My, it's been a hard, sad week in our family. Our youngest grandson, Griffin, age 4, broke his left femur on Thursday afternoon, January 28th. Coincidentally, that was his Aunt Lisa's birthday - a fact which pretty much got shunted to the sidelines after word spread of Griff's accident. He and his brothers were playing on their 'world's safest trampoline' - one of their favorite things to do - and were engaging in a simple game of hide-and-seek. Sorta like Marco Polo in a swimming pool, except without the water. So eyes closed, an older brother swung his arms around 'in the dark,' somehow connecting with Griffin in such a way that his body went one direction and his leg went the other, causing a spiral fracture midway down that large left thigh-bone. And all 3 boys heard it. Very scary, very painful. Somehow, there is nothing worse than a small child who is frightened and hurting.
Fortunately, the break - which was clear through the bone on a diagonal line - could be 'reduced' without the surgical insertion of rods and screws. BUT that had to happen under anesthesia and be done by a pediatric orthopedist - and there was only one recommended and available....but she had a full day of appointments on Friday and could not return to the hospital until about 5:00 p.m. So it was 24 hours on heavy duty pain meds before any kind of relief truly came.
And that relief, as you can see in the picture above, is HUGE and CUMBERSOME and COMPLICATED. Pretty much a full body cast for the next 6-10 weeks, depending on the rate of healing. We came down and stayed with the big brothers for 3 nights while Griff's parents stayed in the hospital with him. Their new church family rallied wonderfully, as did hosts of friends and relatives, and they've now been managing Griff's care for a full week at home - without having to cook a single dinner! We took our 4-year-old granddaughter Gracie down for a day's visit - very good medicine - and each day, he seems to be less fearful and mom and dad seem to have the routine down a little more fully. We all wish like anything that it had never happened - but - it did. So thanks to so many for your prayers and notes and gifts of love to all of us - and please keep dear Griffin in your prayers for the next little while.
