"My son who broke his arm"

My 7 year old son fell after trying to copy a back flip he had seen online. Unfortunately he decided to do this by launching himself up into the air from the top of the swings in a play park. He landed on his back with his right arm behind him so it took the force of the impact. He dislocated his radius and fractured his ulna and radius. I comforted him and my friend called 999 because his arm was deformed. He was very frightened by the way his arm looked and he was in pain.

A paramedic car came and gave him gas and air, and put his arm in a sling. Then an ambulance came and he was taken to hospital. The paramedics were so caring and kind and gentle, keeping his spirits up. In A& E he was seen right away, x-rayed, given pain relief, and then more pain relief before doctors performed a reduction on his radius. He was then put in a cast. The whole time he was treated with so much dignity, kindness and care. He was treated as a person, spoken to, cared for, his pain was taken so seriously and I really felt that everyone genuinely cared for him. I was honestly blown away by the level of care he received. The nursing staff were fantastic and told me it was the worst break they had seen. They empathised with me and explained what was going on. One of the doctors made my son an elephant with a rubber glove. This was July 2019 and the A& E was extremely busy and under pressure but I felt my son was prioritised.

He was admitted for surgery which took place that night. Everything happened so quickly and smoothly. I will never forget that experience because of how traumatic it was but also because of how wonderful the care my son received was. He was in hospital for a few days after the operation and I was able to sleep in a bed next to him on the ward and the nursing staff took fantastic care of him. I honestly think about everyone involved regularly and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I am so glad to have this opportunity to tell our story.