Another Broken Arm

Hubby bought a season pass to the closest resort, and has been going up whenever he can, an hour or a half day here and there.  He's kind of caught on the snowboarding thing, and has been really enjoying it.  The girls have just gone once for a private boarding lesson Hubby took them up for, then three times with the school program.   I hadn't gone at all (except for the day I did ONE RUN as chaperone for the girls program, but that's another story.)  So we went skiing (me) and snowboarding (the girls and Hubby) on Martin Luther King day.  

With the girls we kept to the bunny hill, and they were doing great.

Then Thing 1 was trying to do some toe turns, and some snow bunched up behind her heals, and she fell backward.  She'd been falling on her butt so much she was worried she broke her tailbone, so she put her hands out to catch herself, and...

It didn't look like anything bad to me, like she'd just rolled onto her butt.   I skied down to where Thing 2 was a little further down the mountain next to the lift, expecting Hubby and Thing 1 to come meet us.  But they didn't.  So sure was I that Thing 1 wasn't that badly hurt that Thing 2 and I went the rest of the way down, and got on the lift for another run.  Surely Hubby would have called me if there was anything wrong.  As Thing 2 and I were lifted up over the trees I saw Hubby and Thing 1 walking down the mountain, him carrying both of their boards.

He told me later he knew it was bad when she couldn't move her fingers. 

They found a ski patrol person who took them to the clinic on the mountain, where they took an x-ray and found Thing 1 had a "buckle" break, which is kind of like a crimp in the bone.

Thing 1 was in a splint for a week, then went in on Monday to the hospital to get a cast which she would have for three weeks.  Only the doctor gave her the option of a cast or a splint.  We chose the splint.  The cast was the choice for kids who wouldn't leave a splint on, he told us.  The more comfortable splint can be removed for bathing.  And for going to CALIFORNIA.  The cast/splint could officially come off February 18th, and we leave for California on the 15th.  This solved all the problems, and Thing 1 has been super about leaving it on, to the point that she was trying to put the bathing bag on it the other day.  She figured she didn't want to take it off too early.  Then even when I did take it off of her, she wouldn't get it wet.  I had to assure her it would be okay several times, and would feel good to wash her arm and hand.

Needless to say she's being very good about keeping the splint on.

Because my first ski day in 14 years was spent on the bunny hill and worrying about Thing 1, Hubby and I went back up on Wednesday for an adults only ski day.  It was horrible weather, snowing like crazy and very cold.  I had a ball.  I really love the skis my brother sold me (out of the goodness of his heart, a gesture I think he has regretted since and I am sorely tempted to give back to him except THEY'RE SO WONDERFUL THEY SKI THEMSELVES!) and had a great time skiing with Hubby.  Hubby, however, was quite disappointed with the weather, and just about the end of the day he took a spill getting off the lift and landed hard on the ice right as you get off the lift.  I think he bruised his pelvis or something.  He could hardly walk.

He felt much better the next day, but it did alarm me that snowboarding has already taken it's toll on 3 of my family members - Thing 1, Hubby, and my niece who took a nasty fall a couple weeks ago.

Yet Hubby wants to get us all season passes next year.  He is undaunted.