You Really Won't Believe This...

For once, I'm going to blog out of chronological order here.  There is no way that I can just blog away about our beautiful family morning at the zoo on Friday before getting these unfortunate Friday evening events off of my chest.  So strap on your safety belts (literally you are going to need them because apparently we are just a recipe for disaster this weekend), here goes...

Well, at the end of our lovely zoo trip Penn took a ride down the slide where his foot gripped the side of the slide and twisted his leg ever so slightly.  He immediately started wailing.  We figured he was super tired, scared on the big slide and just ready to call it quits and go home for nap.  But then the wailing didn't stop.  He cried almost right until naptime.  We hoped for the best that nothing really happened and that he would be feeling like himself again after his nap (which thankfully he took as he would need that rest for the upcoming events).  Unfortunately he started screaming after waking up from his nap.  He couldn't use his leg it hurt him so badly.  He tried to stand on it and crumbled in pain.  It was awful to walk and I knew that we were going to have to have him seen.  Doug was thankfully on his way back from picking someone up from the airport, so we waited for the van rather than walking to Children's Hospital.  Penn rallied and seemed distracted by the fresh air, ride and new surroundings at Children's which was a big blessing as my stomach was in knots wondering if he had fractured his leg, if he'd need a cast and over the thought of the pain he must be in.  I had packed his dinner and let him eat some of it as we waited (gross in the ER waiting room, but what's a mommy to do at dinnertime for her poor, hurt baby?).

Right after taking this picture I got a call from Doug.  He had taken the boys on a walk after I had driven off in the van.  Well, his call was more bad news.  In the calmest voice he said, "where are you?" I answered, "in the ER waiting room."  He said, "well, we are coming to join you.  Koen got attacked by a dog on our scooter walk.  He's OK, but he's going into shock  over it."  My next question which was hard to get out as I was already choking back sobs and wanting to vomit over the thought of yet another of my babies in pain and this one was totally out of my comforting reach, "where did he get bit?"  My heart was beating and my hands shaking as I dared to think of the horrors of the answer...please God, don't let it be his precious face, please God."  Doug answered with, "it bit him twice in the butt."  Oh, praise God, initial relief, but also utter disgust at this violent creature that dared to hurt my child.  People in the waiting room are definitely staring at me at this point and the nurse looks like she is thinking about leaving her station to come and see what on earth is my problem.  Penn is looking at me completely perplexed and starts to smile as if wondering if I'm making faces at him (crying can definitely contort my face).  The nurse calls Penn and I up for initial info and I lose it and tell her about Koen.  She gets it, but coolly goes about her job.  Penn and I wait some more and then get into triage.  He HATED it.  They took his vitals and accidentally touched the hurt leg like 3 times, poor kid.  Then we headed back to X-rays.  He also HATED this and of course I had to help the technicians hold him down which absolutely breaks my heart because he is staring at me clearly wondering why on earth am I participating in this torture.  At the end of it, he just starts waving his hand doing the "all done" sign.  Melt my heart.  After the X-rays we got sent back to the waiting room with the news that I could not feed him any more of his dinner until after we saw the doctor.  Poor baby!  He was a trooper though and regained composure.  After waiting in the waiting room, we got moved upstairs to the overflow ER exam rooms.  I wondered if this was a bad thing (perhaps we would be forgotten?), but actually things moved quite quickly up there.  The doctor came in to see Penn.  Based on clinical analysis alone she said she believed it was a fracture.  The X-rays only showed the fracture on one view and so it was definitely a small one, but still obviously painful and needs to heal.  The doctor suggested a cast, but said we could consult with the Orthopedic doctor when he came in to see Penn.  I totally broke down when the doctor said the cast would need to be on 4-6 weeks as my heart just broke for Penn to have to struggle that long dragging a cast around as he crawls, etc. and then of course there is the fact that I still haven't seen Koen and am a mess about his situation.  I told the doctor about Koen coming in and she just stopped and said, "oh, well, what can I do for you?"  You know you are a mess when the ER doctor lays on the customer service.  I asked for Koen to be moved up to the same room as I knew he had arrived at the hospital at this point.  And within 20 minutes he came into the room.  He was in great spirits after his ambulance ride.  

Don't be fooled though, this kid had endured a traumatic experience, definitely experienced a phase of shock and was hurting from the wounds on his back side.  Oh my aching heart!  Penn was happy to see his brother and they were a great distraction for one another as we waited for the Ortho to see Penn and for the doctor to look at Koen.

