New Companion

A week ago today Cole received a new companion:

Compliments of a broken left femur bone that was obtained while having a fun day at the water park!  Last slide of the day, Cole went down with a huge smile and came up screaming like a banshee!  After trips to 2 different hospitals and an ambulance ride, the pediatric orthopedic surgeon at St. Luke's hospital  inserted 2 titanium rods in the poor little boys leg.  The wheel chair will be Cole's new side kick for 4 to 6 weeks. He will get to take it to the 1st day of kindergarten, to the state fair and maybe even camping! It has already been a hit with some of the neighborhood kids and has been clocked at a top speed of 8 miles an hour, assisted by an android speedometer app and a more than willing cousin behind the wheels!

One week ago today I too received a new companion:

A constant companion that was already pretty constant to begin with, this just intensifies our relationship a bit.  Cole has always been "mom partial".  Mom partial has become mom constant! Life has come to a screeching halt and the skid marks are a mile long.  Canceling and rearranging appointments, handing off responsibilities and commitments, letting normal life go by the way side. Its been a wake up call for this whole family. It seemed pretty devastating the 1st couple days, but after 2 nights stay in the pediatric ward at the hospital, a broken leg is not the end of the world. We were surrounded by kids that were terminally sick or that had limbs missing or that were mentally disabled.  My small little boy lying in that huge hospital bed didn't seem so catastrophic as I had thought and had made it out to be.  The doctor was confident that the  bone would heal and in 1 year, you won't even be able to tell it was broken. Time has slowed down here and I have had a lot of forced moments of reflection and thought.  It is funny how Heavenly Father presents us with situations that seem to be horrible and unbearable.  Than only to find out that really it isn't as bad as we make it out to be. I have a lot of time to just sit with Cole.
 He doesn't talk much being that he is in a constant state of "gaming".  I think he has had enough video game time to last him the rest of his life.  Cole is the kid that gets under my skin the most, the kid that wants all the attention good or bad, the kid that gets in the most trouble or causes the most trouble. So for this to happen to "this kid"  is both ironic and predictable. Of any of my kids I would expect Cole to have broken something a long time ago. He has had numerous accidents that have put us in the doctors office. And of any of my kids, he is probably the one that I need to spend more quality time with. 

Thus, the current situation unfolds.....

So while we are lazily wasting away our last few days of summer vaca, we are so grateful for the blessings we have had over the last  week. Meals, play dates, phone calls, pep talks, vistors, it has all been  so overwhelmingly amazing to know that we are surrounded with so many wonderful family and friends. Thank you to everyone for your thoughtfulness and generosity, we couldn't have made it this far without ya!  One week down!.......