Lola's Arm

Since we've been back, we have all been pretty sick, taking turns getting progressively worse runny noses, phlegmy deep coughs and sore throats and fevers, though the biggest piece of news is that Lola broke her arm.  It happened last Tuesday afternoon and for a while Michael and I were in disbelief that it rrally happened.  

Lola was playing at the bus stop waiting to go to drama class when she slipped off the rail at the bus station and landed badly (entirely) on her right arm and elbow.  I wasn't with her, but Siti said she could move her fingers and lift her arm.  They iced it though Lola kept saying it hurt.  They neglected to check whether Lola could straighten her arm, the inability to do so being of course a big warning sign. 

Lola went to her drama class and it wasn't until they came back from that that Michael and I got a glimpse and realized that her arm was indeed likely broken.  There was no disfigurement or blood or bruising so it may not have been immediately obvious, but the fact that she couldn't really lift her arm, and her fear and pain at even thought of trying to straighten it, cemented it.

We rushed to Adventist Hospital which is thankfully 5 minutes away, and from there the process was, unsurprising in Hong Kong, hyper efficient.  Lola was checked in around 6:30pm, met with the urgent care doctor on duty, had her X-rays taken and reviewed. The urgent care doctor informed me it was broken but there was no displacement (turns out that is a very good thing, negating the need for surgery or a pin) and that he could get an orthopedic surgeon on site to review and set the cast within 15 minutes. As promised, the doctor showed up promptly, conducted a review, agreed with the urgent care doctor's assessment, reviewed the file with me, and set Lola in a lightweight fiberglass cast.  We were home before 8:30pm, armed with some paracetamol and ibuprofen.

Lola has since been recovering pretty well - she was so incredibly brave during the first x-ray, when she was clearly in a lot of pain but had to sit by herself patiently while the technician asked her to move into the required position. 

After the initial shock of the break and getting used to the clunky cast, she has gained a lot more confidence and pretty much abandoned her sling.  Lola continues to go to school though dressing her in her school uniform while trying to take into account the weather hasn't been without its challenges.

We have since had one follow-up checkup with the ortho (he pronounced her healing very well and all things looking good) and have one more follow up x ray and follow-up next week.  This puts her out of commission from a lot of her activities, namely soccer, and taekwondo, as while the cast is off in 3 weeks, the doctor wants her to refrain from contact sports until May.  It's unfortunate, however, the most important thing is that it remains a clean break that heals properly. 

You can see now some further pictures of her in her cast, getting increasingly more comfortable with it.