That's the Way the Arm Breaks

I'm sure you've heard sayings like "That's the way the cookie crumbles" or "That's the way the ball bounces" -- i.e., there are things in life that happen, so you might as well expect them. Well, for the Burr family, the saying is: "That's the way the arm breaks." And, once again, an arm has broken.

On the 24th of October, Parker was playing soccer -- running up and down the field with abandon and trying to keep his team in the game. One of his opponents was about to take a shot on goal when Parker jumped in front of the shot, blocking it out of bounds and likely saving a goal. He was only a foot or so from the kick when he blocked it and he went down pretty hard...and then he stayed down. It looked to me like he took most of the impact of the ball in the back, so I figured he probably knocked the wind out of him. Eventually, he got up and went to the sidelines holding his arm. Apparently, when he fell he took most of the impact of the fall with his arm outstretched.

Unlike his previous breaks (yes, this is his 4th -- all the same arm), it wasn't obvious by sight whether or not it was broken. However, the fact that he didn't want to go back in the game was a bad sign. We iced it on the sidelines for the rest of the game and then decided to have it checked out. The next Minor Injury appointment wasn't until the next morning, so Parker and I decided to go see how busy the Emergency Room was.

It didn't look too bad, so we went ahead and got in line. The line was moving very slowly and right as I was about to leave and wait for the morning appointment, we got called to register. Fortunately, there was a football game on ESPN, so the wait wasn't altogether unproductive...OK, I guess watching a football game is still unproductive to some, but it wasn't boring, how's that?

Eventually, we got in, got the X-ray, and sure enough, he had a compression fracture just above the wrist. They casted it and we were on our way. Here's a couple pictures of Parker after we got home -- if he's looking a little tired, it's no wonder since it was past 11:00 pm by now.

We just went back in this past Thursday and the X-ray showed he had a little bit of cracking on the outer edge of the bone, besides the compression fracture. Still not nearly as serious as his other breaks, but enough to have them put on what they called a long short cast instead of a regular short cast. Not sure why they don't just call it a medium cast, but whatever. He can now bend his elbow at least and this one is much lighter. As soon as his cast is off, Parker and I will be practicing the art of falling without breaking anything.

The doctor gave him a note excusing him from PE for a few weeks -- however, the teacher just told him to participate as much as he felt comfortable. So, apparently, he's been playing a little "light" soccer and also still got the fastest time in his grade on the mile run. That's Parker -- and, as they say, that's the way the arm breaks.