This is Ethan at 18 months and Emma at 3 months old. Ethan had so much affection for Emma. He always wanted to hold her hand, kiss her, and take pictures with her. Shortly after this picture a tragedy hit our home.
Daddy and Ethan were playing in the living room while Emma watched on the floor. Ethan started to run toward Emma and Joey got nervous that Ethan would fall on her or hurt her so he tried to redirect Ethan's path. He put his hand on his shoulders to turn him slightly off the path toward Emma. Joey remembers hearing a popping sound. Ethan was crying and upset for awhile but did not seem to be in a lot of pain... like you would expect if he had broken something. He seemed tired so we put him in his bed. He would start to fall asleep but then wake suddenly and begin to whimper. We called Joey's grandpa (a retired Pediatrician) and asked him what he thought. He could hear Ethan's cry and told us to take him to the emergency room.
We packed up Emma and drove down the road. Joey left Ethan and I there because Emma was so young we didn't want her to get sick at the ER. I remember waiting for what seemed like hours until they took Ethan back for an X-ray. When the tech came out he told me it looked like Ethan had a spiral fracture on his femur. WHAT! I could not believe it. I started crying so the guy said well let's see what the Dr. has to say.
Sure enough it was a spiral fracture. I was out in a room with Ethan who was sleeping fitfully. He had received no pain meds, yet was being such a good boy. I was beside myself with worry and bothered that every nurse, aide, and Doctor was asking me over and over what happened. I felt like I had told them so many times already and could they please help my son to be more comfortable. We had to be transported to the Children's hospital via ambulance. Once their we were placed in a room and again every nurse and doctor asked me to repeat the story. Finally the orthopedic surgeon came in and had me tell him what happened. After I did he asked me... SO is that your story? I completely broke down. I felt like I was a criminal being interrogated. He then explained that this kind of break was a common one in child abuse. I then understood why all the questions and felt a small amount of relief because we were not guilty of that. However my mind started wondering if they would take him from me or accuse me or Joey of abuse. The orthopedic surgeon then asked if he could check Ethan out. I agreed. I don't think I stopped crying the whole time he was in the room. Before he left he told me not to worry and that they would be taking Ethan in for his cast the next morning.
One of the hardest things I have had to do in my whole life was to watch my first born son be wheeled into the operating room alone at 18 months old. I have never felt so sick with worry. Almost two hours later I was allowed to go in and see him.
He had to have a lower body cast. (see pics) It was an awful sight at first but he soon got used to it and even walked with it on toward the end. He had it on for a little over six weeks.