Two hours to go....

Early Spring 2009004, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

Norah and I were in MI for 6 days, and in the last 2 hours before her bedtime on the last day, she fell and broke her leg!!!!

She was "dancing" at Aunt Alessia and Uncle Jim's house, which for Norah involves spinning in circles, giggling, and getting very dizzy. Well, she must have fallen just right, because we heard a thump followed by about 45 minutes of crying (NOT normal for Norah). So, I called the doctor, and they suggested I bring her to the ER, since she wasn't putting any weight on her leg.
We were at the ER from 8:00 pm to 1:00 am, and emerged with confirmation that Norah had broken her tibia (shin bone) and her leg in a cast from the foot to the hip. They told us it could be 4-6 weeks of sponge baths, no walking, and no swimming! All I could think was, "Good thing it's not summer right now!!!"

When they put the cast on, Norah was intrigued by the "big sock" they were putting on her leg. First, the doctor put a liner on her leg, to protect the skin. Then, he wrapped several layers of soft cotton around the leg, to protect and cushion it. Then, he wrapped several layers of fiberglass casting around her leg. Norah kept saying, "Big Sock" or "Hard Sock" as he was doing this. After he left, she said, "Sock OFF!" She had already had enough after 10 minutes!

Thank you to Alessia who stayed in the hospital with us. We were both so tired by 1:00 am, and Norah was at her slap-happy/talkative stage of sleep deprivation. She was busy opening and closing her wipes container and saying "Open! Close! Open! Close!" very excitedly while Alessia and I tried to rest in our chairs. What a long night!

Here is Norah the next morning, after getting only 6 hours of sleep (compared to her usual 11-12....). Not a happy camper at this point.