It was bound to happen... I'm actually surprised we've gone this long without a broken leg at our house, but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with.
Of course it happened during a week where Mike was traveling (he was in Asia for a week). I was debating if I should run over to our church for a FHE devotional they were having or just stay home. We were running around doing homework, fixing dinner, etc., when my phone calendar reminded me it was time for the devotional. Morgan had a bunch of homework so she said she needed to stay home. I decided to take Miles to the devotional and let the younger kids watch a movie in my bed while Morgan finished her homework. About 30 minutes later, my phone started ringing. I left the meeting and answered the phone to hear Ivy screaming in the background. I ran home and could tell that Ivy needed to have her leg x-rayed. Ivy and Will had been wrestling on the bed and somehow they came off the bed and Will landed on her leg . Poor Will felt soooo bad! Since Mike was gone, and it was late in the evening, I decided to have Morgan drive me to the urgent care. Good thing Morgan has her permit and was able to drive us. She was scared to drive, but she knew I had to hold Ivy and there wasn't any other options. So off we went.
We got to the urgent care and sweet little Ivy was in so much pain. I checked us in and had to lie in the most uncomfortable position on the nasty, germ-infested couch just to get her comfortable. It took them an hour to get us in. We were dying!!!
Getting the x-ray was the most traumatic thing that's ever happened to Ivy (and possibly me too!). The girl taking the x-ray wasn't very good and I could tell she was inexperienced. It was horrible! I've never heard Ivy scream like that and I felt completely helpless and couldn't do anything except hug and kiss her cheeks. We ended up seeing Dr Tyson at Mountain Orthopedics. Ivy had broken her tibia completely through. She would need a full leg cast, and be non-weight bearing for at least 6 weeks. Then after 6 weeks she'd get a shorter cast for another few weeks. We were in for a long road. But luckily the break was in a good spot as far as breaks go, and she wouldn't need any surgery. I felt so blessed to be a stay at home mom and would be able to take care of her all the time for the next 8 weeks.
That night was possibly the worst night of my life. Ivy was in so much pain. Mike was out of town so I brought Ivy in my bed and just held her the entire night. We both cried and didn't sleep most of the night. If Mike were home I would have asked him to give her a blessing, but since he wasn't there, I had to do something. I remembered President Nelson telling the women of the church that they need to understand their role with the priesthood better. I knew that as an endowed women, I have all the same rights to access that power if needed. We definitely needed it. I remember saying a prayer for Ivy as she cried in pain and as I cried seeing her in pain. I knew my prayer as a mother was just as powerful as if Mike were there giving her a priesthood blessing. After another minute or two, Ivy settled down and got some sleep. There is something very comforting to me as a mother to know that it isn't just Mike that can bless our children. (Although, don't get me wrong, if Mike was home, I would have had him give her a blessing.)
Ivy had so many visitors and friends bring her things to do while she was down. She is one loved girl. Ivy is usually very active and being off her leg completely was very frustrating. Going potty was the worst part of our day for awhile. It was painful and I had to put up a shield to keep pee from getting in her cast. It was quite the experience 😂
Heather Gardner brought Ivy this cute doll and she even put a full pink cast on her leg. How creative and cute of Heather 😍. For 6 weeks this is how we shopped. There was hardly any room for groceries in the cart. 😂 I carried Ivy on my hip everywhere for 6 weeks. We became closer than ever and I saw a side of Ivy that made me so happy. Every time I would pick her up, which was about 500 times a day, she would kiss my cheek and say, "I love you mama". She was pleasant and sweet and handled this with such grace. I was proud of her and I loved that we had so much time to just be still together while she healed.
After a couple of weeks, I was starting to go a bit crazy. My mom offered to have Ivy come sit at her house so I could get out for a bit and go for a run. It was such a small thing, but it made a world of difference to me. I needed the fresh air and exercise and my mom was just the person Ivy wanted to be with.
My dad had sympathy for Ivy's injuries because he could relate a bit. He fell on his walk and ended up with some injuries of his own. He chipped a tooth and got some bruises, but after a week or two he was back to himself. I think it's so amazing that our bodies can heal themselves.
5 weeks later and time for Ivy to get the shorter cast! YAY! What a difference now that she can put weight on her leg and move around.
We finally have a healed leg! It crazy how much smaller and hairier her leg is now. She walks with a limp and will for some time, but she's loving the freedom. We survived! I feel like we both should get a medal. 😁
