On Thin Ice

That arm? It belongs to me.  The photo was taken on Monday evening after a trip to the Emergency Room.  Somewhere around noon on Monday Talan and I left the gym.  I had to make a quick stop at a store that's just around the corner from our house.  I parked and got out of the truck.  As I was getting Talan out of his car seat I did something I never, ever do.  For some reason I pulled his hood up over his head.  I took him out and put him on my hip and walked around the back of the truck.  As I stepped forward I started to slip on a sheet of ice.  I thought for a second that I was going to be able to catch myself but as I stepped to try to get a grip on dry road I realized I was surrounded by ice.  About that time my feet both slipped out from underneath me and I slammed down onto the ground.  With Talan in my arms. 

It happened so fast but somehow that protective instinct we have as parents came over me.  I was able to wrap my left arm around Talan's back and put my hand around his neck.  When I fell, because of the way I was holding him to keep him safe my elbow was the first to hit the ice, followed by my left hip.  Talan's head did hit the ground but it hit last and I was able to take on the impact.  I quickly took off his hood (which is also something that helped in protecting him from any harm) and checked him out.  When I realized he was okay I got a huge adrenalin rush.  I was soaking wet on my left side and had just crashed onto the road/ice but I still got up and walked into the store.  As soon as I got through the door I think I realized what had just happened and the pain began to kick in.  That's when I started to shake and felt like I could collapse.  I lifted my sleeve to look at my arm and all I saw was white so I thought it could be bone....and that really sent me into a panic.  I turned around and went back to the truck.  It was tricky trying to get back in because the ice that caused the accident was surrounding it but somehow I got us both in.  I called Kevin from the car and asked him to meet me outside. 

Once home the pain really intensified.  The white I saw wasn't bone, thank God.  We called the ER because I was still moving my arm and didn't want to go in if moving it meant it wasn't broken.  They suggested ice and elevation for a couple of hours and said to come in if it was still bad at that point.  The pain didn't let up and I was getting nervous but by the time I knew I had to go in it was time for the kids to come home from school.  We made arrangements for them for later in the afternoon and finally went in at 5.  No broken bones but a lot of bruising and a big, nasty open wound on my elbow.  I have a bruise on my thigh the size of a cantaloupe and I've been very, very sore since then.  I'll take all of it and then some....I'm just so grateful that Talan made it through without as much as a scratch.  I kept replaying the moment in my head over and over.  I didn't sleep at all on Monday night because of it.  I don't know how I was able to think fast enough to cover his back and head or how I was able to fall onto my side as opposed to on top of him.  It could have been so much worse. 

In other Talan news....he is giving me a run for my money.  This is him stuck behind the couch.  No idea how he got there but he couldn't get out.












He's also taken to climbing behind the blinds and standing in the window sill. Awesome. Speaking of awesome, check out his 80's hair poof!