Another Trip to the ER

Sidekick just can't catch a break in 2016!  Let me remind you how he year has been so far:

1.  January:  One week sick and out of school with Croup.
2.  February:  One week sick and out of school with RSV (I think that's what he had)
3.  March:  Two weeks out of school for surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids and get tubes in ears.

And now July (almost one year from our last ER visit)...

I was outside on the playground talking to Sidekick's teacher when I dropped him off yesterday morning.  I saw him lying on the ground crying and told him he was okay and to come over to me.  He dragged himself off the ground and slowly walked towards me while holding his shoulder.  Sidekick has an amazingly high pain threshold, so to see him crying so much made me think that this might be a little more than a little boo-boo.  I eventually calmed him down and put him down so I could leave.  As soon as I put him down and his arms raised up since my hands were basically under his armpits, he immediately screamed and cried in pain. 

I decided to take him inside to get him away from all the kids and we headed to the office.  As soon as the director saw him crying (she knew that isn't normal for him) and holding his shoulder, she told me to take him for an x-ray.  I looked at her and dropped the F-Bomb.  I was out of town for two days for work and had a lot to catch up on, and a trip to the ER was not on my agenda.

I put him in the car seat and he again screamed as I was trying to get his arms through the five point harness.  I drove home to tell my mom (she's still in town) and she came with us to the ER.  Sidekick loves, and I mean LOVES the hospital, so he was excited to go.  We arrived and there was no one there, so we got right in (amazing!).  People came in his room to talk to him and check him and ask what happened.  Here was his explanation:

"I was playing Titty Tat (Kitty Cat) and Lion. (Mind you I have no idea what this game is.)  I was the Titty Tat crawling and Ty tripped on me and knocked me over."

 

I have no idea if that's what happened since I didn't see it, but I guess it seems logical and that's the story he's sticking with. 

 

He happily laid in the bed at the ER while being examined and did a great job with getting x-rays, especially since the technician needed to put his arms in painful positions.  We immediately got the results back that he broke his collar bone.  Poor dude.  He needs to be in a sling for four weeks, so that has pretty much ruined the rest of our summer.

 

I kept him home from school today and he just watched TV while I worked.  He's in a lot of pain and is just struggling with his new "normal".  Of course it's his right collarbone, so he's having to learn to function with his left side.  He's doing great but he gets frustrated with simple things like getting himself up on the sofa.  It's amazing how much our collarbone is used for just simple things. 

 

Being the cool mom I am, I got him a skull and crossbones patch and wrote his name in cool purple paint on his sling.  It looked super boring, but now it looks fun and he loves it!

 

I'm so lucky that he is so laid back and nothing really fazes him.  He's such a trooper! 

And in the Blink of an Eye he's FOUR!

Sidekick is FOUR years old today!  FOUR!!!!  That means he's one finger away from a full hand and one finger away from going to Kindergarten. I've been telling him lately that it makes me sad that he is growing up so fast.  His immediate response every time is, "Nobody else is sad.  I'm growing up to be a good man."  And he is.  I can see it every day.  His compassion, confidence, selfLESSness, humor, outgoingness, and kindness are setting him up to be an awesome man (if only I can find someone like him. Haha.)

I started a few traditions when he turned one:

1. I put balloons in his bed in the morning right before he wakes up. He woke up this morning and in the most excited voice said, "Woooowwww."  And he ran in to thank me over and over again.
2.  I trace his hand every year to see how much it has grown.
3.  I write a letter to him every year, add the number of dollars for the number of years he is, and put it in his treasure box.  I'm not sure when I'll give him all of the letters, but it will be fun to read them together.
4. We release a balloon in honor of his Donor (a very special time for us)

 

When I took him to school today, about six friends squealed, ran towards him, hugged him, and said "Happy birthday!!"  He looked at me and said, "Momma, I can't believe my friends are so excited it's my birthday."  I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I watched these kids that he's known since he was 13 weeks old surrounding him with so much love. I felt so lucky that he was in such a great daycare with such great friends.  And sadly, they all go separate ways next year when they graduate from Pre-K. 

We are heading to my mom's tomorrow for the week.  My nephews will be there also.  I'm looking forward to hanging at the beach, not rushing around, letting Sidekick soak up the fun with his cousins, and getting away from work. 

His birthday party will be towards the end of the month. I rented out a indoor play area at a church. We invited about 20 kids, so this is a real party for him.  He wanted a flower theme (whatever that means), so I turned his idea into a 70's theme, complete with "groovy" cupcakes and each kid will make a tie-dye shirt.  I also wanted him to know that a birthday is a good time to be thankful for things.  He loves books and as been obsessed since he was about six months old.  So, we are doing a book drive and donating the books to a great organization.

So... we made it four years. While three was really rough because he was a total "threenager", I hear having a "fournado" has it's own set of challenges.  Regardless, I am truly blessed to have him in my life, and I cannot imagine what my life would be like without him. I'm so proud of the boy he has become, and I've never loved anyone the way I love him. 

UPDATE:  We went to release the balloon after I picked him up from school.  Sidekick decided he was going to send up the balloon to God to thank him for his Donor. He really seemed to have a plan with regards to where this balloon was going.  It was a hot day and as we were walking to our favorite pond, the balloon popped.  I got such a great picture of his reaction, and it just made my heart sink a little bit.