It was Saturday and we had brought Lila upstairs to play. Usually I just bring her into our room and shut the door, but Lila was exploring Paul's office and the bathroom. I went to make our bed and Paul was keeping an eye on Lila. Paul popped his head into our room from the hallway to tell me something really fast and in those couple seconds Lila made a mad dash for the stairs and fell all the way down. [Unfortunately we didn't have any baby gates up yet. Lila hadn't shown any interest in going up the stairs and when we bring her upstairs I always shut the door of whatever room we are in. We should have had them up anyway though. It was seriously on my list of things to do that weekend. But, we live and learn and they are up now!] Paul saw the tail end of her falling. And I just heard Lila start screaming. There was no blood and she never went unconscious, but we knew we had to go to the ER. We just put her in the car and drove down there. Paul gave her a blessing on the way there and in the blessing said that she would be ok. That gave us some comfort, but we were still super worried. We weren't sure what "ok" meant. Our minds kind of went to worst case scenario mode and we were scared something had happened to her brain or head.
When we got to the ER they did an MRI and a full body x-ray. This whole time poor Lila was just not herself. She was either crying or just really out of it. We waited for what seemed like forever for the results. We finally got Lila to smile and a little- which made us feel a little better. We were so relieved when they told us that the MRI had come back good. But they told us that it looked like she had a fractured femur.They gave Lila a splint and told us to see our pediatrician on Monday and to see an Orthopedic doctor in 10 days. The splint kept Lila from being able to crawl- which was really hard for her.
It was an emotional day. We were at the ER for most of the day and just both felt so bad about what happened- especially Paul because he had been the one watching her when it happened. We both felt really guilty that Lila had gotten hurt. It's the worst feeling ever to see your child hurt and know that you could have prevented it. But, we kind of decided that we can't change what happened. We didn't mean for it to happen. And
On Monday we went to the pediatrician. Our pediatrician was really concerned that the ER had told us to wait 10 days before seeing an Ortho. I was surprised as well when they told us that, but just trusted that the ER doctors knew what they were doing. Our pediatrician was worried that with a fractured femur she might need a cast and that probably needed to be done right away. She sent us down to Children's Hospital down in Aurora. We were supposed to see a Ortho specialist right away, but there was some miscommunication and we ended up having to go through the Emergency Room again. It was super crowded that night and it took us a long time to get in.
They had to re-take the x-rays because it was hard to see exactly how bad the break was in the previous x-rays. So we got more x-rays done. They finally decided that they would need to put Lila in a spica cast. They told us that they would need to take Lila to the OR and put her under anesthesia to be able to put the cast on and that they would do it first thing in the morning.
We all got a couple hours of sleep. At 6 a.m. they came and got her to take her to prep. But they decided to have an orthopedic hip specialist come look her one more time before they went ahead and put on the cast. He came and examined her and told us that we could try just putting a hip brace on it. The femur had broken up near the top by her hip. The brace would immobilize it and help it heal without needing a full cast. He suggested putting Lila in the brace and having us come back in a week to take more x-rays and see if the brace was doing a sufficient job. If it was, then she could stay in the brace, but if not then she would need the cast. We were thrilled with that option! The brace is A LOT easier to deal with than the cast. We can take the brace off to change her diaper and bathe her- with the spica cast you can't- so diapering gets a little more complicated and messy. We'll just leave it at that.
Lila really didn't like the brace at first. She had a hard time sleeping because I think it was just really uncomfortable for her to just lay flat on her back. She is a side/tummy sleeper and she hadn't figured out how to roll in her brace yet. So she definitely was more grumpy and sad than she usually is. But I think it was more out of frustration because she couldn't move around like she used to, than pain.
That whole week we were just really hoping the brace would work and she wouldn't need that cast. A lot of prayers were said on her behalf by friends and family. We also had a special family fast and asked that if it was Heavenly Father's will that Lila would be able to stay in the brace.
We went back to Children's Hospital a week later (the day before Thanksgiving) and they did more x-rays. The doctor told us that she was healing beautifully and that it wouldn't be necessary to put her in a spica cast. YAY!! We were so relieved and happy!
Lila gets her brace off on December 22nd- just in time for Christmas. We've been so amazed how resilient she's been. That's the good thing about babies! They are resilient, persistent, and they heal fast. Lila has learned how to crawl, roll over, and stand in her big, annoying cast. Luckily she won't remember any of this, although we definitely will!
