Our First Broken Bone

So on August 11th, at about 8:30 p.m. Curt got Austin into our master bath tub...the deep one...for a bath.  He then went to the store and I was working in my room just a couple of steps from the bathroom.  So Austin...the little monkey...decided that he was done taking a bath and climbs out of the tub with no incident at all.  I told him that I would go get his PJs and a diaper in just a second and to go get a towel from the bathroom, but he had other plans.  He decided that he was going to climb back into the tub and there was the mistake. 

In trying to climb back into the tub with his wet and slippery body he slipped and fell INTO the tub and cried and cried.  I got him out wondering if there was any damage.  So I checked his arms and they worked just fine.  His elbows and fingers with the same result.  So I laid him on my bed and asked where did it hurt.  He kept pointing up by his shoulder.  So I would move his arm again and he didn't cry out.  But when I went to pull him up he really started to cry.  When he tried to crawl on the bed we got the same result...crying as if he was really hurt.  I called Curt on his cell and told him that I thought something was really wrong and that we needed to take him to the doctor.  So he rushed home and we were off to our 10:00 p.m. appointment at Wee Care, the only place open that late that would take our insurance without going to the ER. 

They took an x-ray and as you can see...he had a broken collar bone, the first in our family including Curt and I.  Since there is really nothing that they can do for a broken collar bone they did give us a brace that looked like the straps of a backpack to kind of hold his shoulders back which they say makes the bone feel better as it heals.  We called it his backpack and at first he wasn't into wearing it that much but I think he saw how much it helped him feel better.  So he wore it quite well for about a week.  Then I think he was healing and it just bothered him.  It was hard to get him dressed and lay him down on the floor to change him and then pull him up afterward without hurting his shoulder but we figured out ways to do it. 

After two weeks we had to go back to the doctor to see how he was healing and he was healing quite well.  The doctor said that we shouldn't have to come back in barring any bad falls.  Wouldn't you know it, but the next day he fell down the stairs!  Fortunately, nothing happened to his collar bone...just a sore bum! 

When I told my friend Camille that he had broken a bone she laughed and said, "Really, I'm surprised it took this long."  Words of wisdom, that's for sure.  We're just hoping that this is not a sign of things to come for the future! 

We love you Austin!!!

The break is not where the arrow is.  The break is right below where the neck runs into the shoulder and the bone is at a right angle.  It should not be at a right angle.  It should be just slightly curved.  OUCH!!!