we ended 2011 with an tiny broken arm. no good. it happened in the car two wednesdays ago while we were out looking at christmas lights. i sat in the back seat with the kids and let them unbuckle while we watched this light show. when it was time to drive i put luca in his rear facing car seat then daddy came around to push the seat next to him forward so we could access the third row and sweet baby's teeny little arm got caught and pulled back with the seat. ouch. we sat in the car for another 15 or 20 minutes trying to console him and decide if a trip to the ER was necessary. he finally calmed down so we drove home and looked him over again. no swelling, no bruising or even redness and full movement of both the wrist and elbow with no pain. we put him in his jammies and i nursed him to sleep.
the next several days he was his happy little self but would fall on it or bump it or be pulled by harper and cry and cradle his arm. just when i was ready to take him to the doctor he would be fine and playing. we really thought he may have just sprained it. finally on wednesday, that's right, and entire week after the initial injury, he fell off a dining room chair and i had had enough and took him to urgent care. while i attempted to sign him in he ran through the waiting room, climbed on chairs and even tried to rearrange their furniture. the gal at the front desk actually questioned whether he was really hurt. i told her i didn't know, that was why we were there.
a brief doctor examination and x-rays of tiny arm confirmed it was indeed broken. one minor break in one of the bones right in the middle of his forearm, between the wrist and elbow. an appointment was made with an orthopedic specialist for friday afternoon and we were sent home with a small-ish sling. small-ish as in it fit harper and esmé pretty well, but not luca. turns out 19 month old kiddos do not like to wear slings and will angrily tear them right off in a hot second.
this is luca waiting to see the orthopedic specialist on friday. climbing, playing, happy as can be. she looked his x-rays over and informed us that both bones were actually broken - one is more "smashed and dented" and the other fractured. my poor, sweet little guy. i feel sick that he was hurt for so long before we had him seen. and of course his gentle, loving daddy feels absolutely terrible too.
since both bones are involved he had to be casted all the way up over his elbow. bright red cast, it matches his shoes. he will wear it for four weeks. i keep thinking that if i would have listened to my mama instincts and taken him in that night we would already have a week in the cast behind us. but i am trying to not beat myself up.i am working hard to conscientiously let go of all the stress and guilt. passing on the tension and loving on my boy. that is precisely where i am today. healing hearts and healing bones in a one day at a time, one hour at a time, one breath at a time process.
small people are resiliant, mamas and papas less so, but we are all going to be alright.
brand new year blessings to us all, friends.
happy 2012
3 comments:
oh so sorry friend...my son broke his arm and baths totally sucked for weeks...lol...good luck friend. Great color on the cast though!
poor little guy! I feel your pain, though. I fell down the stairs with my 5 month old and didn't find out until two weeks later that his arm was broken (he had xrays for a chest cold). I felt sooooooo bad - we had even taken him to the ER that night (2 days before Christmas!) but they didn't think xrays were necessary. The radiologist said "don't worry, it's healing great! In fact, at this age, as long as both pieces are in the same room they'll heal just fine!" ha! Hope he loves his cast :)
Oh how sad those teeny tiny casts are, I am sure he will love to show it off one day when he is a big boy though. My daughter had a girl from school bring in a baby cast for show and tell and she talked about it for weeks.
Glad he is on the mend now. Happy New Year to you and you family!
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