a boy and his cast

Though I wish Calvin did not break his wrist, there is something so cute and boy-ish with him in his tough black cast.

The first day or 2 in the cast, Calvin was still in a little bit of pain.

But he rarely even complained unless I asked him if it hurt.

He has been an amazing trooper. Grandpa Billy had a white pen and so a few of us signed his cast over Thanksgiving.

One week after his cast was on, we had to get another x-ray just to make sure his bone was healing properly.

So we went back to the hand specialist, Dr. M.

Dr. M is supposedly an amazing and skilled surgeon, but I was warned that he was a bit absent-minded when it comes to bedside manners.

After viewing Calvin's follow-up x-ray, Dr. M comes back into our room and just kind of looks at us.

After a while he kind of says "Welp, mm hm...keep him in the cast... it should heal on its own..."

I raise an eyebrow.

"Should heal?" I question.

And then he mutters something about it being bent.

I raise another eyebrow.

"Bent?" I question.

"Yes, it's slightly bent because of how he fell backward. How old is he, 5? If he was 13 I would re-break his arm and re-set it with pins".

By now my eyes are bulging.

"Re-break and re-set with pins?" I manage to squeak out.

"Um yes, we could re-break his arm and set it with pins, but I don't think it would make much of a difference in how it heals. "

I don't think I looked entirely convinced, so he went on discussing how kids grow fast and things usually straighten out on their own.

Finally he said, "If it were my son, I would proceed the same way. I would keep him in the cast for a few more weeks and would let it heal on its own. Don't worry about it. It's my job to worry about these things."

Once he said that, I was satisfied with our course of action. If he would do this with his own son, it was good enough for me.

Still I walked out of the office a bit shaken.

But convinced that we were doing the right thing. Keeping him in his cast for a few more weeks and letting it heal on its own. And I decided not to worry about it for a second longer!

We will go back later this week to check on things. In the meanwhile, we are busy trying to get into the Christmas spirit around here!