We have learned a lot from this experience. We have been reminded of the true power of prayer and fasting. We really feel that Lila was watched over because her injuries could have been a lot worse. We have been touched by all the people who have prayed for Lila, called/texted, brought over dinner, treats, and little toys for Lila. We have the best friends and family ever! Receiving all this service has really made us want to serve others better when they are in need. We just feel so grateful.
Here are a couple pictures
When we got to the ER they did an MRI and a full body x-ray. This whole time poor Lila was just not herself. She was either crying or just really out of it. We waited for what seemed like forever for the results. We finally got Lila to smile and a little- which made us feel a little better. We were so relieved when they told us that the MRI had come back good. But they told us that it looked like she had a fractured femur.They gave Lila a splint and told us to see our pediatrician on Monday and to see an Orthopedic doctor in 10 days. The splint kept Lila from being able to crawl- which was really hard for her.
It was an emotional day. We were at the ER for most of the day and just both felt so bad about what happened- especially Paul because he had been the one watching her when it happened. We both felt really guilty that Lila had gotten hurt. It's the worst feeling ever to see your child hurt and know that you could have prevented it. But, we kind of decided that we can't change what happened. We didn't mean for it to happen. And
On Monday we went to the pediatrician. Our pediatrician was really concerned that the ER had told us to wait 10 days before seeing an Ortho. I was surprised as well when they told us that, but just trusted that the ER doctors knew what they were doing. Our pediatrician was worried that with a fractured femur she might need a cast and that probably needed to be done right away. She sent us down to Children's Hospital down in Aurora. We were supposed to see a Ortho specialist right away, but there was some miscommunication and we ended up having to go through the Emergency Room again. It was super crowded that night and it took us a long time to get in.
They had to re-take the x-rays because it was hard to see exactly how bad the break was in the previous x-rays. So we got more x-rays done. They finally decided that they would need to put Lila in a spica cast. They told us that they would need to take Lila to the OR and put her under anesthesia to be able to put the cast on and that they would do it first thing in the morning.
We all got a couple hours of sleep. At 6 a.m. they came and got her to take her to prep. But they decided to have an orthopedic hip specialist come look her one more time before they went ahead and put on the cast. He came and examined her and told us that we could try just putting a hip brace on it. The femur had broken up near the top by her hip. The brace would immobilize it and help it heal without needing a full cast. He suggested putting Lila in the brace and having us come back in a week to take more x-rays and see if the brace was doing a sufficient job. If it was, then she could stay in the brace, but if not then she would need the cast. We were thrilled with that option! The brace is A LOT easier to deal with than the cast. We can take the brace off to change her diaper and bathe her- with the spica cast you can't- so diapering gets a little more complicated and messy. We'll just leave it at that.
Lila really didn't like the brace at first. She had a hard time sleeping because I think it was just really uncomfortable for her to just lay flat on her back. She is a side/tummy sleeper and she hadn't figured out how to roll in her brace yet. So she definitely was more grumpy and sad than she usually is. But I think it was more out of frustration because she couldn't move around like she used to, than pain.
That whole week we were just really hoping the brace would work and she wouldn't need that cast. A lot of prayers were said on her behalf by friends and family. We also had a special family fast and asked that if it was Heavenly Father's will that Lila would be able to stay in the brace.
We went back to Children's Hospital a week later (the day before Thanksgiving) and they did more x-rays. The doctor told us that she was healing beautifully and that it wouldn't be necessary to put her in a spica cast. YAY!! We were so relieved and happy!
Lila gets her brace off on December 22nd- just in time for Christmas. We've been so amazed how resilient she's been. That's the good thing about babies! They are resilient, persistent, and they heal fast. Lila has learned how to crawl, roll over, and stand in her big, annoying cast. Luckily she won't remember any of this, although we definitely will!
We have learned a lot from this experience. We have been reminded of the true power of prayer and fasting. We really feel that Lila was watched over because her injuries could have been a lot worse. We have been touched by all the people who have prayed for Lila, called/texted, brought over dinner, treats, and little toys for Lila. We have the best friends and family ever! Receiving all this service has really made us want to serve others better when they are in need. We just feel so grateful.
Here are a couple pictures
Lila with her splint the day after she fell. Happy and smiling!
At Children's Hospital after she got her brace on. Poor Lila!
Finally getting some sleep at the hospital
Riding around in the cool wagons they have at Children's Hospital. She loved this!
We got home and realized that Lila didn't fit into her high-chair with her brace on,
so we fed her like this! Haha! Until Paul made this wooded chair that the
high chair tray could go on... (below)
One of the countless acts of service we received
Joce! I'm so sorry to hear this! I'm glad that everything is okay and little lila is going to heal well. You're a brave mama!!
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