Iron Man

What's the best treat you can give a little boy who just spent an entire day (over 12 hours!) not eating nor drinking and in a bunch of pain b/c his arm is super broken? I'll tell you... anything his little heart desires. And Eli's little heart desired this Iron Man mask. And since he was even tougher and braver than Iron Man these last 2 days he 100% deserves it!

On Sunday the boys and I were at the little park down the street from our house. They were playing and running around and all that. Eli was climbing the rope ladder and when he got to the top he scooted over to a bar-thing and sat up there. Usually when he does this he asks for help getting down - I assumed he would this time too. So when he said he was getting down I started to go over there but it turns out that he jumped down instead. All I saw was him laying all crumpled on the ground crying. And you know how when your kid is really hurt they cry differently... well he was definitely crying differently. Poor little monkey. It didn't take long for Troy and I to decide he should probably go to the ER so off Eli and I went. I'm so glad we decided to just head to Children's b/c they were really nice. They took him to a room immediately - in fact a doctor followed us into the room and examined him before I could even put my purse down. He was given some pain meds within minutes and then off to x-ray. After that things slowed way down but in the end they told us that he'd broken his humerus right above the elbow and that since it wasn't lined up correctly that he'd probably have to have surgery the next day to set it. So we left the ER with a splint and a sling and orders to see the orthopedic surgeon ASAP on Monday.

We called at 8 am on the dot so that we could get the very first available appointment b/c we were told no eating and drinking until he sees the doctor and they decide if surgery is necessary. Our appointment ended up being at 2:45. I knew we were going to be in for a long day. Have you ever had to withhold food and water/juice/milk from a 5 year old? It's not fun, that's for sure. I felt so bad for him b/c he was just so thirsty and his tongue was so dry. Plus - he had a broken arm for goodness sake. And it hurt. So he and I spent the day vegging on the couch watching Netfix (streaming to the Wii).

The appointment with the orthopedic surgeon was at Gillette, which is part of Regions so Eli was excited to be at Auntie's hospital. The whole process there was pretty slick - they definitely have it down. We were taken from here to there, seen by nurses and doctors and told he would in fact need surgery but that they couldn't do it until 6:30. We had about 1.5 hours to kill so we hung out in the waiting room where they have TVs, games, Wii, toys, air hockey and other kids. The bad part was that some of those other kids had food. At one point Troy and I were watching Eli watch another kid eat a bag of chips - oh poor Eli! He didn't say a word but I know that was a very sad moment for him. He was so hungry and thirsty.

A nurse came and got us around 5:15 so we were thinking that maybe we'd be done early. We were taken to a pre-op place where we had a little curtained off area and Eli could watch a DVD. And! on the bed was a new stuffed animal and a handmade quilt - both his to keep and take home. Isn't that great? He LOVED the stuffed animal and it was so perfect for him b/c it was a parrot. And what pirate doesn't need his very own parrot? After much consideration Eli named him Fluffy!

We ended up waiting and waiting and waiting - watching Scooby Doo, gathering about a million stickers, beating his nurse at Candyland, and asking one million times "what's taking so long?". A little after 7 they finally took him and me back to the OR. I got to stay with him until he fell asleep and thank goodness he did b/c I couldn't hold me tears in any longer. It was so hard to see my little person have such a bad day and then be put to sleep like that. My emotions got away from me.

Don't be jealous of my outfit up there... I got to bring it home so if anyone wants to borrow it you sure can! It's "one-size-fits-most"!

I think it was 15, maybe 20 minutes before the doctor came out and said he was done and that everything went really well. Eli did great. He came out of surgery with 2 pins and a bright red cast - just like he requested. Then we waited a bunch longer, picked up his Rx to take home and finally I sent Troy home to relieve Erica (who had had Henry all afternoon - thank you again!!). Knowing that Eli was fine and just working on waking up we felt like it was fine for him to go. About 2 minutes after he left the anesthesiologist came out and said that Eli was having a pretty tough time and that maybe having me back there would help. I'm not sure it did at all. He would just cry and cry, big tears and lots of snot. Then in an instant he'd be asleep and then just as quickly he'd be awake and crying again. I felt like this cycle went on for eternity but of course it didn't. Finally we got him to drink a little water and after that it seemed like he started to truly wake up. Lots of things were really bothering him - the IV, the monitor, the pulse ox-thing, the fact that he could actually see the air (from the oxygen mask) - but he was more awake and at least talking to us. Things got better and better and finally he was ready to come home. We got him dressed and in a wheelchair and all loaded in the car. He slept so soundly last night and didn't wake up until 9 am today.

And here's our boy today. He woke up in a good mood and has been pretty happy all day. His first request was a trip to Target for his special present. He's been eating and drinking. We've playing and watched movies. We went up the street to watch some of the huge trees in our neighborhood be taken down. So, he's fine. A little tired and sore but fine.

It's really scary when your little one gets hurt. We are so lucky that Eli is fine. We are so lucky to have so many people who love and care about Eli. Thanks for your emails, FB posts, texts and phone calls - truly!

ps. Happy Birthday to Jack Todd! Jack - it's not snowin' on your birt-day!! Hope you have a super fun day - we can't wait to come to Iowa next weekend to celebrate with you and Ben!