7 1/2 Hours One Saturday

This Sabbath started off like any other. We slept in a little later than on weekdays and enjoyed a good breakfast. This week Kai was going to go hiking with his brother in the mountains and I was going to drive up and meet them in Oak Glen for apple pie, apple cider, and maybe even apple picking. Oak Glen is known for it's great apples and fall colors here in southern California.

Unfortunately we never got to experience that. About an hour and a half after they left, I got a call from Kai saying that he had taken a fall on the mountain and was coming back down to go to the Emergency Room. Since Kai is not one to ever go to the ER unless it's serious, I was worried. I went to the ER first and started filling out any paper work they'd let me and Kai and Brit showed up shortly after. We got Kai in a wheelchair and got in the line of people waiting.

They called us back into a private room about an hour after we got there. We were happy since we'd heard of terrible wait times in the LLU ER, and were optimistic. However, there were ATV races taking place somewhere locally, so we quickly lost our status as trauma after trauma poured in. We were able to keep our room though, which made the whole experience a little more comfortable. After 7 1/2 hours, internal stitches, external stitches, a leg brace, and crutches, we were finally able to leave the hospital.

Enjoy the pictures, but be warned: they're not for the weak stomached.

Before the major clean up
In the process of cleaning
Ouch!

After the clean up, before the exam--you could see the bone:-(
Kai enduring his greatest fear: shots
Dr. examining the wound
Stitches--Both internal to pull the muscle back over the bone as well as external to pull the skin over the muscle.
7 1/2 hours later: stitching complete

Dr.'s Orders: One full leg brace for a week-no walking or bending his leg at all. After that, he can walk on it and wear it with a wrapped ace bandage until 2 weeks post injury.