Wednesday, March 14, 2012

What Happened


On the left, a googled X-ray picture of the shoulder, as it's meant to look.

On the right, Madeleine's shoulder, as it looked last night.

She fell, on some ice. There is no great story; no exciting tricks that went bad. Simply, the ice was slippery and Madeleine fell, very unluckily, directly onto her left shoulder. That is all.

At the hospital, doctors conferred and, eventually, the orthopedic doctor on call left the confines of his home, finding it necessary to inspect Madeleine himself, in person. Her bone was manipulated and pushed back into place and, the hope is, that it will not drift out of place.

Tomorrow she sees another specialist. But, for now, she is home sporting neither a cast or an immobilizer. Instead she is armed with a make-shift sling, an ACE bandage, a heavy dosage of pain killers and direction to hold that arm still.

Madeleine is, and has been, impressively brave throughout all of this.

Today reality has slowly been seeping through the Percocet haze and into the sleep deprived brain. Yet still, the sun shines and Madeleine smiles. If you think of her, I know she would appreciate your prayers.