On our last day in Orlando we all had flights to catch at the airport. The rental car we had seated seven, but had virtually no cargo room. So, in order to get all seven of us plus all of our luggage to the airport on time, Daddy had to make two trips.
He first took Grannie, Paw-Paw, Aunt Emmy, and Parin to the airport - and I got to go along for the ride. I fell asleep on the way, then rode back with Daddy to pick Mommy up. Even though we were on the same flight, Grannie & Paw-Paw couldn't check me in because I was listed on Mommy's boarding pass (still taking advantage of me being under 2 and not buying a ticket yet!).
After dropping them off at the airport, Daddy and I drove back to the condo to pick up Mommy and the last few pieces of luggage. It was really cold that morning and had been raining. I stayed sleeping in my car seat while Daddy helped Mommy carry everything to the car. Well, as Mommy was carrying the last thing to the car (my stroller), she somehow managed to trip as she stepped off the curb and fell!
She was in a lot of pain and couldn't move her left foot. Daddy helped her up and into the car. Mommy broke her left foot almost seven years ago and was afraid she'd broken it again. She and Daddy weighed our options. They could go to a hospital in Orlando, but everyone else was already at the airport, and obviously a hospital trip would drastically delay the trip home. Or they could wait until we got back to Louisiana and then go to a hospital or urgent care facility. They decided to go ahead and come home, then take care of it. After all, there was a possibility it could just be a badly sprained ankle.
Daddy stopped for gas and got a bag of ice for Mommy. She called Grannie and asked her to find a wheelchair at the airport and meet her outside. She knew Daddy had to return the rental car and thought there was no way she'd be able to get into the Hertz bus to ride to the airport, much less be of any help to Daddy with me and the luggage. So Grannie and Parin met us at the airport with a wheelchair. We got all checked in, all had lunch together, then headed off separately to our gates to await our flights.
The flight attendants for Southwest were very kind to us and helped Mommy onto the plane early. They even made sure we could sit together, and that Mommy was in a seat where she'd be comfortable and had little chance of anyone bumping her foot. She was still in a lot of pain.
We arrived in New Orleans, got Mommy into a wheelchair, found our luggage, and loaded up into Paw-Paw's truck. On our way into Baton Rouge, we dropped Daddy and Mommy off at Lake After Hours Urgent Care, and Grannie and Paw-Paw took me home.
About an hour later Daddy called to tell us they had gotten the x-ray results and that Mommy's leg was broken! She broke her fibula, the smaller of the two lower leg bones, just above the end near her ankle. They fitted her with a "walking cast" or "boot", gave her crutches, and set her home with pain medicine and a referral for an orthopaedic specialist to see on Monday.
Grannie and Paw-Paw stayed with Mommy and me to help get us both settled for the night while Daddy drove across town to a 24-hour Walgreens to have Mommy's prescription filled. And, as luck would have it, I started running a fever Saturday night. So Mommy spent a good portion of Saturday night rocking me in my room with her leg propped up on a chair.
Daddy wore himself out Sunday trying to keep me happy and make sure Mommy was comfortable, all while re-organizing and repacking to leave Monday for Detroit for work. Gram and Papa came over Sunday evening and brought us dinner and some groceries we needed. Then Grannie arrived later, just in time to rock me to sleep. By this time I was feeling pretty bad. I wasn't sleeping well because I was so congested. I spent most of the night sleeping in Grannie's arms propped up on the couch in the living room. It's okay, though, because Mommy was propped up on the other couch. We had a slumber party! Well.... without the party. :(
Monday morning Daddy left early for the airport. Grannie took me to see the pediatrician that morning, returning with an antibiotic prescription. I have a bad cold and was running a fever. We were to happy to hear that my ears and throat were clear though - that was Mommy's and Grannie's worry!
That afternoon we took Mommy to the orthopaedic specialist to find out just how badly broken her leg was. Turns out it's not too bad, thank goodness! She'll be in the boot and on crutches for two weeks without putting any weight on her left leg. After two weeks, she can slowly start using the crutches less, and slowly putting weight on her leg. Hopefully in four weeks she'll be all better!
But now I'm feeling much better! I stopped running a fever Monday night, and my congestion is getting less and less. Although I absolutely hate taking medicine, Grannie is finding innovative ways to convince me that it's my idea to take it, so I go along with it. (Seems she may have previous experience with a child who she had to physically restrain to administer medicine...???) I even use the nasal aspirator on my own nose to help clear the congestion! And today I got to go to Story Time at the library because I was feeling so much better! Grannie said I was a big boy and did a great job participating! And I've spent the rest of the day entertaining Mommy with my new dances and all my toys! I even kissed her toes tonight because they're broken and I want her to feel better. I'm such a sweet boy!
Mommy is still home from work. Her office building is pretty big, and it's just too much on her to try to move around it. She went in for half a day Tuesday and came home exhausted. She's in the processes of getting approval to work from home, which will hopefully be finalized tomorrow. She'll likely do that for a few weeks until she's able to not rely on the crutches anymore. Even at home, she's pretty stationary - either propped up in bed or on the couch. Right now she's been working at putting our Disney scrapbook together on the laptop, so she's making great progress on that!
So that's been our post-vacation excitement! We don't know what we'd do without Grannie right now. She's been taking great care of me and Mommy! She's going to stay with us until Daddy gets home Friday night. Thanks so much, Grannie! And thanks to Paw-Paw for letting Grannie be here to take care of us. And thanks to Gram and Papa for bringing dinner and groceries Sunday. We also have a few friends who are bringing us meals two days later this week. And Parin and Aunt Emmy are having dinner delivered to us one night, too. It really is a great help because obviously Mommy can't really do much cooking.
We appreciate all the help and prayers and well-wishes from everyone!
We'll continue to post updates and let you know how Mommy's doing!
