The Ultimate Bounce...

The excitement in our house got turned up a bit this weekend when we decided to inflate this beast at my parents' house for an evening full of fun...

Essentially it resulted in this...

But with a super cool story to go along with it...

I think?!?!

First of all, you're probably wondering where we found ourselves in the predicament with a 60 foot bounce castle, allow me to explain...

I've been working for an organization called Friends of the Family for the last few months.  Essentially it's a community progress team that supports children and families in the "greater" Stayton area. In this case, we were collaborating with Reading For All and the Stayton Public Library to host an annual event called Grow Into Reading. Lots of free books were given out, kids signed up for the summer reading program at their local library, picked out a book bag, participated in different crafts/activities hosted by local churches, preschools, and other businesses and finally earned a bounce through this giant bounce castle and a free hot dog! It was a wonderful success that hosted more than 400 people last Saturday afternoon. Whew. What a day!!!

And, because the bounce house couldn't be returned until Monday when the rental facility opened again, we were left with trying this bad-boy out one. last. time. 

We invited some friends and of course the cousins over to Nana and Papa's house and barbqued while we watched the kiddos completely exhaust themselves in the castle. It was glorious. So glorious that we were dying to get our own legs bouncing and after hassling Matt for the entire evening, we finally kicked the kids out of the castle and took our positions at the starting line (imagine a big inflatable obstacle course that ends with two giant slides).  The race was on.  Part way through the obstacle course we both got stuck and I was afraid my glasses were going to break. Our only rule was that we weren't allowed to tackle the other person to slow them down.  We both climbed the ladder to the slides and then launched ourselves out of the castle.  He-Man bounced once on the bottom of the slide and then continued flying through the air where he somehow managed to karate chop his left arm with his foot while landing on his wrist.  This was the unfortunate result...

He did beat me to the grass, which is probably a good thing because if this would have happened AND he would have lost I can only imagine how damaged his pride would be... The day was painful enough as it played out...

Needless to say, everyone watching heard a loud "popping" sound, similar to a 22 shot and Matt never stood up again...

My dad drove the car around. We loaded him up and headed to the emergency room.

Just another Sunday night, folks...

A few hours later we had an x-ray confirming the injury, a splint and sling, and a good dose of narcotics.  We were on our way home again...

The week has been spent with a little RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) and I'm mourning the loss of my healthy partner.  As it turns out, Matt was really good at a lot of things that require two hands... like changing diapers, mowing the lawn, folding laundry, and the list goes on... You get the idea...

As I type (and may or may not be sipping on Starbucks), Matt is being stitched up with some new titanium accessories! We visited the orthopedic on Tuesday and he didn't hesitate to say surgery was a necessity.  So... we've spent the week attempting to keep little ones from bumping Daddy's arm and enjoying the Office every night with a little ice cream. Gotta bring some light to all this darkness, right?!?! :)

Our pre-op photo-op!

Although Matt certainly didn't anticipate spending his summer with his arm in a cast, I keep reminding him that I'm really thankful he broke his arm and not his neck. Seriously, peeps, gotta look at it on the bright side! Bounce Castles are D-angerous, so we'll take the broken arm and run while we're still alive... 

Thankfully, we've both been able to laugh about it this week... and so have a lot of other people! Some of my favorite comments include: 

The paramedic who walked into the ER, "Whoa, I was expecting you to be a lot smaller..."

And my personal fave:

We ran into one of Matt's physical therapists at the orthopedic office... 

Matt, "What happened?" 

John, "I dislocated my thumb." 

Matt, "Oh man, how'd you do that?" 

John, "Old man softball league...How 'bout you?" 

Matt (shrugs his shoulder and gestures to his arm), "Bounce House..."

NBD folks...

The half marathon will have to wait and so will the Century ride... This boy has bone that needs to heal and a little R&R in the sun calling his name. 

We appreciate all of your prayers for a quick and FULL recovery! Matt's also hoping to make it into work for at least a couple days this week as this is officially his last week of work at Stayton Middle School. He starts a new position for Albany School District this coming fall... Unfortunately this isn't exactly how he planned on ending his career in the North Santiam School District, but I guess ya just gotta roll with the punches... or bounces...

Maybe that was the problem, he needs to work on his tuck and roll?!?

Post Publish Update:

The doctor came out about twenty minutes late and said that the surgery was successful, but that his arm was a lot worse than he anticipated.  Both ends were shard pretty badly and there is a piece missing altogether.  He was able to connect the two with a plate and screws and the wrist bones look good and he expects that it will heal with full function. He also tore lots of ligaments and muscle in his wrist that will take plenty of time to heal.  He will need to wear a sling for AT LEAST 6 weeks! 

We are SO thankful for Western Medicine and even more so for our ultimate Healer!  We got this verse texted to us from a friend earlier this morning; loved it.

"Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His loving kindness, To deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let Your loving kindness, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in You." Psalms 33:18

Thankful for His favor, even when I will be changing ALL of the poopy diapers. ;)