Accident Prone

Katherine, my daughter, has been a certified klutz for most of her seven years.  Her shins are a canvas for bruises, scratches, and scars, and she always seems to have a scab or two going at any given time.  Lest we forget the chin-splitting fiasco in September.

Well, God love her, Katherine can add a broken bone to her resume. 

A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from her school's secretary letting me know that she had fallen outside at lunch time and had hurt her hand.  They had iced it, but she had gone to the office twice, complaining that it was really sore.  It was swollen, the secretary told me, but she was able to move her fingers and bend her wrist just fine. 

Upon picking her up from school, her hand was indeed swollen.  I decided to take her to our doctor just to make sure there was nothing more serious going on.  The doctor, of course, sent us for us x-rays, and we'd have to wait until the next day for the results.

When Katherine woke up the next morning, she said there was no pain and the swelling had gone down.  I sent her off to school and just assumed she had bruised it.  Well, wouldn't you know it, I got the call that she had broken the third metacarpal bone.

Just below the knuckle, you can see a fracture in her third metacarpal bone.



"Do I get to get a cast?!" she asked excitedly.

This is the same kid who was bummed when, after her annual optometrist's visit, she was told that her vision was 20/20 and she wouldn't need glasses.

We visited the Fracture Clinic last Friday, and, after looking at her x-ray, the doctor announced she would need to cast her hand for three weeks.  You would have thought I was telling her we were going to Disneyland; she was beside herself with excitement. 

The "Before" shot - can you sense the excitement?

The gentleman who applied her cast was fantastic.  His name was Steve and he had a "Wall of Fame" with pictures of dozens of children with casts.  Apparently, he's a popular and much-needed man!  He let her choose the colour she wanted for her cast and began the process of applying it.

The "After" shot - one happy customer!

The cast will stay on for three weeks - just enough time for the novelty to wear off and the stink to set in! 

Of course, as you do, Katherine has had all her family and friends sign it.  I was absolutely honoured that she asked me to be the first to sign it. 

Stitches - check!
Broken bone - check!

I'm embarrassed to say that she definitely got the klutz genes from me.  I've been known to walk into walls, nearly KO myself by smashing my head off the freezer door, and fall down the stairs at 9 months pregnant.  I hope that my husband's genes kick in at some point, because my poor baby girl will otherwise have a lifetime filled with self-inflicted accidents. 

I'm hoping that these two injuries in the last 10 weeks will suffice for at least a year.  Fingers crossed!