Broken Arm Story

First of all, thanks to all of you for caring and for doing what you could to help Daniel and I out this week. Even though there wasn't too much everyone could do, your calls and prayers were very much appreciated! what a week :)

So for those of you who don't know the exact story. On Halloween night towards the end of our trick or treating experience we were leaving a house and I picked up Teagan because he was getting fussy. As we were walking down their sidewalk I forgot I had to take a small step up (it was a random little change in the pavement) and I tripped over it. Instead of dropping Teagan or letting my hands catch me, I held on to him and let my knees and left elbow hit the cement first. Teagan and my belly hit the ground but after the other parts of me did! I instantly picked him up because he was crying and made sure he was okay then realized "wow my arm is really hurting". Daniel turned around and came right over freaking out because his back was to us when it happened and all he saw and heard was Teagan screaming and his pregnant wife on the face down on the ground. Yes as some of you know...he used a choice word or two during this time. :) Don't worry I scolded him in the van afterwards.. haha

I got up and walked to the van holding my arm and we went home. I instantly sat on the couch and started poking around on my belly to see if the baby would move for me. I drank some juice and waited a few more minutes. Nothing..so we decided if for anything else we needed to head to the ER to get the baby checked out. I then took off my sweatshirt to take a look at my arm and my elbow area was starting to swell quite a bit already. It has become hard to bend my arm because of the swelling and it was starting to throb. From past experiences...I knew this wasn't the best sign!

We called Shannon and asked him to come over and stay with our boys and get them to bed and we headed off to the ER. They checked out the baby's heartbeat and it all sounded great. He also started to move around a bit as well and by the end of our ER stay was pushing and moving more back to normal. So I felt much better!

My arm continued to swell. They took xrays and we got checked into a room in the ER. They started an IV on me and gave me two doses of morphine. Boy was that an experience. We were told at first they thought I had broken my arm in 3 spots. The radius, humerus, and the olecranon (the tip of my elbow). They said the good news it wasn't displaced but they were having an orthopedic surgeon take a look at my scans from home. they came back later and said after having 3 doctors look at it in the ER they think the two bone fractures were old breaks. But they continued to tell us at least twice throughout the night I would need some type of procedure (meaning surgery) to fix the olecranon. Of course I cried some just knowing what that might entail. I had broke that same bone in 5th grade and had surgery and wires put in my arm so I was just relating it back to that experience. And of course I had broken this arm again after that just due to my OI and having brittle bones. So this was the 3rd time.

They put on a splint/cast, wrapped it and sent me home with codeine and a HUGE cast type thing that they said not to take off until I see the surgeon this week. So that is what I did. No bending or my arm or use of my hand for 2 1/2 days which was definitely frustrating and overwhelming at times. Tears definitely came on Wednesday and Thursdya morning the more I realized the things I couldn't do on my own or how long they took me to do with only one hand. Daniel stayed home with us and helped with the boys and to just to keep our house running. I did what I could one handed for sure because we all know I am not one to just sit around. I would go crazy :) Daniel learned how to curl my hair and put it in a pony tail! what a great guy :)




Yesterday (thursday) we went to see the Dr. Summers and ortho doctor in Cary. He had looked at my scans from home the night I was in the ER and the more he looked at them yesterday he said he does not think I need surgery at least right now. He did say there are two pieces of bone in my arm that really shouldn't be there and not sure exactly where they came from. They could have formed from a previous injury or what not but it is hard to tell since they don't have xrays of my arm pre-falling this week. And my arm bones don't look exactly normal anyway since I have broken it 2 times already and fallen on it once (not breaking it) but injured it badly as a kid. He said those two bones could come out but it is nothing he would do right now especially being pregnant. But it may be good to do later on to try and give my arm more mobility and less sensitivity. So it is more of an "elective surgery". Check out the xrays.. you can see the bones :)

see those two extra pieces of bone by my elbow..interesting!!

So we were definitely thinking surgery when we walked into the office and thought it was just a matter of "when" but were elated to find out that may not be the case. I am in a smaller cast/splint that I can take off to shower now YAY but must wear the rest of the day. I still can't bend my arm but have use of my fingers and hand. My hand and wrist are swollen but usable but I do need to watch how much I use it, but it was definitely sore and more swollen last night after doing more with it yesterday. My arm is continuing to get more dark purple by the hour but hoping that means it is at least healing.

We are going for a 2nd opinion on Monday to Triangle Orthopedics to see their hand, wrist, and elbow specialist. I have gone there before and really enjoyed that practice. I just want to make sure waiting on the elective surgery will not cause any future problems for me and that this doctor also agrees with the prognosis and treatment this doctor has me doing right now. I really would like to get at least the mobility that I had before back to be able to use my arm as "normally" as I can..well what has been normal for me for almost 20 years.

I would have to say 2011 has given us some emotional moments.. finding out we were pregnant (not super stressful but more like whoa that was quick!), tornado hitting our house, moving out, some other family stuff that has been going on, and now a broken arm. I am confident it ending with a new precious baby boy in our lives will be great but MAN am I ready for 2012 to start and hopefully be less crazy :) I may have set a new record this year with how many days I have cried total!!!

