Sat on the Wall...Had a Great Fall

I can usually look back at most mishaps in my life and laugh...not sure about this one.  As we were descending from the Great Wall the unthinkable happened.  We were on a switch-back ramp in line for the toboggan slide that takes you down to the village.  Being responsible moms we were holding hands the entire way as the guard rails were very minimal.  E let go of my hand for a second to grab something, got bumped by her friend, tripped over the 1-inch concrete ledge and started tumbling down the side of the mountain.  I have a few visual memories of what happened next but not many.  There were several feet of ground that was only slightly sloped until it dropped off.  I jumped after E thinking I would catch her.  Her momentum had her going quicker than I was.  She rolled down the mountain and I was able to slide on my feet and bottom until we landed about 10-15 feet below.  E was immediately crying which was good (because she didn't pass out) and had blood on her head.  I picked her up and took her to get cleaned up.  We were both shaking but got the cut on her head cleaned up a little.  When I tried to pick her up to carry her the most painful screams came.  I noticed she had a huge knot in her leg and I was pretty sure it was broken.

I won't go into much detail about the medical care and support in China...just know it is not what we would expect back in America.  After getting down the mountain we arranged with our 'tour guide' to have a local restaurant owner take us back into town (about and hour drive) and help us catch a cab to the hospital.

Finally, the 3rd hospital we tried would take us.  We ended up at the Beijing Children's Hospital in the ER.  We got our x-rays and confirmed that she broke her right femur...clean break, right in half.  The rest of that evening was a nightmare.  After going back and forth from the ER to the doctor they finally decided to treat us.  We tried to get it casted as it was so that we could get back to Korea to take care of things.  The doctors must have not understood us as they only splinted it.  E was in shock and pain and was in no condition to leave the hospital.  We decided to check her in and give her some antibiotics until she was stable.  I stayed the night with her while my friend tried to make arrangements with B who was back in Korea.

The next day was long, hard and scary.  We were trying to coordinate our plans and treatment and there was lots of waiting and confusion.  B's company contracts with an international medical help program (ISOS) in the event of an emergency.  We were able to work with them on the recommended plan of attack.  After a long day in the hospital (we were in a shared room with 7 other sick kids...not ideal at all) we got E in a temporary plastic brace to get her home.  My parent's called a long time family friend living in Beijing to come and help me...LIFESAVER!  We were able to check out of the hospital and figure out how to get back to Korea.

These pictures are pretty sad...but true.  Poor girl was in so much pain and bored and confused.  The hospital conditions were poor.  We were ready to get out!

We were released on Tuesday night.  Our scheduled flight was early Wednesday morning.  It was questionable whether or not the airline would allow us on flight with a brace or cast above the waist.  We thought we would try to make our flight.  At the same time the ISOS was trying to arrange with ExxonMobil to charter a medical flight for us back to Korea.  I got a call in the middle of the night with the good news it had been approved!  In the morning we headed to our friend's house to wait for the flight arrangements.  (We stayed in our hotel this night with our travel buddies thinking we'd go to the airport with them in the morning.  When we got approved for the medical flight our friend left on our normally schedule flight).  Later that Wednesday evening we were picked up via ambulance to take us to the airport for our private flight back to Korea.  We are eternally grateful to whoever approved the flight.  ISOS arranged for an ambulance to take us to the airplane's side, fly us, pick us up in Korea via ambulance and take us to the hospital in Korea with 2 assisting doctors.

The airplane was tiny.  E was on a stretcher and I was in a seat next to her.  The 2 doctors were in reversed seats directly behind the pilot and co-pilot.  We had to be airborne by 7:00 p.m. in order to land before 9:00 p.m. in Korea (as the airport would only accept our plane before then).  The airport in Beijing stopped all flights and opened a runway for us so we could get off.  We landed in Busan at 8:58 p.m.

When we got to the ER in Busan we were so thrilled to see daddy!!  I'm pretty sure the feelings were mutual as dad climbed into the ER crib with E to read to her.  The hospital was such a step I thought I'd never be so happy to be back in Korea!  After a short time in the ER we were checked into a private room.  Emma was scheduled to be placed in a SPICA cast the following day (Thursday).

E was placed in her hot pink SPICA cast on Thursday evening.  We were told to stay in the hospital through the weekend as they monitored the swelling and the placement of  the bone.  My mom was previously scheduled to fly in that Sunday.  (They are moving to Seoul and were coming to start getting their new life situated here).  It was so nice to have her here the first week.  E was equally as grateful to her gaga with her.  Everything looked great with E's leg and we were released on Monday.  The next set challenges then arose as we had to learn how to live our life with a busy girl in a body cast!