Best foot forward

Last Thursday, Andre was running around with his friends at recess and tripped. It sounds like a normal, everyday occurrence but for some inexplicable reason, he managed to not just sprain his ankle but sustain a dislocated bone fragment in his foot. The A&E put his foot in a soft cast, to be reviewed by the KKH doctors in a week.

It's overall bad news for this very active boy, who has been swimming, cycling or playing badminton on a daily basis. To be suddenly immobile is punishment in itself. He also discovered that everyday activities that we take for granted, like taking a shower, become challenging hurdles. Negotiating stairs is next to impossible.

To his credit, he didn't complain even though he's largely confined to his room. The only saving grace is that he became very limited in his leisure choices as he can't even get to the tv downstairs. Reading, doing sudoku and playing with Lego - that pretty much summed up his downtime activity, until I took pity on him and brought up some dvds for him to play on the pc. It also means he has more time to do his revisions, which is timely as exams are around the corner.

Ever so inventive, he's taken to moving around in his swivel chair. He would wheel himself about, yelling, "Make way for the handicapped!"

I have to say, his school and form teacher really went out of their way to make special arrangements for him. They temporarily shifted his classroom from the fourth floor to the ground floor (which delighted his classmates and increased his popularity quotient), let him eat in the classroom during recess and even allowed us to park in the handicapped lot while waiting to pick him up. They've been very helpful and accommodating, for which we're deeply grateful.

I was slightly apprehensive about letting Andre go back to school cos I could envision the many accidents waiting to happen. Before he went, I warned him, "Don't do anything stupid!" For some kids, this would be enough but since this is Andre we're talking about, I decided it would be safer to spell out what "stupid" meant:

1) using his crutch as a lightsabre

2) lending a friend his crutches to play with

3) leaving his crutches on the floor for others to step on

4) sticking out his injured leg for anyone to trip over

5) attempting to run, use one or no crutch or having a race


We're praying that the foot will make a speedy and full recovery, and that he'll be back on his feet soon. All prayers you can send his way are most welcome!