Broken Femur

October 18, 2014

My family decided to go camping this weekend.  We went up around North Fork Canyon at Camp Liberty.  The camping was ideal, because it wasn't hot outside, but we had a lodge to stay in so we didn't get cold at night.  There was a small playground for the kids that kept them busy for hours, and a big field that we played soccer and ultimate frisbee on.  The camping was just lovely--until Daxton decided to break his leg.

Sigh.  May I just quickly say that a broken leg in a two-year-old is the worst thing ever?  I was sitting in a chair feeding Carter as everyone was packing up getting ready to go home when Daxton walked up next to me.  His blanket was on the floor (which was like a shiny cement kind of flooring) when he stepped on it, twisted weird, and fell down.  Naturally, I told him to hop up.  After all, kids fall like that ten times a day without any issues.  I noticed when Dax tried to stand up he couldn't.  He tried two or three times, and then finally just sat on the floor crying.  When Devin came in the room I told him what had happened and that Dax wasn't standing.  Devin scooped him up and put him in the car to watch a movie while we finished packing up.  The next time I went to check on Dax in the car, he was asleep.  I figured he was fine.

As we were driving down the canyon, Daxton was crying a little, but nothing major.  When we got to the house and I pulled him out of his carseat he started to scream.  We went in the house and I took his pants off to see that his thigh was twice its normal size.  I put him straight back in the car and went to Instacare.  Devin got the other kids taken care of, and the joined me about 30 minutes later.  

When the doctor first came in, he didn't think the leg was broken according to the story I gave him about Dax just slipping on a blanket.  Luckily, he decided to do an x-ray.  By this point I had been holding Dax for a few hours, and my body was dying!  When the doctor came back in the room he pulled up the x-ray, and sure enough, Daxton's femur was broken.  His FEMUR!  The doctor left the room for a minute and then came back to say an ambulance was on its way to take us to Primary Children's Hospital.  The break was severe enough that they were worried about internal bleeding, and wanted us to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.  

Since the news hit Devin like a ton of bricks, he got lightheaded and had to lay down.  That automatically volunteered me to ride in the ambulance with my poor baby.  Gratefully, my parents live a few blocks from the Instacare, and Grandpa Randy was able to come help Devin give Daxton a blessing before we got in the ambulance.  I am so grateful for the Priesthood in situations like this.  I could just feel the power and love from above, and I am certain that is what helped us get through the rest of the day and weekend.

In the ambulance Daxton was given an IV and some oxygen tubes for breathing.  He was completely strapped down so he couldn't move.  I could tell he was scared, so I just held his hand the whole way and just keep telling him that it was going to be fine, and that Mommy wouldn't leave him.  I have never been so worried about one of my children.  It was not a fun feeling, and I hope to never have it again.

I got to Primary Children's about 3:00 or so, and Devin met me there shortly after.  About 7:30 in the evening Daxton was taken into surgery to have his bone set and have a spika cast placed on his leg.

 Waiting for surgery.

 Trying to get some rest.

 This is what I saw when I went in to see him right after he came out of anesthesia.  I choked back tears when I saw the cast.  I couldn't believe that slipping on a blanket could cause this.  My baby was in a body cast.

 I had to go home that night because Carter needed to be fed, so Devin spent the night with Dax.

 On Sunday afternoon we got to take him home.  It turned out to be a looooong weekend, but I am grateful that everything went well, and that Daxton was well cared for.