First Snow...First Broken Leg!

Tuesday we had our first "white stuff" of the year! The kids were so excited and Summer even woke me up early to see it! If she knew how much "white stuff" I've seen in my lifetime, she would have let me sleep! All the schools were closed except OURS! Summer was a little bummed that she had to do school that day. But we were done before any of the neighbor kids came out to play. When it was time to go out and play I suited the girls up in all their new snow clothes and boots that Aunt Annie sent them! The were the best dressed kids in the neighborhood!

John and the girls explored the snow/ice covered neighborhood on the 4 wheeler. Aunt Annie had also sent the girls some sleds for Christmas, but she said if it snowed before then to give them to them! So I went and got them and we instantly became the most popular house in the neighborhood! This is the turning point where it all went horribly wrong! Lake hopped on the saucer and it started sliding down the hill. It just kept going faster and faster and FASTER until...CRASH!!! Right into a tree, three yards down! We were all running trying to catch her, but we just couldn't. She hit the tree with her foot and spun around and slid under the neighbors truck. Luckily the truck was high enough that she didn't hit it too. So I ran and got her and carried her to the house. She was hurt, but I thought she would be OK. I got her settled into the recliner, got her a drink and turned on her show for her. Then I went back out with the camera to see if I could see Summer sledding. But as I looked down the hill I saw a crowd of kids all looking down in the ditch and I didn't see John or Summer!!! Finally I saw John emerging from the ditch with Summer in his arms. She was hurt too! She had slid into a big metal electrical box and bruised her hip. Oh my GOSH! Within 5 minutes of sledding I had two SCREAMING girls! I think my kids were the only ones in the whole neighborhood to get hurt. Summer and Lake stayed in for the rest of the day watching TV and resting. By about 4 o'clock Lake was still whimpering and crying a lot about her leg. So we decided to take her to the ER.

Her leg wasn't swollen or bruised but she was in a lot of pain. She's a really tough kid, so I knew she was hurting bad! The doctor took a look at her and said he didn't think it was broken, but we would get some x-rays just to make sure. She was screaming a lot during the x-rays. When we got her back to the room the doctor came in and said he thought we should look at it. This is what he showed us:

She had broke her Tibia (shin bone). Poor Baby! The Doc was pretty shocked that she was being as strong as she was. He was suprised that it was broken! They called the Orthopedist and he told them to make a cast out of a pillow and send her home for the night. The gave her some meds for the pain, but she was hurting all night long. IT WAS A LONG, LONG, LONG NIGHT! The next morning we took her to the orthopedists office and he put a cast on her. She is still hurting, but it is getting better. Now her leg is itching and she can't scratch it and it is driving her CRAZY! Today I got her up and sponged her off and did her hair. It made her feel better.

We've all had fun decorating her cast and she has had fun bossing us around for every little whim that she has! Thanks to everyone for all the calls, visits and gifts. She has really enjoyed all the DVDs and coloring books. She's going to be quite the couch potato for the next couple of months. When she gets feeling better I'll post a full picture of her with her little walker. Poor, poor, poor Lakey! Note to self: 1. Our girls are "Southern Belles", not "Snow Bunnies"! 2. Only sled on powder, not "wintry mix". 3. Only sled where there are absolutely NO obstacles!