And the winner is....

Tyler!

It's a dubious honor to be the first person in our family (parents included) to break a bone, and even more so to break two bones at once, but Tyler did it!  Ouch.

He was swinging at recess and somehow lost his grip.  To protect his face as he fell to the ground, he put out his hands and cracked his left wrist in the process.  I was at the park with the girls at the time (12:30 p.m.), and got a text transcription of a voice mail at home.  The transcript was garbled as usual, but I could tell that I needed to get to the school because Tyler was injured.  Strangely, I never got a call on my cell.  Anyway, I walked home from the park as quickly as I could. As I got into the van with the girls, I called the school, and a few minutes later we were in the health office with Tyler.

His left wrist was swollen and deformed on the left side. Between those signs and his obvious pain, we kind of knew it was broken.  Tami in the health office pushed Tyler in a wheelchair to the van so he could keep his arm as stable as possible.  Once there, I fashioned a brace out of my wallet and the tether on Kate's leash.  It was pretty fancy, I think, for an improvised splint!

The urgent care clinic is half a mile from the school, so about 30 minutes after I got the text in the park, we were in the urgent care waiting room.  Fortunately, a nurse triaged Tyler within a few minutes.  I was relieved to get the treatment process started because Tyler was bordering on hysteria.  Seeing him in so much pain ripped my heart out.  The nurse gave him ibuprofen, and once that kicked in, Tyler finally calmed down and could move his arm enough to assess the break.

An x-ray confirmed that his radius and ulna were both broken.  The doctor said it was quite a painful break. He consulted with a pediatric orthopedist, who recommended waiting until Thursday to cast Tyler's arm, so the swelling could recede.  I haven't told Tyler that the doctor will have to reduce (re-set) the break before casting...I'm sick to my stomach just thinking about watching that.  Ugh.  For now Tyler is wear a hard, molded splint.

As an aside, the girls were remarkably well-behaved during our impromptu outing.  I was glad we had eaten lunch!  Their patience waned, and Garry, who wanted to come home early to help, took the girls just at the right moment.  (We took these pictures after Tyler was calm and reading a book.)

Ibuprofen seems to be managing the pain just fine, although when Tyler bumped his arm this morning he screamed.  That's why he's home from school at least today and tomorrow.  We'll see how he feels with a cast.

I never thought Tyler would be our first child with a broken bone. I can't believe Gavin, Kate, or Zach didn't beat him to it. Tyler has already said that when someone else's turn comes, he'll be glad to share his experience to help them feel better. Leave it to Tyler to turn his pain into something good.