It's All in the Wrists

Chris plays in a Monday night men's basketball league, it is a highlight for him every week.  All the guys that go have come to be his close friends, co-workers, and people we deeply respect.  It usually is a great night.

But last Monday while playing Chris took a fall and hurt his wrists.  As I watched one of his friends help him put his shirt on because Chris couldn't do it with his own hands, I knew right then we were on our way to our first ever Cambodian clinic visit.

We went to a clinic that is for ex-pats that are doing missionary work in Phnom Penh and saw a Dr. (who we call Dr. Smiles because every time we talked with him, he just smiled the whole time) that on first look thought he had fractured one wrist and sprained the other.  However, this clinic doesn't have x-ray machines so we were sent a few blocks away to go get the images from another clinic and then bring them back for Dr. Smiles to look at and make a decision.

So we got back in the car again and drove to the other clinic, dodged the crazy rush hour traffic, sat and waited with the other rough and tumble looking Khmer who were in need of care, and got our x-ray.

Drove back to the missionary clinic and had Dr. Smiles look it over.  He said that Chris fractured the radius in his lower arm/wrist area, but wanted to get another opinion because it was hard to see.  So the next morning he took it to his colleague.  Tuesday afternoon we then drove back to the missionary clinic to hear the update from the second opinion.

The second opinion was...drum roll... to get another x-ray.  So yet again we drove back to the Khmer clinic and repeated our steps from the day before.  Got another image and took it back to the missionary clinic to find out he didn't break the radius bone, but a smaller bone in his wrist!  Praise God!

He doesn't have to get a cast, and only has to wear a splint for the next three weeks.  As for the sprained one, he is not supposed to use it, but that is hard to do when the other is broken. But it was wonderful news as tomorrow we leave for Japan to meet up with my mom and visit dear friends, Erin and Blaine who currently live in Tokyo.

We have already had some funny encounters while we try to figure out how to drive, eat, clean, work, and type (thus me typing this blog) with only two and half out of four working hands.  We are thrilled and so thankful for our Dr. Smiles who helped us, the funds to pay for x-rays and care, and that we leave tomorrow for a much anticipated week long break.

Then last night I made an apple pie, because it was an apple pie kinda week...