You could continue to pray that my arm heals well and that the doctor on Monday agrees with the treatment plan. I do think if he agrees on the elective surgery we will probably do that next year sometime. So just pray for wisdom and discernment on that for us and the doctors. And did I mention I am 35 weeks pregnant and we will have a baby in about a month! So crazy...

6 years and 2 1/2 babies later

Well Daniel and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary today (well we celebrated yesterday but it was today)! I can't believe we have been married 6 years already. It is crazy how fast time goes. We were talking last night about what we will do on our 10 year anniversary because it will be here before we know it. The last 6 years have had their ups and downs but it has been a wonderful ride. I look forward to what God has in store for the next 5, 10, 20 30+ years ahead. I am sure it is more than we can imagine!

As the title states we are also working on growing baby #3! We are 18 weeks pregnant! We find out tomorrow if we will be raising 3 precious boys or adding some pink/purple to our family! Thinking about being a family of 5 is kind of like..whoa what are we thinking? Our two boys are overwhelming enough sometimes and keep us busy all the time. Soon we will definitely be outnumbered! As most of you know I have always wanted to raise a big family and I could honestly say I would probably want more children. But overall I firmly believe every child is a gift from God but I believe that more for this baby than anything else (I need to post the story behind this feeling soon). For various reasons, it was very hard for Daniel and I to decide to have a third child. But after lots of praying on our end, God basically said this decision is not up to you, and here we are 18 1/2 weeks later! We are a family of 5 already in more ways than one. Our boys (especially Teagan) kiss the baby daily and pray for "mommy's baby" nightly! It is so amazing to see God working through them to be gentle and caring to the baby already. Let's just see if that caring and compassion continues once this little bundle of JOY arrives ;)

2nd Annual Preemie Onesie Drive

Yes so I haven't posted in over 4 months. But this is an awesome thing that I wanted to repost and let everyone know about, in case they want to get involved. I still follow this little girl Kayleigh's blog and her mom just posted this a week or so ago. I do not know Rachel and Ryan but I think this seems like an awesome event to get involved with.

I will update with family/life updates sometime soon... I promise!

Hello Everyone!!! We are holding the 2nd annual preemie onesie drive being held by me (Rachel) and Ryan. We are collecting preemie onesies and other preemie clothing to donate to the babies that are staying in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).

Ryan and I had our first daughter Carly in the NICU for 4 months before passing away from a heart defect. I know as well as other preemie parents of children in the NICU know that it's hard for your child to be there. It's hard in many ways. It's hard as far as gas is concerned because of the many daily trips to the hospital. Most of the time having a child in the NICU comes as a surprise. Parents are normally not prepared for such an early delivery. With not being prepared comes not having clothing to fit a child who is so small. A lot of times one of the parents (usually the moms) quit working to be at the hospital with their child as much as possible. This makes funds tight. Paying bills can become a struggle, and it makes it hard to buy your new little one the cute outfits that moms want to see their child in.

So, this is why I'm having this preemie onesie drive. To give to those parents who's world has been turned upside down. To help them along their way in their struggle. To help parents enjoy seeing their little boy or girl dressed in a cute outfit. Carly got a cute outfit while she was in the NICU as a anonymous donation. It made me feel completely blessed. It was nice for someone to do this for her. Being in the NICU is a very stressful time. Some are only there for days while others are there for months and even over a year. Simple acts of kindness fills peoples hearts with happiness. I'm doing this donation in memory of Carly who passed away on 3/9/08. I will deliver the donated onesies on 3/9/10.

When I started this drive last year I had a goal of 200. As March got closer and closer I realized I was going to go over my goal. By 3/9/09 I had collected OVER 2,000 items! This drive was truly blessed. We not only were able to donate to Levine Children's Hospital on the 9th of March, we were also able to donate to 5 other NICU's in NC. Every 3 months after March 9th I have donated MORE clothing to Levine Children's Hospital. I have one last donation to make this year in December. Let's come together in prayer and support and make this up coming year as big of a success as this past year. Please tell everyone you know to help spread the word as far as possible.

So please lets come together and help me to gather the needed onesies to donate to the NICU that my sweet Carly was at (Levine Children's Hospital). We will be having collections at my church and other local churches. If you would rather donate monetary donations you can do so at the top of my blog. The funds received will go toward the purchase of preemie onesies. The NICU houses nearly 100 babies. This fluctuates from time to time. Also they have an NPCN (neonatal progressive care nursery). And this unit holds about 60 babies maybe more. I hope to raise enough to donate to both the NICU and NPCN. So tell everyone you know to help me reach my goal by 3/9/10.


Ways you can become involved.....

1. You can mail donated preemie onesies

2. You can donate money to go toward the purchase of new preemie onesies. Just click on the donate button at the top of my blog. http://preemieonesiedrive.blogspot.com

3. You can place a flyer in your church, staff break room at your job, or local businesses with a box to help gather donations and mail them to the PO Box. (If you gather a large donation I will gladly pay for shipping).


**I will make a flyer and send it to your email to print if you would like to help in that way.


I will keep updated post on onesies received.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask.
You can reach me at carlynicoleelliotte@gmail.com

Thanks for your help and participation,

Rachel and Ryan