Fractured Fun

Sometimes life is funny. You can be out having a great time one minute, and then the next you are rushing off to the Urgent Care, to discover that broken bones will now be putting a crack in your future plans. 

Yesterday, I took the kids with me on a run, they rode on their bikes. It was a beautiful morning, there was a cool breeze making it very pleasant. Everyone was happy, and enjoying themselves. I felt amazing as I ran; very strong, very steady. The kids were doing awesome on their bikes and enjoying the journey. It was just a great time -- the kind of moments I live for -- with all of us together out having fun as a family. 

All was well, and going smoothly, but then William's chain fell off his bike. Daniel was able to fix it, and William was able to keep pedaling along going a little slower than normal, but he was still moving. We got close to a park, and I decided we should stop for a minute, so the kids could get out and play. They were all excited to play, they were particularly excited about playing on the swings. 

William was getting really high on the swings, and he yelled, "Look at me, Mom!" I waved, and said, "Hi, William!" 

Then I had to continue working on a broken bike, so we would be able to keep going. We were at the park for just a few minutes, and then I heard it...

"MOM!!" 

I looked up and saw William on the ground hunched over, clearly in pain. He was not crying, but he was holding his arm, and his face had a look on it I am familiar with -- it was the look of shock. I knew in that moment, I just felt it, that all was not well. I just knew he had broken something. I was not panicking about it, I felt calm as a summer's morning, actually. 

William walked over to me, and he was in agony. I was surprised he was not crying at all, but I think the shock helped him with holding back the tears. 

We still had about 2 miles to go, to get home. I decided to put William in the bike-puller with Henry, while Sammi rode William's tiny bike home. (That was pretty hilarious.) Sam and Dan stayed together, and they had a whole story of their own about making it home, with the bike chain falling off constantly, and Sammi trying to maneuver it home. They even stopped on the path to pray, and they said some people looked at them funny. 

I took off as fast as I could while pulling a heavy load -- way too big for the bike-puller's capacity. I tried to go easy on the bumps for William's sake. At one point I got to a hill, and I had to go up it. I could either get off and try and walk it up, but that seemed to me an even greater challenge. I decided I could pump my tough legs up the hill and make it without stopping. I knew it would be hard, because the heavy load I was carrying would be pulling me backwards, while I was trying to go forward. 

But I am no stranger to shouldering heavy loads; or being dragged backwards while trying to go forward. 

I had to talk to myself. I said out loud, "I can do it, I can do it, I can do it!!!!" I pumped and pumped my legs, round and round they went. They were on fire, but I managed to make it to the top, without stopping. I felt kind of awesome about myself afterwards. I have been running and running, but I never really test my strength, to see what I can really do with it. It felt good to see the fruits of my labors; I could produce super strength when I needed to. But it was not just my strength that got me up the hill. William said he was praying the whole time that I could make it up. 

His prayers were answered. 

I got home, and had William relax on the couch for bit while I got myself ready to go. I knew we would be out for a while, so I had to put myself together. I was covered in sweat and needed to clean up. I waited until Sam and Dan returned, and then William and I headed off to the Urgent Care. 

Apparently we managed to go to the Urgent Care on their most busiest day ever, or so they said. We were there for 4 hours! It was not the best care I have ever received. 

William was being so great the whole time. He also kept his sense of humor. When he went to get an X-Ray he saw the sign "Danger Radiation" on the door and he said, "Radiation? I'm not going in there!" He was afraid he might turn into a mutant or something. Once he stepped into the large, cold, X-Ray room, he said to the Radiologist, "Are you going to torture me?" she laughed and said, "No." And then he said to her, "Is this a torture room?" She said no again, and then commenced in the process of torturing him by making him straighten his broken arm for the X-Ray. Ouch! 

Finally, after 4 hours the doctor came in and told me what I already knew -- it was broken. She showed me the X-Ray and he managed to break his arm in 2 places, and it might just require surgery (we will find out in a few days). Meanwhile, William is in a lot of pain, and resting on the couch. Poor guy. 

I am left trying to take in the fact that we have spent far too much time at hospitals lately.  February-March was Henry's kidney surgery/recovery. April-May was my leg surgery/recovery. Now it looks like June-July will be William's arm adventure. I had almost finished paying off my medical bills, too. Ha! 

During the long process at the doctor William asked the question: "Why me?" 

It is a good, valid, question. My answer was simple: His arm broke because he jumped off a swing and landed on his elbow. Stuff happens. Accidents happen. It is not so important why it happened, what is important is what he will do about it now. What can he do to help himself heal faster... what can he learn from this, like empathy/compassion... what can he do to become stronger from it? The question,"Why me?" never gets anyone anywhere. The question: "What can I do now?" is the one to ask, because it involves action, and solving the problem; rather than wallowing in self-pity. 

Self-pity does not encourage conquering and strength; it stimulates frailty and weakness. It makes it harder to heal. It is good for no one. 

"What do I do now?" is the question I am asking myself. This has caused us to rearranged some of our plans. William needs some special love, attention, and doctor visits. What a lovely way to start out the summer, eh? I thought I might have a break from the doctor for a while... guess not. 

This has been an interesting year around here. Did I mention I am also in the process of replacing my AC and furnace, because our Swamp cooler poured water into our kitchen? Yeah, that will all cost a pretty penny. 

One darn thing after another... 

I sat in the car yesterday, before heading out to get William's new medicine. I was alone. I put my head on the steering wheel, and just prayed. I was exhausted after all the excitement. It just seemed like so much that it was almost funny to me. I was not crying, I was laughing. After my prayer I turned on the radio and the song, "Happy," was on. It is one of my favorites. I felt like Heavenly Father was laughing and smiling along with me. Life can be pretty comical sometimes, especially around my house. 

Sometimes when it rains, it pours. But I have decided to pull out my umbrella and turn it upside down; because I know that with trials come blessings, and I intend to catch every blessing as they come pouring down from Heaven. 

Please say a special prayer for William.  

This was part of the bike ride, before the broken arm adventure. 

 Here we are taking a potty break, not too long before the broken arm...

Ahhhhh... life.