OUCH

Sorry for 2 things: Sorry I couldn't turn the picture around. AND

Sorry this picture is gross, but I just have to post it for myself. If you are grossed out- just wait to read another post and hang this one up!

We had Kelly and her kids over yesterday morning to play outside and wear all the kids out, and I am so glad they were here! John Burke was getting up from his nap and the "big" kids were jumping on the (zipped up) trampoline, so I decided I could water our garden and porch plants while I had a chance. I was trying to get the hose back down to the backyard, while keeping the fence closed, while stepping around my dog, and I started to fall. I turned around facing back up the stairs to catch myself, but my toe stayed where it was- not sure if it was caught under the step, by the hose, or just caught in my flip flop- but it hurt IMMEDIATELY! I started hopping and crying, and Kelly asked if I was ok, so I pointed to my foot and she saw the beautiful crooked big toe and knew I was NOT ok! I just picked up the phone and called Brandon, luckily he was able to leave work to come get me since I could not drive. Thanks to Kelly for staying here with all 4 kids and managing lunch and naptime until we got home around 3:30 or so! I don't know what I would have done if I had been alone with my kids when it happened!

One perk of the countless hours Brandon spends at the hospital is a little quicker treatment at his ER. We got there, he had let them know we were coming, so they got my information, and then we were in a room with the doctor. Thank God for the speedy process, because I was crawling in pain, shifting side to side, and crying nonstop. They asked what I wanted to take for pain, but I hated to take anything that could hurt Morgan. Keep in mind that I will be meeting her in just under 4 weeks, so the stress was causing some pretty painful contractions too. I decided that I would take something to take the edge off so at least I wouldn't add a delivery to my day too. Once I got some pain medicine in my system, I was able to go get an x-ray and wait for the results. We were hoping for a simple dislocation that could be snapped back into place and we could move on, but it wasn't so simple!

The ER doctor came in and told us that the x-ray was pretty nasty, and he took Brandon to see it. The big toe had a spiral fracture (broken into 2 pieces and twisted around) with an avulsion (a piece of bone chipped off) in the joint space. We talked about options to reset the bone, but my pregnant options were not great! He said he would normally sedate someone to reset this kind of fracture but NOT ME. When I asked what we could do for the pain, he told me I could "have a stick to bite." I started crying all over again because that was not funny when they had already built up how badly it would hurt. Then, I decided that it is just a toe, I will be fine until after she gets here, but he quickly told me that your big toe accounts for 80% of your balance, so it needed to be fixed now. We knew the foot specialist at St. Vincents East was great, so we asked if he could look at it and give us more options. He had already left the hospital, but they called him and he came back! He said that any other patient would get to have surgery and have a pin placed to hold the bones together, but again, NOT ME. I got a nerve block of my big toe, which is a series of shots going all the way around the toe, and it was the most painful part of the whole day- not kidding! But, once the block worked, he was able to snap my toe back into place with only a little pain. It was so nice to look down and see a straight toe again!

Now I have my big toe taped to the toe next to it, and we are just going to hope that it stays where it is supposed to. I have a boot to wear to help me get around and keep it protected, but it is HOTTT. I was fine last night, but once that nerve block wore off, I was back to the pain from earlier. I don't want to have to take much pain medicine, but right now it is needed to be able to put any pressure on it at all. Remember these two kids I have? They don't understand why I can't pick them up and run around to get their cup or find their book, etc. I go back to see him either right before or right after Morgan arrives and we will see if a pin is still necessary, and see if I have kept it straight enough. I don't think surgery immediately after having her sounds good, so pray with me that everything stays where it should! In the meantime, I am on self-imposed bedrest, my kids destroying the house, watching way too much tv, while I prop my foot up and hope nothing touches my toe. They are not kidding about pregnancy making you clumsy and off-balanced! Sorry for the details- just want to make sure we don't forget this. I can tell Morgan one day that I sacrificed my toe so I wouldn't fall on her. :)