Sam woke up every four hours the night it happened.  Each time he wakes up, he is crying a little and I give him a dose of Tylenol. I hardly sleep. He hardly sleeps. Alex: out like a light. In the morning, Sam still isn't using his arm. I give him a cup of water and he takes it with his left hand. I give him a toy crane and he reaches only with his left hand. He is right handed.

I call the pediatrician who sees us at 9:30am. He thinks it is possible there is a fracture. His nurse puts a splint on Sam and we head to the hospital for an X Ray.

In radiology department at the hospital, people think Sam is so cute. They kinda stop in their tracks when he comes in. They ask him how old he is and what happened. Then they tell him he has beautiful blue eyes. He tells them he jumped off the play structure because Alex did. (Not so much because he knows this but because this how I have told the story to everyone I have talked to so far. ) He is fascinated by the camera that takes a picture of his bones. He troops through the X Ray without fidgeting or protest. The tech tells me he is so good. Other kids are so squirmy and difficult she says. Interesting I think.  If you only saw him behind closed doors .... he's real good. Especially when I tell him not to do something! I ask if someone is there who can read the film and she says not yet but that she looked at it and its broken. A clean break, she says. Won't require surgery. My stomach falls a few feet. It is broken. Surgery? For a broken arm? It never occurred to me. At least that is good news. I feel heartbroken about Sam's little arm. If you saw him. You would think he was fine. He weathers the whole thing as if it's no big deal. Me, my eye sockets hurt and my head throbs.

We head home and wait for a call from our pediatrician. Sam plays with trains like it is an ordinary day.

When the doctor calls he confirms it is a fracture of the radius. Sam needs a cast.

We were unable to get an appointment to see the orthopedic doctor for the cast that day but we went today. I took Alex too- hoping a message about the seriousness of the situation or the importance of being careful and/or the unwise choice to jump off things might sink in.

Sam chose blue and green for the color of the cast. He has to wear it for 6 weeks and they will X Ray it again. In the meantime, no biking, soccer, gymnastics or playing on play structures. The doc does not want him to fall on outstretched arms (FOOS! I read it somewhere!) as it could re injure the arm and make matters worse.

Later that evening I spoke to my sister on the phone. I told her the doc said Sam has to limit his activity so he does not fall. Then she asked: "What are you supposed to do, give him Valium?"

I think its a valid question.