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Friday, April 24, 2009

The Princess and the Pain

As you may already know, Pretty Princess suffered a serious injury recently. Time has been hard to come by and blogging about this event just had to wait...but now it's time.

Pop and I got one of the calls parents don't want to get in the wee hours of the night on April 11th from Romeo that Pretty Princess had been in an accident and he needed to know which hospital to take her to. He quickly added that it wasn't a car accident and had to tell us that they had been setting up a mattress on the floor for a friend of his who was spending the night and they were jumping on it...they got tangled up and he fell on her leg...they heard a pop and she was in a lot of pain.

Romeo's older brother called their mom and dad who live nearby to get some help with this emergency and of course, Romeo's mom said they HAD to call Princess' mom and dad to find out where to take her for treatment. They loaded up the Princess (but not in a pumpkin carriage) and took her to the emergency room where they learned that she had multiple fractures in her leg and ankle and would require surgery which they scheduled for the following Monday.

Pop and I discussed the best course of action for us knowing that a princess needs parental support for such an injury and decided to fly me out to help. I arrived at the local airport about 17 hours after the accident. Rock Star and the Superheroes picked me up and I arrived at Romeo's parents' home to find our Princess perched up on the sofa with pillows and pain medication. I was SO glad to be there and was made welcome as Romeo's folks gave up their master bed and bath to us. They made us feel so welcome and cared for...meals, medicine runs, and much more. I might mention that we've been family/church friends for years so it seemed natural to be together through the ordeal.

We've made some memories as a family that I won't embarrass the Princess with by actually recording them here...but they involve dozens of roses from Romeo, pain meds, silly questions by medical staff before the surgery, multiple pokes to get an IV started, blow up mattresses on dorm room floors, sharing her dorm with a fugitive and more.

Romeo continues to warrant his nickname by sweet gestures such as holding a heavy text book while she studies (see pic above). He has vowed to see her as much as possible while she recovers. Which means a lot of driving since she cannot drive (it was her right leg). They live about 45 minutes away from each other so this will be a commitment.

Of course the most popular comment about the accident involved "no more monkeys jumping on the bed." I told Princess and Romeo that I would most certainly be writing a children's book for their future kids about the ordeal...and let this be a lesson to all that your moms were right about not jumping on the bed!! Just ask Princess and Romeo.

We praise God for His care and provision through it all, like a doctor in the family...even if he is unconventional. We have stitches to remove, a cast to put on, rehabilitation, a second surgery to remove one of the eight screws Princess has in her repaired leg/ankle, and more rehab. We have to deal with wheelchairs, crutches, and our personal favorite - the scooter at Wal-Mart. We cannot imagine why it happened but we can trust that God has a plan and it is for our good...

4 comments:

  1. Awww- glad to see she's healing and has lots of love and support!

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  2. Princess, what a fortunate woman you are to have oodles of love, care, support - and well, just all around kind-hearted practical helps being heaped upon you.

    I am feeling your pain - I had ankle reconstruction surgery March 4th - yesterday I got the go ahead to begin to put some weight on the foot/ankle. I'm in my walking cast for another 3 months, so and and so forth...

    I have the most amazing husband, wonderful kids (ages 12, 15, and 16) and have been loved generously.

    I know it's hard to understand why this sort of stuff happens - but I can tell you one thing. This season of enforced slowing down has been a rich time of drawing closer to the Lover of my Soul. Now THAT's worth it all!

    Keeping you in my prayers, girlfriend!

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  3. I have a disabilty so I know whaat it's like to have to use that scooter (all too well).

    Yes, it's important that they take the hardware out after time. I had hardware in my hip for 9 years. He left the practice without telling me that if I fell my hip could have broken into a million pieces. We didn't find that out until much later from my new doctor.

    He said it was a miracle that my hip didn't break as many times as I fell during that 9 year period. Thankfully God was watching out for me because I would have had to get a hip replacement as a teenager.

    Some advice: DON'T get behind schedule for the pain meds. If she does, she will regret it. I speak from experience. :)

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