Debated what title to give this post – it fits firmly within my Boys will be Boys series but as this is so recent, I decided on Fashion Shows and Boys will be Boys.

I am currently sitting at our local hospital. Son no 3 has just been taken to surgery to have his wrist set. The full story is as follows:

Son no 3 is part of the backstage / technical crew for his school. The grade 11’s have just had their annual fashion show event and he of course was part of the crew that worked on it. Last night was their last performance and son no 3 arranged for me to collect him at about 11pm after they had de-rigged some of the equipment after the show.

I leave home in plenty of time last night armed with my iPad – it is typical for them to be delayed and I have sat in the car park before for an hour or so with nothing to do.

On my way there, I get a call from the school. Son no 3 has fallen off a step ladder and hurt himself and can I come collect him. I explain I am on my way and should be there within 10 minutes.

5 minutes later I get another call – they are struggling to keep him conscious – he keeps dozing off and he is in a lot of pain – can I meet them at the hospital – one of the other student parents is an orthopaedic surgeon and he arrived there and has stabilised his arm.

Luckily the hospital is 2 blocks away from the school and I arrive just before they do.

I am standing in reception when they bring him in. They are helping him walk and he is very drowsy. His arm is secured by 2 plastic bits they found laying around the school hall and they have a pillow under his arm to stabilise it as well. We get a wheelchair for him and he is wheeled into the ER.

Of course I can’t go in – I need to fill in the 50 forms first with medical aid details before they will look at him (don’t you just live hospitals!)

So finally I get to go in. We have to keep talking to him to keep him conscious – he is in absolute agony. They assess him and agree he needs X-rays, but first they need to deal with the pain.

So out comes a drip with a small bag and a bottle. This is put in and the contents of both siphoned into him very quickly. He is still in pain…

So the doc orders some morphine for him and they put this in the drip. Ten minutes later he is still in pain….

So the doc orders more morphine.

In amongst all this – I can feel one of my menopausal moments kicking in – the temperature has just been raised by 20 degrees – I feel feignt and nauseous. I rush to the bathroom to splash myself with some cold water and just to breathe….

Eventually the pain is relieved enough to send him down to X-rays. They take the X-rays and we head back to the ER.

The report comes back – he has fractured his wrist in 2 places. It obviously needs to be set under anaesthetic. They need to call in an orthopaedic surgeon to have a look before anything else happens.

Son no 3 doesn’t want to see the surgeon on call – he wants the parent who saw him at school to come. The parent had called the hospital earlier and volunteered to come through as well so they were aware of him. He is called and 30 minutes later he arrives.

He looks at the X-rays and agrees with the report. He recommends that son no 3 is transferred to another hospital where “Doctor Wrist” is based. He is apparently the best doctor for this type of injury – he has been informed of the issue and it was arranged that son no 3 can go home for a few hours and then we would meet Doctor Wrist at 8am. So his arm is put into a cast to stabilise it until the morning.

So here I am – feeling rather sorry for myself – didn’t get much sleep, my stomach is in knots and I am a worried mother.

Seen the doctor and the anaesthetist and filled in more forms. They have just taken him into theatre. He should be back in the ward in about 90 minutes and he can go home as soon as he is up and about.

Suppose he now has a good excuse to get out of his chores for the next 6 weeks….