She broke our family's record...

Jessica broke her foot Friday night. :-(

We had all been having a "sort the books" party, and someone mentioned that they needed ice cream. (I'm not sure who, but—really—who doesn't need ice cream?) And, since Lindsey was planning to go to the store at 10:00—so she could talk to a friend when her shift ended—she said she'd get some ice cream, and did anyone want to go with her? So Jessica went. Or tried to.

Look at all of those books! And that's after we shelved half of them!

Within minutes Jessica was hopping back in through the front door, leaning on Lindsey. She took a wrong step off of the porch steps and hurt her foot. When I looked at it I thought it was probably a sprain; she could wiggle her toes, and move her foot a little (although painfully). But I wasn't entirely sure. Her foot seemed to be sort of bent in a spot that a foot shouldn't bend—not a lot, but it was crooked. It was swelling—which I thought may have been what made the foot look bent—but the swelling didn't seem excessive for a sprain. There was no bruising, but it was very sensitive even to a light brushing of the skin... Hm.

So we laid her on the floor with her foot up on the ottoman, put ice on the foot, and we watched an episode of Star Trek while Lindsey went to the store to talk to her coworker, and now to buy an ACE bandage as well. And ice cream.

A black ACE bandage, an ice pack, a bottle of ibuprofen, a warm, furry blanket, and her own, personal pint of ice cream. (And a nice mom who will take pictures of her in her misery...)

During the show Jessica calmed down, and seemed to not be as miserable, so I was becoming more sure that it was just a sprain. I wrapped her foot and sent her to bed, with the plan to go to the Urgent Care as soon as they opened in the morning. Jessica said she slept just fine, and her foot didn't seem to be hurting as long as she didn't put weight on it, so we were hopeful for a sprain.

Nope!

We unwrapped it at the doctor's office, only to find all this bruising and swelling. This doesn't bode well...

She broke her pinky-toe metatarsal. The doctor put his fingers tip-to-tip and said, "This is what the bone should look like." Then he moved one finger a tiny fraction and said, "This is what her metatarsal looks like."

Bummer.

So she has a post-surgical shoe to wear, her very own crutches, and an appointment with an orthopedist to be set for about a week out.

The girls and their friend Ruth Ann got her the colorful stuffed bunny you see by her foot; they also got her some Oreos and a package of candy. Is it worth breaking your foot for?

Bruce and I have often remarked on how lucky we've been to have raised eight kids with no concussions, or broken bones, and less need for stitches than we could count on two hands. But I guess we spoke too soon; Jessica just broke that record.

Poor Jessica!