Broken Arm

While I have a moment, I thought I'd jot down info on Glenna's broken arm.

Tuesday night she went to music practice as usual with Dad. Kelly and I were determined to do some much needed house cleaning, so we stayed at home (Ty was at work). I received a phone call around 9:30 from Mark Liebert, saying my little girl had broken her arm and an ambulance had been summoned. I didn't even ask questions, just said I was on my way.

Since I was "practically in my jammies," I rushed around to get dressed, put the dog away, etc. My beautiful daughter, Kelly, stopped me by grabbing both of my hands, took a deep breath, and then began to pray for her sister. I am so thankful she did that! It was exactly what I needed. Her prayer was so sweet I began to cry . . . not because of Glenna's arm, but because I realized my Kelly had a REAL relationship with her Abba Daddy. My heart was so full! I was instantly calm.

We arrived at the church to see all the grim faces waiting for us. The ambulance and paramedics were already there. I went into the Fellowship Hall and saw my little girl on the ground with her arm at a gruesome angle . . . she had broken both ulna and radius bones in her right forearm, and they were almost at a 90 degree agle. Glenna's fingers were blue (no circulation) and they had given her nitrusoxide (sp?) to help her breathe since she was hyperventillating. I was so thankful John didn't try to take her to the hospital himself. When this happened to Ty, Patty was able to slip a book under his arm and tie it with a t-shirt so I could take him myself, but there was no way we were going to move this arm ourselves. (Patty wasn't there, LOL! We tease her that she would have duct-taped it and sent us on our way. Margaret B. suggested the ambulance.)

As soon as Glenna saw me, she asked if her sister was there, too. I took one look at the arm and decided I didn't need to look at it again. I stayed at her head and kept her calm while they braced the arm and got her fingers pink again (whew!). Between gasps Glenna told me her "Green Monkey" (a gift from Allie and Kelsey Linduff when Glenna was 5) was in the JV room, so he was immediately fetched. We've decided we need to write an adventure story about Green Monkey . .. . Green Monkey Goes to the Hospital or something like that! He rode with her on the stretcher, stayed with her through x-rays, was tucked next to her side when they sedated her and set the arm.

I wonder if we would have received such fast attention if Glenna hadn't been brought in on the stretcher? Granted, we were there from 10 pm to 4:30 am, but there were 6 children waiting for Glenna's bed when we checked out. Ty had to wait in the overflowing waiting room for 30 minutes. When they finally saw him and realized he was in danger of losing his hand, they moved us along. I wonder how long Glenna would have waited?

Everyone we were in contact with at Florida Hospital South was wonderful. They used the live-motion x-ray while they set her bones -- they looked beautiful when they were done. We go back on Wednesday for her hard cast, and we'll find out at that time whether she'll need further surgery or not. This is our prayer! She left in a wheelchair with gifts from the hospital; a teddybear and hair ties and bands.

Mary and Danny Gines were SO wonderful! They came to the hospital with a bag of snacks and water for us. Mary called people for prayer right away. She even sent an email to her parents in Israel, so Glenna had people around the world praying for her! When Mary came, she brought love notes to Glenna from herself and Bekah and Barb Walter. I read them aloud to Glenna and she sleepily mumbled, "I LOVE my church." (Glenna recognized that this is the body of Christ reaching out! Taking care of each other like we're supposed to.)

The difference between Tyler's recovery and Glenna's has been remarkable. Ty's bones weren't even set for a week, and then he had to recover from surgery. Glenna can already dress herself and do most things for herself. She walks around with her arm in the air to keep the swelling down, so the running joke is to say, "Yes, Glenna? Question?" Swelling is our biggest concern. I'll be thankful when her hard cast is on and she'll have even more mobility. They also feel her nerves were stretched but should recover; her pinkie and half the finger next to it felt "rubbery."

I'll try to get a picture of "arm girl" after John gets home, as he has the camera.