Yup, It's Broken

Oh, by the way, in case you didn't hear, Jack broke his arm last Friday.
Yes, the timing was absolutely awful and even as we were going to the clinic to get it set, I had to note the absolute irony of something like this happening on top of what our family was already going through.
I did learn a few things from comparing and contrasting this experience with Clark's experience, however, and I thought I'd share a few of them:
First: if a child has to break a bone (or two), the wrist is MUCH less traumatic than the femur. Clark's experience included an ambulance ride, a three-day hospital stay, surgery, and days of being on some of the strongest painkillers known to man, not to mention sleepless nights and hours of crying in pain.
Jack's?

A trip to the local clinic, an X-ray, and one (yes, ONE) dose of children's Tylenol.  He cried initially for about half an hour (which was what helped me realize it might be broken--the boy's usually not that dramatic), and hasn't cried since.  In fact, he's been totally cheerful and active, and it was hard to keep him from running around and playing as he usually did before we were able to make it to the clinic to have it put in a splint.  Apparently, the kid has a high pain tolerance level. 

He still begs many times a day to ride his bike/swing/climb up the playground/play at friends' houses/jump on the trampoline, and I feel like a parrot as I constantly repeat my newest mantra:  "No, you can't (fill-in-the-blank-here-with-requested-dangerous-activity).  You only have one arm!"

Two: It helps to have your child treated by a doctor and nurse who know you and your family's history. With Clark's experience, we had to have multiple interviews with doctors, nurses, and CPS representatives, were reported to CPS, and our children had to be interviewed by other CPS representatives, not to mention the in-home visit a few days after we got home from the hospital (which stressed me out like crazy).

With Jack?  The doctor asked us, while examining Jack's arm, "What happened?"

"The trampoline," I answered sheepishly.  

"Oh.  Yep, that'll do it," he replied.

He asked Jack for a few more details, which Jack gleefully provided in great detail, and then went in the other room to set up the X-ray machine.

That was it.  No interviews, nobody treating us like criminals, no other questions asked.  Our awesome nurse did tell us about when her three boys each broke their arms all within two months of each other (which also helped me feel better), but I never once felt as though there was even the slightest thought that this was caused by parental neglect and/or abuse.  

Three: If you can actually be there when it happens, it's way easier to tell people "He fell off the trampoline," rather than, "I'm not sure--I was in the other room and found him like this."

Four: Clinics are much cheaper than emergency rooms, children's hospitals, and ambulances.  

Five:  Your other children, no matter what the situation is, will immediately begin seeking attention from you to equate the attention your other child has already achieved through the wearing of a cast and/or sling. 

Since the first day Jack came home, Clark has been telling anyone who will listen that "I had a broken leg, too.  I fell off the car table in my room, and I had a blue cast." 

He's also claimed a broken arm, broken tummy, broken heart, broken hair, and broken head since that afternoon, but I'm afraid I've been less than apt to believe someone who walks up to me cheerfully and says, waving his arm around, "Mom!  I broke my arm, too!"

Six: Broken arms, although drastic and something I'm NOT recommending for this purpose, can help with thumb-sucking habits.  Jack has had to do some major maneuvering to keep up with his thumb-sucking/belly-button rubbing habits (he always has to rub his belly button as he's sucking his thumb, or it's not as effective for some reason--don't ask why), and although he's figured out a little system with the splint on, I'm seriously considering asking the doctor to cast his thumb tomorrow when he gets his cast on.  We don't really push the thumb-sucking issue with him, knowing that it will more than likely work itself out on its own, but if I had the choice, I'd rather him break the habit before he starts school next year.  

Seven: Even when life feels like it's gotten about as terrible as it possibly can get, having an attitude of finding things to be grateful for helps make it less miserable.  Last Monday, I read an article in the Ensign about saying prayers of only gratitude for a couple of weeks, and I set that goal for myself for the next two weeks--to pray only for things I was grateful for, rather than asking for blessings.  

I found out the next day that my nephew had passed away, and then Jack had  this little experience on Friday, which made this goal much harder to keep, but I still tried to keep to only praying in gratitude (except when praying in behalf of Jayze and Sarah, of course), and found myself feeling much more peaceful and positive than I would have otherwise.  Truly, although this break was rough to deal with at the time that it happened, even as we went through it, I continued to find tender mercies that happened with and around the experience, and was even able to have a sense of humor about it....something I'm sure wouldn't have happened had I not set the goal to be more grateful in my life.

Eight: Comfort eating is an awful habit to break, but oh, so comforting.  Thanks to the incredible women in my parents' ward who have brought enough food over to feed an army, I've gained 6 pounds over the past week (this is also with me running a little less than I had been), but I don't regret it one bit.

So, to sum up, well, I guess I've got clumsy kids.  In my parents' family of 11 kids over 29 years, my parents have dealt with 5 broken bones. Total.  Steve's parents' have dealt with only one broken bone among 4 boys over the span of 32 years.

We, on the other hand, have only even had kids for 4 years at this point, and we're already on broken bone number two (not even counting the amputated leg of Buster!).  

Mathematically, I'm not feeling good about the trend we've apparently started here.