I took my 6 month-old daughter Johanna to the Children's Hospital in Madison again this week.  Her doctors say she's healing well after her surgeries, and we don't need to continue these regular appointments.  I was elated. No more hospitals; free at last!

Then on Friday, my 2 year-old son tried to roll her over on his rug.  We heard a popping sound.  Then a scream.  

Her arm is broken into two pieces.  Just like that, we ended up back in the hospital.  X-rays showed a spiral fracture of her humerus.  

Which is not humorous. Toddlers apparently have no sense of irony.

Anyway, we're all ok.  We're home again tonight, and Johanna's bone will be set in a cast tomorrow.  I just wanted to take tonight's blog to thank the people at Ortho Express in Rockford for being human.

The first ER we took her to couldn't get ahold of their orthopedic doctor on-call. And only orthopedic doctors are allowed to help with broken bones. So after taking and reading the x-ray, all the doctors could do for her was send her home..with two safety pins, pinning her arm to her shirt.  TWO SAFETY PINS and about a $2,000 ER bill. TWO SAFETY PINS! That's $1,000 a damned pin. The staff told me no doctor could help until Monday or Tuesday. I was furious

The next day, I went into Ortho Express, a walk-in clinic on Riverside. They technically aren't allowed to treat babies.  Desperate, I pleaded with them.  I started crying. I told them about the safety pins.  TWO SAFETY PINS!  The nurses looked at the x-ray, my face, and then my daughter's arm.  Despite protocol saying otherwise, they took us back into a room, and one of the young nurses splinted Johanna's arm.  

Because sometimes, protocol isn't what's called for.

Reader, we live in a mad world. My broken baby was initially turned away by medical professionals who were perfectly capable of helping her, all because they work within a system that doesn't allow them to use their skills to help.  We've created so many rules that we are losing our empathy for other humans. Civilizations progress because of order, and order truly is a good thing. But as we go through this week, let's not let our sense of order trump our fundamental ability to relate to each other as human beings.  Love before all else, friends.  I'll see you next Sunday. -Em  

P.S. TWO DAMNED SAFETY PINS!