First Broken Bone and Sprain

Ever heard of the Boy Who Cried Wolf?  Meet Kaleb. When Kaleb fell down after chasing a ball in the alley behind our house, he cried like he always does--like he's dying.  And I have gotten to the point where I tell him he can cry if he wants, but he has to go upstairs to his room and do it where I can't hear it.

So when he came into the house crying hysterical, I did what any compassionate mom would do... I told him to suck it up or go cry in his room.  Oops.  How was I supposes to know that screaming-bloody-murder-#997 was legit? 2 days later he woke up with a swollen hand and so I finally took him to the doctor.  I guess it made me feel a little better as a mom, when the doctor took the X-Ray and said he thought it was fine. But he gave him a splint anyway.  Kaleb was pretty excited.

He put on a show and pretended he was dying when he went to school.  Haha! But when he came home, he was thrilled to learn that the doctor had called back and said that upon a more thorough look by the radiologist he concluded that Kaleb had indeed fractured the bone in his hand under his pinky finger. His orders were to wear the splint for one week while the swelling went down and then go back for a cast.

When Kaleb and Bradley are in the right mood, they like to call themselves "twins" and "best buds."  I love these times.  There is so much more peace and happiness in the home.   When they are "best buds" they try to dress alike and and do everything the same.  Bradley made himself a splint out of wrist bands and wore them all weeklong.

Kaleb wasn't the only one of his friends to break a bone in the same month.  This is Allie.  She broke hers falling off the bars at the soccer park.

This is Anna.  She played on Bradley's soccer team and she broke hers falling off the monkey bars. About a week later, Anna's little brother, Owen, broke his arm falling off the Century Link boxes in the front yard.

This is Cole.  He's on Kaleb's soccer team and he broke his arm falling down after being knocked over by a huge dog.  But he actually broke his last year.  When he saw that Kaleb had the same cast as he did, he decided to wear his old cast to play, so he could match his buddy.

On the day Kaleb went in for his cast, Bradley and Brynnlee came with us to the doctor's.

Nurse:  Okay Mom, are we doing a cotton cast or a waterproof cast?

Kaleb: WATERPROOF!

Me: Waterproof it is! (I didn't know they had waterproof ones.  This was GREAT news since summer was just beginning.)

Nurse: And what color would you like Kaleb?

Kaleb: Blue! Blue! Blue!

Bradley: (while watching the nurse wrap Kaleb's cast) Oh man, Kaleb! You're so lucky. I wish I had a broken arm.

Nurse:  Would you like a cast too?

Bradley: (A little surprised but nods his head excitedly)

Nurse:  What color would you like?

Bradley: Green!

So the Nurse got some green tape and wrapped up Bradley's arm just like Kaleb's.  When she was almost finished, Brynnlee walked over to her and held her own arm out to the nurse

Nurse: Would you like one too?

Brynnlee: (Nodding timidly)

Proudly, they all came home with their casts.

Since Kaleb's cast was waterproof, we bought him some washable markers so he could have people sign it.  Then he would rinse it off in the bathtub and have a clean cast to draw pictures, practice his writing and have people sign it over and over again.  It was pretty fun for him.

The same day Kaleb got his cast, the kids were leaving to go camping with Grandma and Grandpa for the weekend.  Charles and I had a wedding to attend in San Diego.  I think Brynnlee kept her cast on for one day before wanting to take it off.  Bradley lasted a week, and we had to force him to take it off.  It was all nasty and dirty especially from camping.  And he wasn't happy that we couldn't just wash it and put it back on.  But since he wanted to match his buddy, he wore an Ace bandage around his arm until Kaleb got his cast off.  Kaleb had his cast for 3 weeks.

While Kaleb was nearing his cast cutting day, Jaden sprained his ankle playing tennis.  Pretty sure he was hoping for a broken bone, but when we finally gave in and took him to the doctor, the X-rays came back fine.  The doctor gave him a brace to wear for a week, which he was excited about until...

... he banned him from riding any bikes, scooters or skateboards.  Jaden had just bought himself a ripstik (one of those crazy skateboards with only 2 wheels) and had been practicing everyday.  He's actually pretty awesome at it now and it's really fun to watch.

Here he is ripstiking home from church.

I can't really blame him for secretly wishing for a broken bone.  What kid doesn't wish that at one time or another?  I remember wanting crutches so bad as a kid.  And braces.  I used to stretch out a paperclip and then spread it around my top teeth so I could pretend I had them.  Then of course once I got them, I hated them.  Jaden got a little dose of that.

On a side note, I had to add this picture that I snuck of him.  The kids were all playing outside with the neighborhood kids and Jaden came in for a bandaid and a wet paper towel. I asked him if he was okay and he said it wasn't for him. This is what I found...

... a sniffling girl I had not met before. Jaden was carefully washing her cut on her ankle and then drying it so he could put a bandaid on it.  Later I learned her name is Peyton, she's Jaden's age and she lives a few doors down on our block.  Her mom also told me that Peyton has a crush on Jaden.  :)
**And if you are reading this, don't mention it to Jaden. He gets embarassed. **