Sunblock, a ceramic floor and slippery shoes... (written by Darin)

That's what it takes to dislocate an elbow. Wednesday night, we were planning a trip to the Salt Lake Temple, and just before leaving, our plans changed. Earlier, Katherine had put sunblock on the kids in the kitchen, and it got on the floor. Even though she wiped it up, apparently, it was still slippery. She had on her dress shoes and as she walked in the kitchen, her feet went out from under her. She caught herself with her right hand, and the force dislocated her elbow. We ended up going to the hospital instead.

She had to hold her own arm for about 3 hours until they finally fixed it. At one point, they asked her to bend her elbow in a particular position for an x-ray. There was no way she could do that, and she refused. They took different x-rays. Then, they decided a "pillow splint" would be a good idea since we had to go to a different hospital for the procedure. As a nurse started to put on the splint, Katherine cried out in pain and said, "Out, out, out, out!" They tried to explain how important it was that they immobilize the arm, but she said no, and I asked if they thought putting her into a shock-state would be better than having her arm free. They asked the doctor, and he agreed that Katherine could take care of her own arm. He said, "She's not going to let anything happen to that arm."

It was somewhat amusing that several times, someone commented on how well dressed we were to go to the hospital. They also asked several times if her wrist was hurting - even though the bone was visibly out of place in the elbow. She was just holding her arm at the wrist because it would be too painful to hold the elbow itself. It was also interesting that one nurse asked if this happened to her often - in a serious tone.

They put her out to fix her arm. She went right out, and one doctor commented that it only took 10cc's to do it. He asked if she drank alcohol. I told him no, and he said it's probably just as well, because she would probably be a "one-beer girl."

She has some big, dark bruises now, and is dealing with some pain and discomfort. But, her elbow is in place and she's slowly re-gaining mobility.