Alan's Arm Angle - Broken Bone

Alan-X-Ray
Originally uploaded by Mark Waite

Alan was riding the Loveland bike trail with the family on Saturday, May 24. He bumped into Eric while riding, went out of control, and crashed.

While falling, he went face first into the dirt beside the bike trail. While trying to stop his fall, he broke the radius bone in his forearm. The doctor said it was a 30 degree break, very clear to see in the X-ray.

The broken arm is his right arm, so he'll be learning to use more of his left side than he ever expected to learn. Thankfully school is almost over for this year, so he won't have to re-educate his teachers about how to read his hand writing from the "wrong" hand.

The crash happened on the northernmost end of the Loveland bike trail, about halfway between the entry to the trail and the northernmost parking lot of Boyd Lake State Park.

Coleen drove the van into Boyd Lake State Park, and Alan walked (arm cradled in his shirt) from the crash site to the car. We loaded the bike into the car, and Coleen drove him to the clinic. He didn't really want to ride the bike again, one handed, using his weakest hand to steer and brake...

Coleen was caring for a friend's child at the time as well, so she spent two hours at the urgent care clinic with Alan, a 3 year old, a doctor, and some nurses.

Alan was incredibly tough about the whole ordeal, or he just doesn't feel pain (unclear which). After the fall, he didn't shed a tear, and when I had him move the hand in various ways, he could say which hurt and which didn't, but was yelling or shouting in agony.

When the doctor moved the bones just before splinting, he apparently flinched a little, but no tears, no agony, and no shouting. He's a lot tougher than his dad!