Well we knew it was just a matter of time. Our wild child is not cautious, has no fear, and is tough as nails. We knew he would break a bone eventually, we just didn't think it would be his calcaneus (heel). We were at Matt and Rachel's for a Fathers Day cook out. Philip was in Chicago racing. We were wrapping up the night and about to head home when Parker wanted to climb the rock climbing tree, that he has done at least 20 times before. This picture was taken right before he stepped down and fell straight down, landing on his right heel. Dad was on one side of the tree, I was on the other. It happened so fast yet in slow mo at the same time.
He knew as soon as he fell that he hurt something. He was so upset and so I decided to just put him and Ainsley in the car, get him home and then re assess once he calmed down. However, the 'calmed down' part never came. Almost to Hamburg he was still crying and that is very very unlike him. He is very tough and doesn't cry (over pain) for very long unless its bad. So I called Philip and told him I was going to keep driving to Morehead and take him to St. Claire for some x-rays.
We were greeted in the ambulance bay by Corey and he took us to a room where our friend Brandon came and evaluated him. We are so grateful Dr. Pace decided to order an x-ray of his calcaneus, as this is not a typical X-ray you would order. The radiologist was on stand by ready to read Parker's film as soon as it was uploaded. He called Philip and let him know that it was broken. Pace, Philip, myself and the radiologist were all pretty surprised. We had exceptional care and we are thankful for every one of his co workers who helped us.
The next day we were able to get him into Bluegrass Orthopedics and get the splint from the ER taken off, and a hard cast put on. The doctor told us he would be 6 weeks non weight bearing. Needless to say we were all in a pretty somber mood. 6 weeks was the whole summer and a large part of our summer is spent in the water and outside.
Parker took it all like a champ and was such a trooper. We moved him down to our bedroom and let him sleep on an air mattress next to my bed.
We have the abolsute best friends and family who brought him activities, treats, and thoughtful gifts during his recovery. We were overwhelmed with the love shown to him and us and we are so grateful.
After a week of being inside, and by default Ainsley being inside, I decided we needed some kind of water proof option. I began googling on a mom group to see what other moms had done to allow their kids with casts to still do stuff in the summer. Lo and behold several people commented that if you go to Cincinnatti Children's Hospital, they will put on a waterproof cast that is allowed to be fully submerged!
So I made an appointment and we trekked up to Cincy. They cut off his green hard cast he had on 11 days and replaced it with a blue striped cast, whose inner lining was made out of a Gortex material that prevented water from being trapped inside. We were told we had to get the cast wet once a day to prevent it from sticking to his leg. The doctor also said if he wasn't having pain he would walk on it, AND he cut off 2 weeks on total cast time! We left that appt flying high. Such an answer to our prayers.
the next whole week we were IN THE WATER!
the last few days of his cast, the bottom part was worn down and we just needed it to hold out for the weekend until we followed up back in Cincinnatti. Philip went to Lowes and got a fiber glass patch and reinforced it with duct tape lol.
Monday we went back, they re did his x-rays and his bone has pretty much healed! he is still walking with a limp and we are working on strengthening his ankle muscles but he will get there. no running or jumping for a week or so, until his gait gets back to normal.
We are so grateful for all the support we had during this. Family and friends helped and visited and loved on us in so many ways. Grape Grandma sent Parker over 25 post cards so he had something to look forward to every day.
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