I was so thankful to have Doug there now too.  I'm so indecisive and could not for the life of me make up my mind about the cast.  The Ortho came in and really left it up to us (which our friend, Dr. Megan, thinks is odd that we got to make the decision).  We asked some good questions and Doug just made the final call that we would give it a few days without a cast and see if the pain subsided and looked like he could heal without a cast (which there is no harm in).  We just have to schedule a follow-up for this week for another check and opinion (and if he is still in pain we will indeed have to get a cast on him).  After that decision Penn got discharged.  A little before that our friend, Deborah, just appeared at the hospital with a goodie bag.  Snacks for Koen, water bottles, stew for Doug and I.  AMAZING.  I texted her later that she just demonstrated the body of Christ, "God with us," to me in that situation.  Deborah stuck around so that Doug could take Penn home and pick up Tavin and get them to bed (at this point it's about 7:30pm).  So yes, sorry Tav, that's the first time I've mentioned you this post.  Tavin was amazing in the emergency situation.  And then he willingly and very happily went home with a neighbor while Doug was filing the police report and waiting for the ambulance (oh how thankful we are for our amazing neighbors!).  Tav spent the evening playing with his buddy, Perry, eating several bowls of Jennifer's homemade chicken soup, some crackers and fruit and then getting cleaned up for bed (he wore Perry's pajamas home).  Clearly he was super happy with the way his evening worked out.  When Doug arrived he didn't want to go home, he "wasn't finished playing with his buddy yet."

Back at the hospital, Koen was so brave as the doctor cleaned out his wound, injected some local anesthesia and then got two stitches (with it being a "dirty wound" the doctor didn't want to bind the wound too tightly so that it could naturally clean itself).  I've been waiting and waiting for the right timing to tell Koen that I have a surprise trip planned for he and I to go down to Florida to see my brother, Phil, and his family.  Well, this was it.  Koen clutched my hands and I chatted to him while he was getting the injections and the stitches.  My brother was bitten by a dog as a child, so I mentioned that.  Then I asked Koen if he wanted to see my brother in Florida soon and he could ask him about it.  Of course Koen said yes.  Then I asked him when he would want to go.  He seemed confused.  Then I got the fun of telling him, well...we are going next Friday!!  Koen was so excited and pleased and then we talked about all the fun that will be as he got the stitches, etc.  Perfect distraction!  Quite quickly after the stitches we were discharged and dear Deborah brought a tired Mommy and a hungry Koen home.  Koen was in great spirits.  Proud of his bravery, his thrilling adventure and probably a little slap happy.  When he got home I made him a quick, but big and filling dinner and then he headed to bed.  But not before getting yet another surprise.  A friend of Doug's had heard of our miserable evening and particularly Koen's predicament.  He dropped off an awesome Lego kit that definitely had Koen super excited to wake up on Saturday morning and get to work.

So, well, that's the story.  Crazy series of events.  You know it's a unique situation when the hospital folks are baffled that 2 of your children are coming up in the system.  Doug and I reflected on the evening and said, "well, at least only 2 out of 3 had to go to Children's today."  It was then that we realized that Tavin had been at Children's earlier that morning for speech therapy.  Ok, well, yes, all 3 of our boys went to Children's Hospital in one day, there you have it.  I told you you wouldn't believe this!

Now it is necessary that I give the Lord the glory here.  Because although Friday evening was not something I wanted to experience, nor ever wish to experience again, I still have a lot to be thankful for...
1. Penn is so resilient and the smiles, snuggles and sweetness abounded despite his discomfort and pain (and also thank the Lord for Tylenol).
2. Praise God that Koen will only have a physical scar somewhere non-descript and that his precious visage was protected.
3. We have amazing friends, neighbors and family.  We've been inundated with texts, posts, emails, calls, etc. of supporters praying for us and providing practical support.  Koen especially loved the Legos and all the boys loved the Mac and cheese delivered today.
4. We live so close to Children's Hospital we practically live there.
5. We have a dear friend who works at Children's and provides us with fantastic advice in situations like these.
6. Whenever we are in Children's Hospital I'm always thankful for the great care they offer, but also humbled by the struggles that others are dealing with.  Thank you, Lord, that this was just an upsetting night, but that all things will heal and it will all pass.

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and support.  I will obviously keep you posted on Penn's progress.  As for Koen, he is doing great.