January 13, 2012

Tough Break

Emily broke her arm. I’ve uttered that phrase about one hundred times over the past week. Actually, gravity and centrifugal force broke Emily’s arm. She slipped while doing a round-off at gym on Monday night. The Vegas Odds on Emily breaking something before her brother were 75 to 1, but somehow she managed to beat the odds. Life can be funny that way. Emily didn’t just break her arm, she managed to break the all-important growth plate at her elbow. Emily’s Type III Growth Plate Fracture pretty much epitomizes the phrase, that’s a tough break.

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:

The bones of children and adults share many of the same risks for injury. However, a child’s bones are also subject to a unique injury called a growth plate fracture. Growth plates are areas of developing cartilage tissue near the ends of long bones. The growth plate regulates and helps determine the length and shape of the mature bone.

The journey that is our family life is sort of like a one-man-band playing a song, while riding a bike and juggling bananas. If you a jam a stick in the spokes, it could get ugly. Emily’s tough break was a bit of a stick-in-the spokes for us….

After our consultation with a Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon in Atlanta, we opted for a surgical procedure that will greatly reduce the risk of Emily developing any complications as her arm heals. That procedure is set for Tuesday at Egelston Children’s Hospital in Atlanta, so say a little prayer for Em J (as we call her).

When the doctor’s elaboration on Emily’s injury culminated with a surgical treatment recommendation, Emily glanced up at me with her sweet brown eyes and conveyed a clear nonverbal message to me… Do you think he knows that I’m sitting right here?! I hear him talking about manipulating my broken bone, and I know that it’s going to hurt when I wake up! And what about a pink cast?! When can I get a pink cast?! I’m done here Daddy, can we go shopping now? Yep, Emily is brilliant at descriptive facial expressions…

It was an interesting week. In the scheme of things, this is not a huge deal. However, Emily has been tough and resilient as we have faced this little hiccup. Life is going to deliver some tough breaks to us, we just have to be ready to respond. When it comes to the tough breaks in life, it truly is our response to them that matters the most. We are emotional beings, so our response to the tough breaks will draw out our emotions. The first emotion that typically bubbles up is self-pity. It’s alright to experience a little self-pity, it’s what happens next that matters….

After we work through the inevitable emotions of a tough break, our progress begins with a renewed focus on the things actually within our control, and letting go of what we can’t control. To a degree, we’re all control freaks. This renewed focus can be a beautiful thing. When setbacks occur, they are often accompanied with an opportunity. One specific opportunity that may accompany a physical injury, or ailment, is some time to slow down and re-energize. For me, like many of you, injuries and ailments have always forced me to develop my patience, which is sometimes lacking….

Tough breaks are a part of life, and they’re rarely as simple as mending a broken arm. No matter how difficult a setback may be, there’s really only one way to respond: