surgery and smiles

The first week of school was pretty exciting for all of us here on Malibu Way. Liam went to his first day of fifth grade with a temporary cast and had surgery on his wrist later that afternoon.

Lucy went to her first day of school ever, thumb and all.

And sweet Milo started fourth grade with his signature smile intact.

Liam broke his wrist at his birthday party two days before school started. Joel took four boys to Oaks Amusement Park in Portland and Liam ended the day falling on his roller skates. Joel fashioned a temporary sling with Liam's shirt and the boys still managed to have a fun drive home and pizza before I took him to urgent care for the evening.

Turned out, he had broken it pretty badly. The fracture is in the growth plate (bad news) and part of the joint was knocked aside (worse news). He had to have surgery to reset the bones and insert a four inch pin into his wrist.

Surgery was more intense then we had anticipated. It didn't take long, but watching your child hooked up to myriad wires and electrodes, and then wheeled away into an operating room is a little unsettling. Awakening from the general anesthesia was rough, and he was on narcotics for the pain for a few days.
Instead of going to school for the rest of the week he sat in the sun on the patio and listened to Harry Potter for the seventeenth time.
But he's going to be fine (and with a few deep breaths, so am I). He went to school this week and is managing his homework easily with one arm. No soccer, no trampolining, no biking, no two-touch at recess - but we're pretty sure his arm will heal easily, and he's already chosen the spot in his room where he will keep the pin when it comes out next month.