The "Accident"

Sunday evening, in Mike's mom's kitchen, Leilani pulled a freestanding wooden cabinet (one of those kitchen trashcan cabinets) down on top of herself. She was being watched by her Grandma who turned her back for just a few seconds when it happened.

When it happened, Leilani was trapped underneath the cabinet and pinned against the side of another piece of furniture. She wasn't trapped like that for long; it took only seconds for me and Grandma Sue to get to her. As well as Mike, who saw everything happen through the sliding glass door.

After all this, she was of course crying. Relentlessly. We took her outside thinking that might calm her down. It didn't. We gave her a bottle, but that only helped until she finished it. She just would not stop crying.

It took us about 10 minutes to realize that something wasn't right. She normally relaxes and stops crying after a knee scrape or tumble very shortly after they happen. This was obviously different. Mike also noticed that she wasn't putting weight on her right leg.

We called our after-hours pediatrician who said we should take her to the ER. So we quickly packed her bag and ran out the door.

After several hours at the hospital, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin to be exact, we were finally told what they knew.... nothing. They poked and prodded her up and down. They took four different x-rays. And still, they couldn't figure out anything that we didn't already know. And we knew nothing.

All they could do was put her right leg in a splint since there seemed to be something wrong with it. They couldn't figure out what... a sprain, a small fracture, who knew?

We made an appointment with an Orthopedic Specialist for three days later.

At the Orthopedic Specialists' office (also at CHW), the doctor was able to pull up the same x-rays that were taken at the ER, on her computer. Within seconds she noticed a fracture. They took a second set of x-rays to double check, but they had found the problem. They immediately cast her leg.

So here we are now, Leilani in a full leg cast for the next four weeks. The saddest part of the whole ordeal is that Leilani loves walking. She absolutely LOVES it. We go for daily walks around the neighborhood, we go to the zoo, we walk around the mall, and anywhere else she can walk on her own. So when we were told that she'd have to be in a cast for four weeks, I was devastated.

As it turns out, Leilani is full of surprises. It took two days in the full-leg cast, but she has mastered the art of walking in a cast. She's surprisingly mobile. Sure she can't go for long walks outside, but she can get around fairly easily at home. Who knew?!?

So that's where we stand, 3 days in a cast down, 25 more to go.