Earning Full Credit

When JT was 7, he broke his leg.  It was a rough start to the second grade, but he mended well and by December he was back to running around like a regular boy.   And though it consumed us at the time, weeks and weeks go by without a remembrance of that once-broken leg entering my consciousness.  That's a good thing.  Still, it's not every kid who broke his leg while riding his bike and JT occasionally tells the story of his broken leg, usually to great dramatic effect.

On Wednesday, while he was playing outside in the snow, he took a tumble, got his finger caught in his lacrosse stick and came inside with an urgent announcement, "I need some ice for my finger."  The injured digit is his left thumb.  It swelled quickly and a bruise began to form.  I took him to the doctor that afternoon.  JT could move his thumb and make a fist and the doctor said, "Ehhhh.  It's probably fine."  We went home to a regimen of icepacks and ibuprofen. 

Yesterday, I took him to the doctor again; this time I asked for an x-ray.  He has full movement in his thumb (in fact, he never lost it) but the swelling and bruising had continued.  I was confident that he was fine (his constant motion and non-stop chatter certainly implied as much) but an x-ray was the only way to be sure.

And, in fact, the thumb has a very slight fracture.  Officially, it's a "Salter II fracture of the dorsal medial aspect of the proximal phalange."  Those of us without a medical degree would say he's got a fracture in his finger.  The Salter II aspect means that it's at the growth plate.  Frankly, I think it's a little cheeky of the thumb-bone to have a growth plate, but it does mean a visit to the pediatric orthopedist next week.

For now, the recommended treatment is to continue the ice and ibuprofen.  JT had only one concern, which he blurted out to his doctor, "Does it count?"  By which he meant, "can I really call it a broken bone?"

Assured that it does in fact "count" the boy carried his injured thumb home.  Full credit for two broken bones over the course of his 10 years on earth.  If that doesn't impress his fellow middle-schoolers, I don't know what will.