One Hand Down

Alright. Finally. The important story. So, Landon broke his hand. And, I didn't ask him this, but I guess he doesn't mind me telling the story of how it happened. This past Thursday, Landon was trying to put up our new mailbox. Since we bought a brand new construction house that then foreclosed, there are few final details that are not done (like no towel racks, or toilet paper holders, or shower curtain rods). And, no mailbox. After much deliberation, and I should have taken a picture of the mailbox, we picked out a mailbox at Lowe's. Landon decided to put it up last Thursday. He was trying to hammer the stake in the ground. I think the directions suggested you put another piece of wood on top of the stake and hammer that piece on top to help drive it in. Landon has NEVER hit his hand with the hammer. In fact, although I know Landon's had a lot of injuries in his lifetime (sports, stuff like that, when he was little), he has not had hardly any since we've been married. Now, he is kind of haphazard about stuff - like taking the stairs too fast, sliding around on socks on hard floors, that kind of stuff. But, all in all, he has not hurt himself badly (I don't think) since we've been married. Well, he was doing a couple of last hammer hits before the post was good and secure, and guess what, he hit his left hand with the hammer. He hit it about right here (and btw, this is NOT Landon's hand - I just found it on google images....I do think it's weird I've put another man's hand in this picture, but whatever).

He said right when it happened, he didn't realize how bad it was. Even Thursday night, we just bandaged it up - and get this, even after it happened and he went inside for a while, he went back outside and finished putting it up!!! Yikes!!! This man is determined! Anyway, it looked really bad - and was really swollen. It was BAD. I felt so terrible for Landon. I don't have any problem looking at most, I repeat, most, gross stuff, so this was not a problem to help with or look at it. I just felt so awful for him though and sorry for the pain he was in - I just wanted to cry. On Friday, he went to the urgent care place in Woodstock that has an xray machine. They said it was broken, and they put it in a splint. On Monday, we he had an appt. with an orthopedic dr. They re did the xrays, and then put a cast on it. Take a closer up look at the cast.

See how weird it is? It's a regular fiberglass cast, but it's put on special. They had to bind the two fingers by the break together in the cast - and then, they put the cast on xtra tight. While the nurse was doing it, she was apologizing because she knew what a hard time he'd have with it. Landon asked if he could just have a splint, but the dr. explained that sure, he could, but those hand bones are so small and intricate, one wrong move with this, and he'd have to have surgery. Already, he'll have to have physical therapy.

The first night with the cast was really rough. You know how you just start to feel claustrophobic and want something off your body? Well, that doesn't come off. And, it's super tight. And, it's swollen in there. AND, HIS FINGERS ARE BOUND TOGETHER IN IT. There's like no freedom anywhere - at least with a normal cast, your fingers are out. He had a really tough night - I thought we might have to go to the ER and just have them cut the cast off because the anxiety was so bad - and anxiety is not something Landon has a hard time dealing with. He ended up on the couch watching tv for a lot of the night and was able to fall asleep once he was distracted - thank goodness. He called the dr. the next day. The nurse was not surprised to hear from him. Apparently, with this type of cast, they sometimes have to give people anxiety medication to sleep at night because of how bad it is. She suggested he take something over the counter to help him sleep. The last two nights have been successful! He's taken Advil PM and that's worked great! I am SO RELIEVED, and thankful, because I feel so sorry for him. He goes back to the dr. next Monday, and they'll xray it through the cast to see how it's coming along. And, it should be 3-4 weeks in the cast from that point. Our church has been INCREDIBLE, to help us. The move last Saturday went fantastic - because of the men and women who helped us - Landon and I are pitiful - pregnant and with a broken hand...we're pretty much OUT. It's funny because I have felt so sorry for Landon through this - it really feels like it's hurting ME, like it partly happened to me (although I'm sure I would have felt it a little more strongly if it actually had happened to me). It just makes me wonder though about having a child...you know how you hear that mothers feel pain for their children so much - I felt so much for Landon, I don't think I can stand it!