We spent part of the day on a recent Sunday at Three Bear Acres in Creedmore North Carolina. The converted farm is wonderland for kids and active fun. Ninja Warrior style obstacle courses, a giant bouncy pillow, an awesome tree house and much much more. It was a hot day, so we spent very little time near the giant bounce pillow and retreated into the woods where there is this great slide. The slide which resembles a super-sized pine-wood derby track, runs down the length of a hill. The riders drag snow sleds retrofitted with skateboard trucks and wheels. Doesn't look super safe, but looked super fun. I saw how fast 60 and 80 under children were flying down the course, and decided that the wall of tires probably would not have stopped my momentum.
My daughter who is prone to overheating, wanted to check out the slip-n-slide. It was hot out and i figured her clothes would dry. So let's go for it I said. We walked over to the waterfront and along the side of hill of clay was the slip-n-slide. They had dug out two tracks and laid out the mats. There were hoses and sprinklers going down the length of the track. My daughter then son, took turns sliding down the bumpy track. There was laughter and squeals of joy. And then I hear a scream. “DADDY!” I see my daughter crumpled on the ground half way down. I run towards her, fearing the worst. Trying not to slip as I ran down the damp grassy hill. When i get to her she says her ankle is hurt. I ask if she can stand. She doesn't know. I helped her up. She was able to put a little weight on it. And knowing her pain tolerance, her ankle was probably not broken (but I'm no doctor). I picked her up and walked here over to a bench. She was pretty hysterical. Her brother kept sliding.
My daughter who is prone to overheating, wanted to check out the slip-n-slide. It was hot out and i figured her clothes would dry. So let's go for it I said. We walked over to the waterfront and along the side of hill of clay was the slip-n-slide. They had dug out two tracks and laid out the mats. There were hoses and sprinklers going down the length of the track. My daughter then son, took turns sliding down the bumpy track. There was laughter and squeals of joy. And then I hear a scream. “DADDY!” I see my daughter crumpled on the ground half way down. I run towards her, fearing the worst. Trying not to slip as I ran down the damp grassy hill. When i get to her she says her ankle is hurt. I ask if she can stand. She doesn't know. I helped her up. She was able to put a little weight on it. And knowing her pain tolerance, her ankle was probably not broken (but I'm no doctor). I picked her up and walked here over to a bench. She was pretty hysterical. Her brother kept sliding.
We looked at her ankle and it seemed a little swollen. The staff at TBA brought us over some ice, and when they saw I was going to carry her back to the parking lot, they offered us a ride in one of the Polaris off-roaders, which was awesome. We headed back and my son stayed with his grandmother and my wife and I took Nugget to a local urgent care. They were so super nice they put her into a wheelchair and we watched Disney Channel as we waited to be called in.
We wheeled her in. And the staff was so nice to us. The nurse, took all her vitals and we waited for a doctor to examine her. Now we waited and waited. We had to explain to her that at Urgent Care center’s the staff has to prioritize the patients by the seriousness of the illness and injuries. Eventually the nurse practitioner stopped by, she examined Nuggets foot and ankle. We would need to get some x-rays. They brought us some beverages, since we had been waiting so long in seemingly the only non-air conditioned room in the facility.
The x-rays didn't show a break, which is a good thing. But there was a sprain and bone bruise. They wrapped Nugget’s foot with some ace bandages and fitted her for crutches. She will be off her feet for a few weeks, so Fall tennis is probably out of the equation this year. But she will be ready to walk around comfortably by pumpkin picking season.
As bad as it was, she remained a trooper and we stayed calm for her. It could have been much worse. And luckily it was not. When we got back, her little brother was the perfect little guy. He moved her crutches when she sat down to eat, and brought them back to her when she needed to get up. We raised some good kids.
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