amy & gaby: August 2008

For those of you who don't know, Gaby is living with my parents up in northern CA while I am still in OC until I can move back up there. Last Wednesday, the day before school started, my sweet, intelligent 9-year old decided it was a good idea to ride her new bike with flip-flops. She was riding at the school with a couple friends and from what I can understand she went to turn around and fell and somehow the bike ended up on top of her and hurt her foot. She called my Mom who came to the rescue and got her home, gave her Motrin and had her ice her injury. My Mom then called me and we both thought she was probably ok, maybe hurt a little but most likely more embarassed that she fell in front of her friends. She was unable to walk on it and it was a little swollen, but we figured we'd wait until the next day thinking she'd be ok, and because she is "out of network" with our insurance. Well, the next morning it was still hurting, she couldn't walk on it, and it was so swollen she couldn't get her shoe on. Can you tell which foot it is?

My Mom called me right after she took her to school Thursday morning and said she was going right then to get her some crutches. Keep in mind that I am almost 500 miles away and feeling kind of helpless throughout all of this. During this conversation with my Mom, I decided it was probably best for Gaby to go to the ER. Because I haven't changed her doctor from OC to where she is, she is "out of network", and our co-pay for urgent care or the ER is $75 but I figured it was worth it for my own peace of mind. After school my parents took Gaby to the ER and I got a phone call right after I left work and my Mom told me that she had broken her foot in 3 places! The ER doc wanted her to see an orthopedic surgeon this week, so being "out of network" as far as our insurance goes, I had another battle with our insurance company on Friday to get her visit authorized. I am so grateful that we have health insurance, but sometimes they can be so difficult. So she went to the ortho surg. this morning who used to go, lucky for us, to the same church as my parents. He put a full cast on (the ER only put a partial cast on because of the swelling) and she goes back in 2 1/2 weeks to have it re-x-rayed (is that even a word?). She called me as they were leaving the Dr's office and let me know she was a little disappointed because there were no cast colors for her to choose from, she had to go with boring white. When I called back to get all the details from my Mom, she was at Target getting colored Sharpies for Gaby to use on her boring white cast. I'm glad that Gaby was with my parents when this happened because it would have been really hard on both of us if she had been here. I wouldn't have been able to give her the extra care she needs. So a BIG thank you to my wonderful parents for doting on my little girl in her time of need. Hopefully she won't drive them crazy in the process!