Duck Walking 101

There are some basic do's and don't's a parent covers with their children as they grow up. Like, don't run with sharp objects, look before you cross the street, don't talk to strangers when mommy and daddy aren't around. For the hundreds of things that you DO talk to them about, there are millions of things that you just don't foresee happening.

Well, one of those millions of things happened to us this week. Although Sean and I have covered the one about not playing on the staircase, apparently we weren't specific enough. I was in the kitchen talking on the phone with Sean who was in Chicago, when we both heard the rumble, boom, crash, scream. Trevor had just fallen down the stairs and was screaming, "I can't look at it! I can't look at it!" I quickly told Sean, "I think Trevor just broke his arm. I've got to go!" Then I hung up and went into frantic mommy mode.

First......get Trevor calmed down. He was screaming, "Call 911. Take me to Riley," as he came around the corner. His left forearm was crooked and his arm was hanging limp by his side. No blood....that's good! After getting him comfortable on the couch, we moved on to step two.

Second....find someone to watch the other three boys. I made one call after another.....nobody was home. No time to leave messages. Got to hurry. In between unanswered rings, I was barking out orders to my oldest, one right after another......he wasn't sure which one to do first. (Looking back, I'm so proud of him. He did an amazing job considering my frantic state.) "Make an ice pack and get it on Trevor's arm.....Tell Parker to get out of the tub and get dressed......Run next door and see if you boys can go there." Praise God, Tammy was home!

Third.....get Trevor to the hospital. Now that we were safely in the car and on our way to the hospital, I had a chance to find out HOW Trevor came to tumbling down the stairs. Whereas my oldest can tell you one detail after another in relating a story, but has difficulty 'summing' it up, Trevor can 'sum' it all up in 10 words or less. Getting the details can be harder than pulling teeth! Just like his daddy, that one is!

Me: Trevor, what happened?
Trevor: I fell like a rock down the stairs.
Me: Yes, I heard you falling. But HOW did that happen?
Trevor: I don't know.
Me: What were you doing? We're you trying to slide head first?
Trevor: No..........It's hard to explain, mommy. Obviously he was still in a lot of pain from the trauma, and the fact that he couldn't move his arm to show me what he was doing, made it that much harder for him to describe.
Me: Honey, I want you to try really hard to think about what you were doing before you fell down the stairs. Can you tell me?
Trevor: You know how sometimes Brenner and me like to squat down like ducks and take little steps to our room. We were doing that.
Me: Did you just get too close to the stairs?
Trevor: No, I was trying to walk down the stairs like a duck. I got down one step and then I tried to hop down to the next one." Then with tears and the realization that he'd be in another cast for another long summer, "Why do these things happen to me? Why did God let me break my arm?"
Me: At this point I'm using every bit of restraint I have not to point out the obvious. A lecture wouldn't fix his arm or calm his fears. "Oh, honey, I know it hurts. We're almost to the hospital. They're going to take good care of you." And then I prayed that it would be so!

Trevor had to wait nearly 5 long hours before they could fix his arm. Initially they tried to do it with him awake. Nope, not gonna happen! So he had to wait for another emergency surgery to finish up before he was put under general anesthesia. The orthopedic doctor was able to realign the two broken forearm bones (without making any incisions) and then set the arm in a neon green cast. Trevor's not at all happy about his circumstances and the long summer ahead with a broken arm. He'll miss church camp next week and football for yet another season. No more swimming or riding his bike for several weeks. He's a trooper and will get through it, but I still feel so bad for him.

Looking back I realize that Trevor was pretty accurate with his 8-word description of the event. He did fall like a rock down the stairs......head over heels one time before crash landing. If you're a parent, you might want to add one more thing to your Parenting 101 list of do's and don't's. Don't duckwalk or duckhop down the stairs!

Thank you, Tammy, for taking care of my other three boys on such short notice. Thank you, Kelly and Jacob, Mom and Dad for coming to the hospital. You'll never really understand how that ministered to my Trevor. Dad, you're the best! Thank you for searching high and low for a deck of cards, for showing Trevor the secret to one of your card tricks, and for staying with me to the wee hours of the morning. Mom, you're my hero! Thank you for picking up the other three and getting them tucked safely into bed......and for being in Martha-mode with my laundry! :)