Yesterday Hannah got her cast off. It was a day we had been anxiously looking forward to for 4 long weeks. I think we all may have gone into this day a little unprepared. Initially I assumed that Hannah would need physical therapy to help rehab her arm after the cast came off, but was told that was not the case by her orthopedic surgeon. He had told us that kids bounce back quickly and she should be just fine.

After hearing that, I think we all just figured that she would go in, have the cast removed, pins taken out and life could go on; our summer activities could resume. That is not the case.

Hannah did get her cast and pins removed, but has more recovery time ahead of her. Realistically this makes sense. I mean, come on, Kim, the child broke 2 bones in her upper arm! She is very stiff. Her wrist is sore. She can’t straighten her arm or let it hang as she gets up or walks. She holds it with her other hand while she does anything but sit. The surgeon told us yesterday that it would be roughly 3 months before she has her full range of motion back.

I can see in her eyes how disappointed she is and my heart aches for her. She just wants to go back to normal. Her birthday party at the trampoline park will be cancelled, it is just too risky. I swear I asked the surgeon about it 3 weeks ago and he said she should be fine; today he said “no way” in very clear terms. There will be no water slide action at the pool, no roller coasters at Kings Island.

I feel like I have failed her in more ways than one. First, not only did I almost pass out when the ambulance came that day she fell, but I almost passed out again yesterday when she was hysterical about her cast coming off. Second, I feel like we could have prepared her better for the rest of her recovery.

From here, we move forward. Aaron shared a quote with me yesterday about focusing on moving forward that I want to share with you all:

“Looking in the rear view mirror is a good way to get into a crash.”

This isn’t just fitting for this situation, but for many. While it is good to acknowledge past mistakes, there is nothing that can be done about them, so wasting time worrying about the past will do nothing but impede or impair the future.  What is interesting about the quote is that Aaron used it yesterday to try to communicate to Hannah that she shouldn’t dwell on the past as she was mourning the past 4 weeks.  I hope that we can all keep this in mind over the next few months as Hannah continues to recover.

Hannah needs to get her arm moving to increase her range of motion. We will still go to the pool – the water can do nothing but help. We will just have to modify her activities. She can still have a birthday party, she will just need to choose a different venue. Focus on the positive.

Reminder – if you haven’t entered the giveaway to win a $25 Walmart gift card, don’t forget to do so!  Ends Friday at midnight!