Broken bones.

On Saturday, December 1st, I took Crew along with me and left Stephen with the three older munchkins. I was doing Christmas Shopping at Toys R Us when I received the call. It was one of those calls that you wished you'd never received. It went something like this: "I think you need to come home as soon as possible. Jovie fell backwards on the chair and she's crying more than a usual cry. I'm not sure if she's really hurt or just really tired. I need you to come and evaluate."

I rushed to the checkout and purchased the baby doll stroller, the Legos and balls, (all to be tucked under the tree,) and got out of that toy store immediately. I went home as fast as I could with my mind racing, hoping she was okay. Hoping that she was just tired and didn't handle the fall well. I was hoping I could get home and comfort her and all would be well.

I came home and when her eyes met mine, emotions overtook and though she was calmed before, the tears began to flow again. When I asked where it hurt, she would say her foot or point to her ankle and then she'd say her leg. I was confused. There was barely any bruising to her foot. Her ankle had a little swelling but I didn't see anything on the leg.

Stephen called and spoke to a nurse at Urgent Care and they advised us that if it were a break, we would see bruising and swelling. She suggested we wait it out a day or two assuming it's a sprain. So we did. Day three and she still couldn't walk or put any pressure on it, we decided to go in for x-rays.

The verdict was in. Jovie had not one but two breaks.One on the Tibia, another on the Fibula. And she would need a cast, a full leg cast. This was Tuesday afternoon. They couldn't put a cast on until Thursday afternoon! My poor girl. She barely whined. She was brave and a trooper through it all. And Thursday came and she picked out a bright pink cast.

Three weeks passed and she had to have the cast removed for new x-rays and a new cast put on. I think this was the most traumatizing part of the whole experience thus far. I didn't know what to expect with the cast removal process and the doctor didn't take the time to explain and my poor Jovie sat there and watched as he pulled out a saw and advised "this might be a little loud." She clenched onto me for dear life and the terrifying screams began. She screamed asking me to make it stop until he was done. I just held her tight and tried to explain that it wasn't going to touch her and that if it did, it wouldn't hurt her and she'd be fine.

Here we are almost 4 weeks into the cast. Since December 1st, Jovie hasn't been able to walk. For the first week, she wouldn't even scoot around. At times she would ask me to move her and I'd be preoccupied taking Pike potty or tending to Crew and I'd forget and the sweet girl wouldn't even holler or remind me. I'd find her sitting in a room by herself waiting. Now she is the fastest scooter around. I still have to take her potty and lift her to and from chairs. We haven't been able to go hardly anywhere for the past month. I have to carry Crew. I have to carry Jovie. Pike requires supervision. And Pear can manage herself pretty well but isn't of much help yet when on the go. We only have two weeks left! I can't wait for her to be able to run and dance again. This experience has definitely made me appreciate her heart and attitude. Sure, she has her moments, but let me tell you, this girl is a trooper.