I will jump right in to the story of Zach's thumb. It was 3 Fridays ago now, that Zach was preparing to go to IC to spend the weekend with his cousins. Dave said he didn't mind but wanted him to split wood for a couple of hours and then he could go. Zach was totally fine with that and started splitting. Dave mentioned to me that he needed to get something from his mom's house but I wasn't really paying attention. I was in the kitchen making supper when I hear Zach screaming outside. Ah, ah, ah at the top of his lungs. For a split second I thought he was messing around with someone but I quickly realized that this didn't sound like messing around and the sound was getting closer. I could still hear the log splitter but he was screaming and running around the yard. I ran outside and found him running in circles with blood spraying everywhere. I totally freaked out. From his reaction, I just knew something would be severed. I yelled to Lexi to get Dad while wondering why he didn't come running. Only to remember he must have left to Sue's house. I yelled to Lexi to call her on the phone but then grabbed the phone and yelled to Sue that I needed Dave right away. Not my finest moment, but I think she has forgiven me. By this time, Zach had collapsed on the ground, still yelling and telling me how bad it hurt. I grabbed some paper towels to hold on his thumb and calmed down a bit when I realized nothing was severed and he would live. But I bawled along with him to have him in so much pain and not be able to help him. Dave came squealing around the corner and jumped out of his truck. Followed, of course, by Sue after having the living daylights scared out of her. We determined that Dave would take him to the ER and I would stay home. I was kind of glad 6 hours later when I was still sitting on the couch waiting for them.
He had gotten his thumb smashed in between the base of the log splitter and a log. From the sides, so it bent his nail up in the middle. In the ER, they got into a room almost right away but then the waiting began. Every half hour someone would come in and report but then leave again. X-rays determined he crushed both bones in his thumb and his nail popped out of the nail bed. They shot him 4 times with Novocaine in the base of his thumb so they could push his nail back under and pull his skin over. Sounds like it would hurt, to me, but he said the worst part, by far, was the Novocaine shots.
This is after he had his cast for a week. Looks much better than it did at first. You can thank me later. He will lose his nail.
After he finally got home that night, at 1:30, he came walking in the door carrying a bag of groceries they had picked up at Walgreens (drugs, pizza to eat with the drugs and of course candy. Because candy fixes everything:). I looked at Dave funny and he exclaimed that he tried to take the bag but Zach wouldn't let him carry it. Just freshly out of a traumatic experience and minor surgery and carrying groceries. That's my Zach though. He figures things out for himself and doesn't let life get him down. Every time I saw him for the first few days, all I could say was "I'm so sorry you had to get hurt." He always said, "It's alright Mom. I'm alright."
Even though his bones were crushed, the Dr. said he wouldn't need surgery. That's why he has the cast and we keep getting new casts because eventually the swelling will go down and it willl be loose in there. As long as it stays immobile and the bones don't shift, they should heal normally. So thankful, as always, that God was with us and he didn't get hurt worse.
Suffice to say, he didn't get to his cousin's house that weekend:)
Thank you for only posting the picture after it looked "better"! Yikes!!
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