Jordan's Arm

If you're reading this, chances are you know that Jordan has had a broken arm for most of the past 9 months. But since I'm as tired of answering the questions "What happened to his arm?" and "How is Jordan's arm?" as he is of hearing me say "Where's your splint?", "Settle down, you don't have your split on." and "Go put your splint on." I thought I'd address the issue publicly, so to speak.

Last November Jordan broke his right arm. Justin was giving him an "airplane ride" and he fell. He screamed and cried and carried on (not helped by me blurting out, "Did he break it? I heard something crack." as soon as he fell). We hemmed and hawed, finally decided it looked swollen and he seemed to be in real pain, and headed to Urgent Care. He got a splint and a sling, then one week in a cast, then six weeks in another cast, then another splint. By March or so he was really restless, practically left-handed, and cleared to run and play with no splint.

Things were all good until May when he got kicked in the arm while having a bear crawl race with the neighbor boys. He came inside crying and saying he heard his arm crack. Another trip to Urgent Care, another splint and sling, a baffled orthopedic doctor (baffled because the x-rays showed that he healed well and had no reason to break the same arm in the same place, and because he didn't have nearly enough pain or swelling for a true break, although the x-rays showed a break) and another four weeks in a cast. Then, to be on the safe side, another four weeks in a different cast. Then four weeks in a splint. Then approximately his millionth set of x-rays.

The verdict as of mid-July? He's healing well, but slowly. He's got only minor range of motion issues related to the extra bone growth around the break site which will thin down over time. Better safe than sorry. Eight more weeks wearing a splint "when he's active" (a.k.a. any time he's awake), then more x-rays.

That was five weeks ago. Last week his custom-made, took two hours of my time at the hospital waiting to get it made splint cracked practically in half where it bends around his elbow. We made an emergency trip back to occupational therapy (where the waiting room contains nothing remotely interesting to children) to have the splint reinforced. So now, we wait...and try to think of creative things to do with the two slings, one cast, one plaster splint, one plastic long arm splint and one shorter plastic splint we'll still have hanging around the house when he's all done with this.