The Youngest Island Boy has been really sick with a bad cold and has been trapped in the house for over a week.
Saturday morning he woke up feeling much better and because it was a beautiful day he threw his clothes on and out the door he went to play.
I asked if he wanted breakfast and he said "Not right now, I just want to go outside."
So off he went. He stayed within his boundaries and he was with his brother and several other friends - out doing whatever it is that boys do.
They checked in a few times through the day and I'd ask if they wanted something to eat but they'd say no and be gone again.
About 4:00 the Oldest Island Boy came running inside yelling that his brother was hurt.
The Island King went flying out the door and came back a minute later with the Youngest who was crying that kind of cry that tells you something is really wrong.
His arm is broken. It wasn't an open fracture but his forearm was bent in a really odd way, leaving no doubt that we were going to the ER.
The Island King made a splint for him and off to the ER we went.
We got the story on the way to the hospital and it seems that the Youngest was about 10 feet up in a tree, saw another branch and decided to jump over to that branch and use it to swing to the ground.
He says he caught the branch but then something went wrong on the way to the ground.
We got to the ER and I realized that my son was FILTHY. He looked like an urchin who hadn't had a bath in a month.
Of course that's the way he looks every night when he comes in from playing but the ER people don't know that - and I do make him bathe - but not with a broken arm before we go to the ER.
And he's all beat up. He's got scraped up knees and elbows, bruises and scratches all over him - which is pretty much the norm for him.
So the triage nurse asks him what he's had to eat today and he says "Nothing"
Which caused her to look at him with pity and then glare at us.
I'm sure Child Services will be along shortly.
Once they got to examining him good the doctor and the new nurse asked what all of the scratches on his arms and legs were from.
He tells them "Well, to get to the tree I wanted to climb I had to bushwack through some briars."
Yes, my hasn't been fed, filthy child has been bushwacking through the park behind our house.
They x-rayed his arm and his radius is broken in 2 places. Right in the middle of his arm and it's chipped at the elbow.
So they set it in a temporary cast, gave him some pain meds and sent us on our way.
We'll go see an Orthopedic Doctor this week for a permanent cast.
The nurse who'd been working with him was a man and as he was giving us our discharge instructions he said to the Youngest "You've given me hope for the world, dude. It's rare we see a REAL boy in here anymore. The ones we see trip or slip but they're inside all day and you're out doing what boys are supposed to be doing."
Which made the Youngest smile and me feel like maybe Child Services weren't coming after all.
And you know what? This was the first day of our Spring Break - which the doctor thought was funny in a black humor sort of way.
I guess I'll think that's funny later - maybe.Labels: Done
