Olivia vs. The Monkey Bars

The weather has started to cool off here, at least in the mornings, and so we thought we'd take advantage of sunny and 80s and meet some friends at the park. We hadn't been there 5 minutes when Olivia came to me crying (followed by several adults, which made me nervous) and saying her arm hurt. As soon as I looked at her arm, I knew we were headed to the hospital. There was a "dip" in her forearm, above the wrist, and it just didn't look right. The adults who'd seen it said she lost her grip on the monkey bars and fell, and they heard a popping noise. Poor girl.

So I left Tucker and Rylie at the park with Amber and Shauna (and all of their kids too, of course) and headed to the hospital. Unfortunately, we were leaving the park downtown in the middle of gameday traffic. I pulled to the side of the road when I saw a police officer directing traffic and he rigged the stoplight for us and we headed to the hospital. Luckily, Bro. Dunford was working in the ER today, so we got in to see a familiar face. Both he and the nurses were all impressed with how brave and cheerful Olivia was for enduring a broken arm. She got a temporary cast and we'll head back to the doctor some time on Monday to get a permanent one. Do they make waterproof casts these days? I surely hope so. The plastic bag on her arm during the bath tonight was cumbersome...

She really did great, all things considered, and by this evening she was playing with the kids outside - a little quieter and more careful, but playing all the same. And now she's sleeping her first night with a ginormous left arm.

What a day. Of course, I told myself. Of course we have a broken limb to add to a house that won't sell and a dad that lives far away...

But then I got phone calls from both women taking care of my children, then phone calls from each of my visiting teachers, then dinner and happy conversation with a dear friend...Of course. Of course, I reminded myself, my wonderful ward and good friends will always be here to help me, and my Heavenly Father will never forget about me.