Natalie's Bum Foot

On Friday, I took Natalie to Kidz Rule, an indoor inflatable playland, so she could play with a few kids from Church (Kate and Joshua). The last time I was at Kidz Rule was for Joshua's 2nd birthday party. At that time, Natalie was scared to climb out of sight in several of the mazes, and was even a little scared to do some of the slides. Well, things have changed in the months since then, because she was EVERYWHERE this time. She was leading the way to sections that were designed for kids much taller than her, but of course I got to be 4th kid to jump in and play, and help them through it.

We were about to finish up and go home, when Natalie's bow started to fall off. She looked through the mesh wall that was keeping her in the play gym and asked me to fix her bow. I told her that I would fix it when she got out, so she proceeded to the exit. With bow in-hand, she jumped off the inflatable onto a gymnastics mat (something she has done too many times to count). This time, she didn't judge the distance to the floor very well and didn't get her feet out far enough. When she landed, her feet curled underneath her, with her left foot taking the full weight of her body. She immediately started to cry, and I was right there to sit with her. I thought that she was just a little scared, but I soon realized that she couldn't stand up on her own. We iced her foot, but we didn't see any swelling.

We said goodbye to the other kids (and parents) and went home. Natalie fell asleep in the car, so I thought that she was going to be fine. We laid her down in bed when I got home, and then called the doctor. They asked us to take her to the ER to get it checked out.

The ER wasn't as bad as I had prepared myself for on the ride over there. We were in and out in a few hours. The most difficult part of the visit was getting Natalie to lay still on a metal table for a dozen X-rays of her foot. She did NOT like any part of that. The X-ray tech even had to "lead-up" and help hold her still.

They couldn't find any breaks, but due to her age and growth plates, there could still be one:


So, Natalie got fitted for a temporary cast, which you can imagine how much she "loves". This picture probably represents her complete opposite feeling for the cast....but we got her in a silly mood for the picture:




She can't walk on the cast, so we have to carry her everywhere. I think the carpet between the couch and bathroom is starting to show above-average wear.

We go back to the doctor in a few days to get it removed. If she walks like normal, we can move on without anymore treatment. If she can't walk, it is broken, and she will need to have a real cast put on. Say a little prayer for Natalie (and us), because we do NOT want to think about her in a cast for 6-8 weeks, and bringing a new born home.

Landon