In fact, I might just outright shun this year at the rate it’s going.

Last night, as he’s prone to doing, J jumped on the bed. Well, more accurately he flung himself down on his back with as much physical force as he can muster onto the bed. A bed, mind you, that has a pillow top and is covered with soft and squishy blankets and stuffed animals. The only hard spots on this bed are the headboard and wall behind said headboard and he was nowhere near them.

Yet he broke his elbow.

Did you know people do this? That children do this regularly? Cause I didn’t. In the ER the term nursemaid’s elbow was bandied about and that’s what I figured it was after a quick consultation with Dr. Google. Lo, never could it have been so simple! He has a supracondylar fracture. It was hazy to see on the x-ray but yep, it’s there. The swelling on his arm is tell-tale.

This child is one who rarely shows signs of being in pain. I have heard him scream like he did last night exactly once and that was when an inept phlebotomist dug in his arm pretty harshly to find a vein for blood work. Usually needle sticks only briefly phase him and standard little kid crash and bang type stuff is quickly forgotten if it is noticed at all. He showed pain after surgery, obviously, and boy has he shown feeling pain with this elbow thing.

What kills me the most is that it was his little body’s desperate need for deep input that brought on this whole mess. I feel like a failure for not being able to quite meet that need right now because hey, I’ve been spitting out broken organs too. This is something his service dog will so very much help with because J won’t have to jump. His dog can lay across his body. His dog can run and play outside with him. His dog can lay his head on J’s lap… His dog can be the extra arms and the extra love and attention this special little boy so dearly needs.

On the uptick he chose to have a purple cast from all the colors he was shown. It is an active cast, so he can get it wet without worry. I did not know such technology existed but am I ever grateful for it! He can bathe and just be himself without worry of the condition of the cast. He’s not going to be hammering in nails with it or anything but it’s nice to know he can enjoy normal, beloved activities during the rest of his short summer.

Now, at this point, mama bear is going to go reconsider her long-held abstinence from alcoholic beverages for a little while.