I spent last weekend at my daughter-in-law and son's house babysitting the boys while Wynter and her brother went to pick up her mother. Johnette will be helping out with the boys for a while so all three grandmothers will be in the same place for our birthdays. It's kind of cool that we all have the same birthday, so the boys should have no excuse to forget, and Johnette and I both have Fibromyalgia.
Lil Phil was so excited to show me that he had a human body model just like Vicky. "YaYa, did you know the human body is a puzzle", he queried as he began to pull out the various items. Lil Phil then asked, "is it true you are going to get a new hip?" "Yes", I responded. "Can you show me how", he asked as he pulled out the leg bones and pointed to the hip joint.
Oh my, I thought, what is the age-appropriate way to tell a five-year-old that the doctor is going to cut off a portion of his grandmother's leg and then replace it with a piece of plastic and metal? Well, Lil Phil is not an ordinary five-year-old, he could probably understand it better than I could ever explain it so just go for it.
It was actually easy to explain it using the model. I pointed to the hip joint and just told him the truth. "This is the hip joint", I said. "I know that, and this is the pelvis. The hip goes into the pelvis like a puzzle", he proudly announced. "Well," I continued, "the doctor is going to cut off the hip bone, this ball right here, and make a hole in this bone". Lil Phil gleefully interrupted me and yelled, "the Femur". "Yes, the femur. The doctor will make a hole in my femur and then put a new piece made of metal and plastic inside the hole. The new piece will look just like the piece the doctor cuts out and it will fit perfectly", I explained. Lil Phil exclaims, "like a puzzle piece".
Did you know the human body is a puzzle?
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