Today was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I think I’ll move to Australia….or at least into bubble until my luck turns around. Here’s how my day ran down. At around 9:30 a.m., I heard screams and crying. I ran out of the bathroom to find my 22-month-old son, Siler, balled up on the floor. I could quickly tell this wasn’t the crying because his siblings stole a toy from him. These were serious tears.

I picked up Siler to console him, and I asked my older son what happened. “I think I just turned Siler around too fast on the chair,” Eli said, pointing to the swivel chair in the basement. “Siler just rolled up in a ball and fell out and hit the stool.”

Great! Here’s what I get for taking the time to pee without bringing an entourage into the bathroom with me.

Siler’s hysterical crying turned into a whimper, but I noticed that he kept holding his arm. Thirty minutes later, he was still holding his arm and was still sitting down. Whoa! Something definitely wasn’t right. My Siler, who’s one busy bee, is never still for that long.

Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to the pediatrician’s office we go. And for this special occasion, I had my entourage with me. Three kids under age 4 stuffed into one tiny exam room is a little like being stuck on a full elevator for hours. All kidding aside, I have to say my 4-year-old twins were quite well-behaved during the wait. Sometimes a bribe for candy in exchange for good behavior is totally worth it. Mila and Eli were even angels for the receptionist who kept an eye on them while I took Siler in for an x-ray.

Siler’s x-ray showed a greenstick fracture on his right arm. Greenstick fracture? Well, first I’ll admit that I’d never heard of a greenstick fracture. Apparently greenstick fractures are quite common in children though. The doctor explained that children have softer and more flexible bones than adults, so their bones are more likely to bend than completely break.

I was shocked. I thought surely he only had a wrist sprain. Of course, I shouldn’t have been that surprised. I had family pictures scheduled for later in the day, and my family is cursed when it comes to pictures. This was the third portrait appointment I had made this summer and had to reschedule. The previous one had to be canceled because Eli woke up with a terrible case of poison ivy on picture day.

Before I could wrap my brain around the fact my baby had a fractured arm, I was informed I would be given a referral for an orthopedic specialist. The appointment was set up for 1:50 p.m…..right in the middle of Siler’s nap time. “This wouldn’t be pretty,” I thought. I’ll be taking an overtired, grumpy child who’s in pain to sit and wait at yet another medical office.

In true Siler fashion, my son surprised me yet again. Instead of being sleepy and cranky, he was alert and happy. He made eyes at other patients in the waiting room and talked to them.  He grinned from ear to ear the entire time. I began to think that maybe his x-ray had been switched with another child’s. How can you be that jolly with a fractured bone?

It turns out the orthopedic specialist agreed that Siler, in fact, had a greenstick fracture. He recommended a brace for his arm rather than a cast, which I’m very happy about. At least I can take the brace off for baths and mealtimes. Can you imagine how dirty a toddler can get a cast in three weeks?

When we returned home, I thought surely the day couldn’t get any worse. I was wrong. I took Siler outside to enjoy a few minutes of riding his coup car in the driveway, and he stepped on a bee in the garage and was stung on his foot. Seriously, how does that happen? Needless to say, there were more tears and screams. I’m just thankful he didn’t have a severe reaction to his first bee sting. So, my poor little Siler went to bed tonight with major boo boos on his arm and foot. I’m praying that tomorrow is a better day. It has to be, right?

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