Unfortunately going to the Hospital involves a long wait, and this was no exception. We waited out in the waiting room for over an hour and a half with Ethan holding his arm and crying in pain. I felt so helpless... Finally they called us in and the doctor came within about 45 min to take a look at him and order X rays. Once the X rays were ready he called Ethan and I over to his computer and we were able to see very clearly the broken bones. He said that Ethan had a serious break called a "Nightstick". It's name originated from when Police would take their baton to hit someone and that person would put up their arm to protect themselves. The bones that would break as a result of that type of hit became known as a "Nightstick" break. He was a young doctor and I think enjoyed telling us the history behind this unique name. Anyway, back to Ethan, he said that this type of break is typically not seen in Children but in Adults. A child would normally have a "greenstick" break, which is what I had when I was Ethan's age. I had to tell them all about Ethan's history with his Kidney's and prendisone use. He said that due to all of the prednisone he has had over the years and the fact that he is now back on it, his bones have likely weakened. It is actually surprising to me that he hasn't had any breaks before now, especially with all of the falls he had this winter snowboarding. Although the guy that he collided with is as big and as strong as a grown man, so Ethan didn't really stand a chance. He also said it broke in a few places along the arm so he would need a bigger cast, past the elbow in order to stabilize the arm.
I asked if he was going to need surgery to repair it and he said he didn't think so. But he said that he wanted us to follow up with the Orthopedic surgeon next week to see how it is healing. Being on prednisone can complicate his healing, and that is why he wants the surgeon to see him next week to make sure it is progressing normally. We are hoping and praying that everything will be fine and he won't need surgery. I will keep you posted on what we find out. Thankfully he hasn't had any protein because of this little trauma either, Phew!! Sometimes protein can happen when things like this happen, it doesn't take much sometimes to throw everything out of balance. I am very proud of Ethan for being so brave and taking this all in stride, the doctor and nurses said he was a real trooper. His pain was quite bad yesterday, but today he is managing with Tylenol. He was super bored today as I kept him home from school to keep his arm elevated. He can't play video games or go on the computer. Right now it hurts too much to move around,hopefully in a week things will be better for him. I hope he doesn't miss too much of School, thankfully tomorrow is a Pro D Day! Here is a picture of Ethan from yesterday at the Hospital.
