My daughter Abbey's accident :(

[iceman]

My poor 10year old daughter Abbey broke both of her forearms on Friday afternoon. Both bones in both forearms - 5 fractures in total.

She was playing on the gymnastics bar at home and slipped off, using her arms to brace her fall, and broke them both. They were quite deformed but luckily not protruding the skin.

They were able to do a closed reduction (no cuts) surgery on Saturday morning, and we were able to take her home from hospital last night.

She's in mixed spirits - moments of happiness, but lots of moments of sadness as she won't be able to do anything for the next 6 weeks. She was involved in so much too - she'll miss a dancing concert, recorder concert at the opera house, gymnastics competitions, clarinet and band lessons, school camp and more. We'll also probably have to apply for special considerations for her OC test, which is only a week after she might get the casts off - so who knows how her ability to write will be.

It's been a long couple of days, and will no doubt be a long 6 weeks as it throws our routine into turmoil. But kids are resilient and I know she'll be back to normal in no time.

[PeterHA]

Hi Mike,
Sorry to hear, all the best for her speedy recovery.
Out daughter had something similar falling from high bars doing a gymnastics routine.
She recovered, came over hear fear of the high bars and to see her doing and mastering a level test at the same bars a year later just shows how well kids recover.
All the best,
Peter

[el_draco]

Mike,
man I can only offer sympathy. Girl I knew did the same thing after being thrown off a horse except the breaks were really bad. Months and months of casts up to the shoulders. Had to have someone do everything for her. Hope there's no long term effects.

[OzStarGazer]

I am sorry.... A speedy recovery to Abbey!

[N1]

Mike, sorry to hear. All the best to her for a speedy recovery. Tell her that her bones will be even stronger after they heal. That worked for me when I had a broken arm as a kid & needed some cheering up.

[RB]

Oh poor Abbey !
So sorry to hear Mike.
I wish her a very speedy recovery.

:sadeyes:

[Renato1]

That's extremely sad news. I winced as I read it.
Best wishes to your daughter.
Regards,
Renato

[DJT]

Ouch..poor kid. Heres to a speedy recovery for Abbey.

Best wishes

[sheeny]

Oh, wow! Sounds like a hard fall! That's no fun at all. I hope she recovers quickly and can keep her sense of humour in the meantime.

It might be worth talking about the special considerations for the OC exam if it's so soon after getting the casts off. It might take a while to get movement and endurance back for writing - it might just be a stressor she doesn't need.

Al.

[Larryp]

Wishing her a speedy recovery

[Varangian]

Ouch blooming hell I get the shivers just thinking about it. Nothing worse than sore / sick kids so I hope it's a speedy recovery.

[strongmanmike]

Mate, as a parent these sorts of accidents make you feel sick, it must have been a tense day or so for you both, reminds us just how fragile we really are.

Hope the wait isn't too long for Abbey

Mike

[h0ughy]

Hope she gets well soon, what a ride all of you must have gone through.

[Kunama]

Get well soon Abbey :hi::hi::hi:

My daughter, Amy, broke her arm at about the same age but to break both arms would be infinitely worse. I wish you a speedy recovery, in the meantime just chill and let mum and dad look after you .

[Nikolas]

Wishing your daughter well in her recovery. Kids are resilient and they heal so quickly it's scary!!

[Astro_Bot]

Ouch! I hope she gets well soon.

[Ric]

I can't imagine how scary & stressful that must have been for the both of you.

I hope Abbey makes a swift recovery


You might need a few stiff whiskeys though to settle the nerves.

[BlackWidow]

Not good news at all... Poor thing. Tell her that at least she won't have to wash the dishes or help around the house LOL. I remember when my Daughter Jessica was very young and was walking with her holding her hand. She tripped and I held her up by her arm to save her fall... Not a good idea! She let out this blood curdling scream that I will never forget. Took her to hospital to find I had broken her arm. Told its a pretty common accident. However I felt like a bad Father that day.

Hope it all goes well. Ice cream seems to help with the sad days ;-)

[lacad01]

Sorry to hear that Mike :( hope she mends up soon.

[marc4darkskies]

Ouch!! That's no good Mike! Poor little thing!! :( That must have been incredibly painful! Wishing her a speedy recovery!!

