I started this blog as a way to keep a permanent record of family life for the Prices.  I overshare frequently on Facebook, but I wanted something a bit more structured and formal and forever.  However family life often gets in the way – and whilst I seem to manage to review the books I’ve read – other things pass by without being permanently recorded.  One such thing was the husband’s accident in July.

It was our middle daughter’s 6th birthday party – we’d had a very successful visit from the ‘Exotic Zoo‘ with a variety of pets, which the children and the grown ups (especially Mrs C as you can see from the photo!) really enjoyed.

As the kids were having fun, quite a few people had stayed behind.  Mr Price was pouring a glass of wine and someone bumped his arm.  In a totally freak way, the bottle smashed the glass and the glass cut his hand.  Thankfully one of the class Mums is a doctor, she had a look and said he had to go to hospital (she gave his suggestion of sticking it together with super glue short shrift!)  Now most of us had been steadily drinking all afternoon (I do find that makes a children’s party far more bearable) and so only one person in the entire party could drive – so she very kindly took him off to A&E for a few stitches.

A&E on a Saturday night is always busy – but they amused themselves sending us photographs.

Now Mr P had ordered a new chimnea for the garden (which had been put together that afternoon) and he was VERY EXCITED about it – but when he was still not back a few hours later, some of the other Dads decided to give it its inaugural lighting.  Sending photos of this to the hospital did not go down well…….#chimneavirginitybroken

It was getting close to midnight – and our wonderful emergency responder friend needed to get back to her own family – so she left Mr P at the hospital, I sent all of my kids (and thankfully my sister, brother in law and their kids) to bed here, and hopped in a cab to the hospital.  I have to say the husband did get some funny looks when he’d swapped the brunette who’d sat with him for hours for a blonde replacement after midnight!!

When he was eventually seen – 8 hours after arriving – by a doctor they were concerned that both tendons in his thumb were severed – so slightly more serious than a cut needing a stitch or two…..  He was kept in ready for an op the next day, and I was sent home by Mr P to tell the children what had happened.

I arrived back at 4am and the house looked like some kind of bomb had gone off in the back garden and kitchen – and the event shelter was outside in the front garden still.  I found my sister in bed with my 4 year old who refuses to sleep on her own (above and beyond the usual call of Auntie duties!) and settled down for a few hours sleep.  I then fully briefed the kids and headed back to the hospital – running Race for Life, which had been the plan for that day, now cancelled.

When I arrived at the hospital the husband was pretty out of it on painkillers and on a drip and all ready for surgery which happened later that day (thankfully I’d thought to take the new 6 year old’s thank you letters to the hospital with me so my time wasn’t completely wasted #efficiency!)  I left him in the hospital over night (at least now he knew how to work the bed and call button – no one had shown him when he’d been moved to a ward at 5am, and having never been in hospital before he didn’t have a clue!)

Whilst I’d been at the hospital my wonderful friends in the village had been and helped my sister sort out the house and garden (and loaded up recycling bins across the area with the empties!) and my sister and brother in law had done a sterling job with the kids and handed over to my parents mid afternoon.

The following morning I did the school / nursery runs and headed back to the hospital.  By this point Mr P (the youngest on the ward by about 3 decades) had made great mates with his roomies and they were all having a bit of banter!  Apparently John by the window hadn’t stayed up past 10pm in years, and Arthur asked Mr P if he had any of those ‘blue movies’ on his phone!!  What Mr P hadn’t shared with them was the fact that he’d woken up in the morning and thought he’d pooed himself!  Turned out it was actually a couple of Minstrels that he’d dropped and they’d melted on the sheets……

We escaped later that day (having been told he could leave at 9.30am it was 4pm before he finally escaped – thank goodness for lovely friends collecting the kids from school for us again!) and there in followed many weeks of hand therapy / physio / consultant appointments which we are still in the midst of.

The surgeon had initially wanted to sign him off for 6 weeks – but with your own business that just doesn’t really work – and the fact that we were on holiday for a chunk of that time should have helped.  Although perhaps the water rides and jet skiing weren’t the best call…….

The strap marks from the supports look hilarious – and he’s claimed a number of times that they’re from his tennis sweatbands……

And when the OT suggested he got a finger massager I immediately headed over to Amazon to search – and boy did I get some interesting suggestions!!

After weeks of OT work, physio and general exercises he is definitely on the mend.  He is unlikely to ever get full movement back – but the work of the wonderful NHS staff means at least he still has his thumb attached.

And it’s plastic glasses for parties henceforth!