Another emergency room visit

I am an incredibly bad mother. This morning I left Alana on our bed, happily reading her books, and went into the bathroom. A moment later I heard a thump and ran back in. She tried to climb down from the bed, and can you believe it, she actually broke her leg.

I took her (and Caleb) to the emergency room, because she was obviously in pain but I couldn't find a mark on her anywhere. I had visions of internal injuries, until she tried to stand up and wouldn't put her right leg down on the ground. After a very long wait (they brought in a very sick infant while we were there, and the doctor and others were involved with her for quite a while), they finally took us to radiology and took an X-ray. Both Caleb and I could clearly see the break on the side of her tibia near her ankle.

She has to wear a cast for 3 or 4 weeks. Poor little girl. I feel so awful. She is the climbing-est little person ever, and is fearless of course. I never should have left the room, even though she seemed quite absorbed in her books. She was a total trooper at the hospital and Caleb was very good too (Larry had been at work since early in the morning).

In this photo she's wearing a temporary cast. Next week she'll go to the orthopedist for a follow-up and get the "permanent" cast. She's not too happy about her limited mobility (she's too young to use crutches, so she just can't walk until the cast comes off), but I'm sure she'll figure out a way to get around in no time!