I always thought the expression was "good things come in threes", but I gather that I was wrong. Evidently the expression is "bad things come in threes" or at best a neutral "things come in threes".
Allow me to enumerate the first two bad things that happened to me this weekend.
NUMBER ONE:
Yes, that is my child, in the Children's Hospital, with a cast from her hip to her toes.
Here's what happened. We went skiing on Easter Sunday, and both our girls were doing GREAT! We stopped in for a light lunch around 12:30, and right near the top of the first run afterwards, the little one fell. Then she screamed. That was unlike her, but we didn't at first know that something was terribly wrong. I carried her down to Dad & Big Sister, where I unbuckled her boot and looked inside.
Big mistake, since it's an image I'll never be able to forget. I'll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say it was immediately evident that she had broken her leg. Badly.
Next step: ski patrol.
The splint.
It was very painful. She did get a real kick out of having her ski pants cut off, though :)
The nine-hour wait in emerg at the Children's Hospital.
The helping hand from Big Sister.
And finally, the purple cast.
See her teddy? Also with a cast on its right leg? The wonderful staff at the Alberta Children's Hospital gave it to her and casted it, too. I will say that although it was a boring, long wait, the staff and facility are amazingly wonderful. They took great care of our little patient, but also the rest of the family, feeding us, checking in on us, caring for us and educating us. The wait wasn't their fault (three more much worse trauma cases arrived right after us -- one by helicopter) and in fact, witnessing what could be wrong with your child -- but isn't -- has a way of making you extremely grateful for a "simple" broken leg.
So that was the first disaster. The second we discovered when Dad went home with Big Sister for a meal and a change of clothes (nothing like sitting around a hot hospital in your ski gear to make you sweaty and uncomfortable).
BAD THING NUMBER TWO:
The dishwasher leaked. Under the floor.
Yes, yes. That is a cheap laminate floor on top of nasty old lino. But it was my cheap laminate floor. Gone, now. And a lesson to anyone who thinks laminate might be an okay option for a kitchen. It's basically cardboard, and not good for areas where water might factor heavily.
And I don't know if you can see it: up top, near the right, the gaping hole where my dishwasher used to be. Also gone now. It will be replaced, but not any sooner than a few days, and we did have to do the dishes old-school tonight.
So I'm following the advice of both my mother and mother-in-law and watching out for the third bad thing...waiting for the other shoe --the third shoe -- to drop.
Oh No! Poor little thing! I love the sisters holding hands. How wonderful. Hope she is feeling better soon.
Posted by: Jen Maier | March 25, 2008 at 10:27 AM
what a great easter weekend for you, eh?
poor thing. what a trooper.
Posted by: ali | March 25, 2008 at 12:28 PM
What a brave girl! The sisters holding hands is priceless. What is the story around the "purple" colour of the cast? Don't you think that the ruined kitchen floor and the demise of the dishwasher should count as #2 and #3 bad things so you can stop waiting for the shoe to drop???
Posted by: Diane | March 25, 2008 at 03:54 PM
There is not a big story behind the purple cast...they had a choice between blue, green, orange, purple, black and red. She chose purple as being the closest to pink ;) Good advice about #2 and #3, I think I'll choose to look at it that way!
Posted by: Kath | March 25, 2008 at 05:47 PM
I just love the sisters pic! I'm sure her big sis was a big comfort to her.
I showed my hubby the pics & he said "oh my gosh, she had to go in the "meat wagon (the little sled thingy)!!" MEAT WAGON?!?!? Is this a common skiing term that I'm not aware of, because if so it is the 435th reason why I don't ski!!
I like the idea of the dishwasher & floor being the 2nd & 3rd things. Nothing like a little positive thought to help the situation!
Posted by: Margot | March 26, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Your poor little baby Kath. I hope she is feeling better soon. I'm sorry you had such a bad week. I've picked up a saying somewhere "Sometimes the S@#t falls so hard you need a hard hat." Do you have one?
Posted by: Elizabeth | March 26, 2008 at 02:56 PM
oh no - little brave sweetheart! love the holding hands picture, and the cast on teddy's leg. sounds like she's on the road to recovery with lots of loving support around her. hope your week gets better. xoxo
Posted by: amreen | March 26, 2008 at 10:10 PM
I seem to recall that one of your kids broke her arm, last summer maybe? The type of break had a funny name with the word green in it, I think. I wonder if this is the same child? If so, I hate to think about counting the "three" with broken bones...
Posted by: Anne | March 27, 2008 at 06:53 PM
Anne, yes it was the same daughter who broke her arm this summer - that one was a buckle fracture or greenstick fracture. And if you do count broken bones then she's done, since she broke both her radius and ulna this summer, and now her tibia.
Posted by: Katherine Murray | March 27, 2008 at 07:11 PM
I haven't been online in awhile and just read this post. I'm so sorry that Girl #2 had to go through that. It looks like it was awful. I hope she is on the mend. As for the third shoe...I think that you can count your "hit" on the slopes awhile ago as #1, broken leg as #2 and ruined floor as #3. You are on the road to better things now! :o)
Posted by: Jen L | March 29, 2008 at 12:53 AM