Follow Us: September 2008

Call it premontion - but Bryce really was pressing to celebrate his birthday a day before on Sunday the 7th. So, we did the cake and present opening Sunday afternoon/evening. The next day on his way home from school, he crashed his bike coming down the final stretch to home. He said he was riding on the sidewalk but then went out to the street to avoid some gardners. Upon returning to the sidewalk, he approached at a speed that proved to put him out of control. He remembers riding across the grass, hitting a flowerpot, and then coming to on someone's driveway. He was alone and screamed until someone came out to help him. I received a phone call from Bryce's cell phone around 3:38pm and the person informed me "your son has been in an accident, an ambulance is on the way, he needs immediate medical attention." I just about passed out at that point, but asked "where is he?" I got there right as the ambulance did. He was splayed out on his left side. His forearm was bent back toward his body in an awkard right-angle. There was blood. We would find out later that his compound fracture involved 3 breaks to his forearm and that his collar bone was also broken.

He was a trooper - didn't cry or complain. Was put on a board, head taped down and put in the ambulance. In there they started an IV line so he could be administered some pain medicine. He was transported to Children's Hospital, arriving at 4pm. At 7pm he went into surgery. He has three incisions, the largest one being where the bones came through the skin. The other two were to insert metal rods in both bones. He will have another surgery to have these removed. He came out of surgery at 8:35 and was alert enough to go to his hospital room at 10pm. I stayed the night with him. He ended up staying 3 nights total.

5 days after the accident he is doing well. Had a minor set back last night (Friday night); he awoke not being able to breathe. He sounded like he had croup so I took him outside and tried to calm him by asking him to breath slowly in and out. Today he is back in the action - he is playing video games, watching movies and working on his legos.

I am most appreciative to the neighbors who came to his side in my absence. One person held an umbrella over him to keep him shaded, another was talking to him and keeping him calm, another was brushing the ants and flies off of him, another had found the cell phone to call me. Thanks to our great neighbors and the paramedics and the great surgeons, doctors, nurses at Children's Hospital.