Brooklyn's Birthday Bummer

I'm kind of having a lousy day. Can't complain though, especially considering Brooklyn's bummer of a birthday earlier this week.

It all started off so beautifully. When we picked Brooklyn up from school, our now nine year-old was all smiles, walking arm in arm with her sister and friend Claire.

By the way, have we shown you a photo of this munchkin recently?  All she wants for Christmas is her *three* front teeth!  (She lost yet another while eating an apple.)

Back to the birthday story, we took Brooklyn to the mall where this little cutie was waiting inside Claire's.

At long last, Brooklyn was going to get her ears pierced.  (Much to Brooklyn's chagrin, we actually let Talia be the first on this one--Tally got her first pair of earrings for her birthday last month.)

Despite the highly anticipated event, Brooklyn was a bit nervous--understandably.

Talia, on the other hand, was a great cheerleader and all-around distraction.

Before we knew it, the pain was gone and Brooklyn was all smiles.

With flashy new earrings, we continued our birthday celebration by heading downtown for ice skating at the outdoor rink by Con Agra.  The girls had been begging to skate and were so excited.


I was delighted as well since the bitterly cold weather had eased into a lovely crisp winter's eve lit by a full moon.


Watching my children and hubby happily skate, I recall marveling at the miracle of the moment.


Well, a moment is all it takes for everything to change. I slipped inside the tent to nurse Annika and was interrupted by a lady who told me that my daughter had most likely broken her arm.  Which one?  I asked.  The birthday girl, she replied.  I rushed outside to this heart-wrenching scene. 

Note: a bystander took these photos of the trauma and texted them to Jason because he thought we might want to have them.  Just don't want you to think I chose my camera over immediately embracing my baby.

One glance at the odd angle of my little girl's arm, and the paramedics were summoned.  She was loaded onto a stretcher.  Not every birthday girl gets her own personal ambulance ride!  Fortunately, they let me ride with her to the hospital.


Morphine was the top priority once we made it to the ER.  One Brooklyn was drugged, she felt well enough to open a few birthday presents.  The Kaya doll from NomiAnn and Papa Kay was just perfect for snuggling with in the hospital.  (I must say, their gift was a much better choice than the gift Jason and I planned--a session of swimming, basketball, or ice skating lessons. Sigh. )

 

As anticipated, they took some x-rays.  Talia was so worried that she wouldn't leave Brooklyn's side, even after we sent the rest home.

You don't have a medical degree to see this break! (A distal radial fracture, if you want to be more technical.)

Fortunately, they were able to set the bone.  We were a bit disappointed that they didn't have any colorful cast options, but grateful to be on our way home a few hours later.  Here's Brooklyn smiling once more the next morning.

That evening we enjoyed a birthday "redo" at the Pizza Machine since our previous birthday dinner plans were spoiled.  A broken arm didn't keep Brooklyn from braving the Frog Hopper.


Last but not least, we finally enjoyed Brooklyn's birthday cherry cheesecake.

Happy Birthday, Buttermilk!

Well Brooklyn, if nothing else, this will always be a birthday to remember. Thank you for being so brave and having such a good attitude through such a challenging experience.  I seriously thought my heart might rip as I watched you suffer--I would have given anything to take that away.  You are such a beautiful, inquisitive, intelligent, considerate nine year-old.  It's challenging to bridge the gap between young woman and child, but you are doing a remarkable job. 

I mentioned earlier that I was having a lousy day, but after taking some time to think and write about you, I'm feeling much lighter.  Thanks for brightening our lives, BMW.