A cast for Christmas

As the story goes, T was walking around for two weeks on a broken right ankle before it was wrapped up in a bright orange cast by an orthopedist yesterday afternoon. After a nasty tumble in his soccer game a couple of weeks ago we assumed his ankle was just badly sprained. Sure it was swollen to the size of a baseball and was black and blue, but he could limp around just fine and eventually could even run on the thing so I thought it would just continue to improve. But it didn't really improve. And even though T is the strongest kid I know and NEVER likes to draw attention to himself with complaints, I got out of him after scouts last week that not only was his ankle still bothering him, but his other knee was now hurting as well. The rest is history, I guess. We saw T's pediatrician who agreed that it was just a sprain because T was being so brave but ordered an x-ray just in case. We were both surprised to learn the next morning that there was, in fact, a break in his ankle and I was even more stunned at the orthopedist to learn that it was a jagged break through the bottom of the fibula, not the hairline I had imagined. So basically Talmage Scott is a rockstar, but much to his chagrin (and after intense but ultimately failed negotiations with the doctor) rockstars like himself still have to wear a hard cast for at least four weeks, and then a soft one for a couple after that. That means no P.E. which for a bouncy bear like T is basically a death sentence, but it also means that he can carry around a sharpie and ask the world to sign his leg which is pretty rad for a 3rd grader! There was some mourning after we got home but nothing a little cast party couldn't fix and before long, happy and optimistic Talmage was back with us.

Aside from T's bravery and confidence, the thing I'll remember most about our first Wiggy cast experience actually didn't happen at the hospital at all. You see, this month our church has started an initiative called Light the World which gives us an opportunity to spread the love and light of our Savior by giving service in our community. On Monday the scripture prompt came from Matthew 22:39, which reads, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," an invitation to reach out to those closest to us with love--and that's what a dear friend did for me. Melissa took my girls in the early afternoon and then picked up Everett from school so that I could give Talmage my full attention at the appointment. I honestly don't know how I would have made it work had all the others been there. And as if that weren't enough, I got home to find Everett's homework done, the girls happy and fed and every speck of laundry in my home washed and beautifully folded. Can you believe that?! The tears in my eyes rolled easily and I felt so loved--by her and by Him. Life is already a little crazy-town around here and coming home with a sad little lad who needed a lot of extra attention meant that my already packed evening was going to be even busier, and boy was I exhausted at that thought! But she made it possible for me to love on T and serve him like our Savior would without being up all night folding six loads of laundry. The Burnetts lit our little world on Monday night, and I'm so grateful.

He really wanted a turquoise cast, but upon learning that the blue options were sub-par he chose orange. He also liked the neon yellow, but Uncle Chase had told him a yellow-snow joke the night before that had steered him in another direction!!!

This was before he tried walking on the thing and realized that it wasn't going to be as easy as he thought! I'm sad to say that the smile disappeared for a while after that, but it was back in time for dessert that night so I'm calling the overall experience a win!

Sweet boy said that I could be the first person to sign his cast, and I'm not taking that for granted. I love that little one and I love that he loves his mama.

Knowing that some cheering up was in order, I threw a cast party for T and his little siblings. We made brownie/reeses/m&m milkshakes for dinner followed quickly by corndogs for dessert! The kids thought that was just about the funniest and fun thing they had ever heard of. After we ate and all took turns signing his cast, we brought our neighbor Daddy (who often lives at his office in Century City) a milkshake in an effort to light his world! I am so grateful for our wonderful family and hope that this cast is the first of only one!!!