaking his leg last night, so he is adjusting to the cast well finally.  Good thing too - he's supposed to spend next weekend with Grandma and Grandpa E so that Mom and Dad can go to Banff for our 10 year anniversary. 

Cast Adventure - Part Two

So, we are finally getting used to having this cast thingy on William's leg, when yesterday we are thrown another curve.  I am busy getting the kids ready to take to the dayhome so that I can get to work, and we're in a bit of a rush.  I notice, at this point in my rather hectic morning, that William has a "dirty" diaper.  So, to be kind to my childcare provider, I decide to quickly change him before heading over.  I pick William up and hear this "clunk" against the wall.  I'm thinking to myself, "I didn't walk that close to the wall...how did I manage to knock his leg against it?" when I look down and see his cast lying in the middle of the floor.  Yep, you read right, his cast.  Just fell off his leg.

So I quickly phone my dayhome to let her know that I will be sending Maria over without her brother for a while.  Then I pack William up for his second trip to the ER in 5 days.  This wouldn't have been such a big deal, if it wasn't already 8:30am (the time I am supposed to start work) and my first client wasn't scheduled to arrive at 9:00am.  Thankfully the girls at work were able to contact my morning clients and cancel their appointments.  Now William is sporting a bright green cast, which appears to be a little more snug than the blue one.  Hopefully this one stays on...at least until next week when we go back for reassessment.  Let me tell you, I'm going to be pretty sick of this ER department by the time this is all said and done.  Sigh...

The kids at the dayhome were all excited to see William back though and decided that Shannon (our childcare provider) should make sure that all their names got onto his cast.  Maria had signed the original blue one (which we still have - a good keepsake as it did not have to suffer the saw to come off), but the names definitely show up better on the green one.  A positive to this latest adventure I suppose.