[bloodhound31]

I can't imagine the horror you must have felt hearing your precious daughter in such gruesome pain. I can't imagine her fear and anguish at such horrible and agonising trauma. No kid should have to experience that. My thoughts and prayers are with you all Mike. Praying for comfort and healing.

Baz.

[Rodstar]

Crikey Mike, we were just chatting about her last Thursday on the train! I am trying to imagine how she can do anything for herself with both arms broken - a logistical nightmare. No school???? Thoughts and prayers from the Berries.

[julianh72]

It's lucky kids are so resilient - my daughter broke her arm at about the same age - in one of those padded, supervised indoor playgrounds of all places. She had the cast on for about 6 weeks, and a week after getting it off, broke it again - this time bouncing on her bed! Another 6 weeks or so later, the cast came off, and she has had no significant injury since. She plays the violin, netball, softball, etc, and is now in her final year of school.

I know how distressing it is, but I'm sure she'll be fine. (And I always felt that a child hasn't really had a proper childhood unless they've broken at least one bone - not because I think they NEED to suffer to learn, but you haven't really lived if you've never climbed a tree, rolled down a giant sand dune, skied as fast as you can, ridden a bike over bumps, ... and somewhere, sometime, you're going to have an accident.)

[peterl]

Wow.. all of your families focus will be on Abbey for the next few weeks.
look after her Mike and hope she heals well for the future..all the best to you guys..
peter.

[iceman]

Thanks for all your wishes and support.

Physically she's not really in pain anymore, it's just the mental pain when she remembers what she's missing out on or can't do things she wants to.

There's going to be lots of ups and downs over the next 6 weeks weeks. My wife's life will go on hold because Abbey can't eat, drink, toilet etc without help.

Lucky we have Eliza, her older sister, who is the best older sister you could hope for. She's so helpful, loving and supportive. She'll be in the health industry when she's older, no doubt about it.

I think her body protected her from most of the pain when it happened, through adrenalin and shock. She's never really complained too much about the pain (of course there's been moments of pain putting on temporary casts when the ambulance arrived etc), but it's been more mental anguish, fear and upset that was the worst.

But my worst memory is seeing her on the ground and seeing her arms in the shape they were in :( I can't get that picture out of my mind. I hope it fades eventually.

It was a stressful time and even for myself I was running on adrenalin all of Friday arvo and night.

I know some people have it worse and it could've been worse for Abbey, so we are lucky and won't complain too much. She will get better.

[mental4astro]

Mike, being a dad myself, seeing our children hurt is the most crushing thing that can happen to a parent. You would do anything to take on their pain if it meant they would not suffer.

I wish your daughter a good recovery. It will be a long one for her and your family. Best wishes mate.

Alex.

[Rod771]

Sorry to hear this scary news Mike.

Sounds like you all, especially Abbey, handle it with a huge amount of courage. I have two young boys and would probably freak out beyond being useful in such situation.

Wishing Abbey a speedy and trouble free recovery.

Regards

Rod

[gregbradley]

oooh, that was rough.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery though. Probably worse for you and your wife than for her.

Greg

[DavidNg]

Hope everything will be fine to Abbey.

[Retrograde]

Ouch - wishing her a speedy and trouble-free recovery!

[ZeroID]

Ouch ! You always feel for your kids for sure. Hope she mends quickly Mike.

[erick]

I hope she recovers quickly and completely, Mike. What an experience for all of you!

[Nortilus]

Thats no good...how she gets better soon...

My older brother once jumped off a rainwater tank to impress our female neighbour after he fixed something wrong with the water inlet...broke both heels...had to wheel chair it for 8 weeks...needless to say, she wasnt impressed...

[GraemeT]

Sorry about the broken bones Abbey. These things are all part of growing up, but that's small comfort when you get to miss so much. I'm recovering from lots of broken bones at the moment and I really feel sorry for you!

[noeyedeer]

thats a shame that your daughter had to go through that Mike. I hope you have implemented the proper safety mats under such apparatus and perhaps show how to stop a falling force by rolling (using bent arms or legs to transfer the energy to a sideways motion, like a sky diver does) and not using straight arms or legs.

breaking bones is not a part of growing up as others have said. I've never broken a bone.

safety and precaution is the best measure and of course good old calcium for strong bones.

sorry for a negative reply but I wish you and her all the best .. and perhaps better mats.

matt