Needless to say, we’ve had quite a few adjustments over the weekend, not the least of which is her having to revert to baby status on all her accomplishments. The poor thing can’t eat, brush her teeth, or even scratch her nose, because the temporary casts run from mid-finger to the middle of her biceps. I’m hoping to meet with her teachers and/or principal today to discuss school options and develop a plan for that. And attempting to bathe her yesterday was not a lot of fun, let me tell you.
But even with some of the practical issues now on the To Do list, I admit to my heart catching and tears filling my eyes every time I see those casts. Deep down, I wish I could kiss it and make it all go away. Intellectually, I know this is part of life and she is handling it with a positive attitude and grace. The pride I feel in that is warming. I can’t help but think about my own mother standing by my bedside after one of several miscarriages. How much more her sadness and helplessness must have been than mine at this moment. Sniff… Uh oh, I might start crying…
So today I’m trying to make the necessary arrangements while taking care of my 8-year-old baby. Plus work that’s been waiting for me. And let’s not forget those revisions I told myself I’d tackle.
Quick, take my mind off of all of this today and tell me about your own childhood accident experiences (either yours or your child’s). Or just say anything so I will be distracted from my worry and obsessive checking on my baby.
Angel
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23 comments:
Obsess away. It's the only thing to do right now, and you'd be miserable if you didn't obsess :-).
My middle grandson broke his arm when he was two . . . falling off a horse that he managed to climb on BY HIMSELF after SNEAKING AWAY FROM HIS PARENTS. At the age of TWO! His little cast was about four or five inches long.
My editor's five year old daughter jumped off something at her school's playground, and broke both legs. She was in a body cast for two months, completely helpless and immobile.
Accidents happen, and they're miserable for all involved, both the victim and the caretaker. There's nothing to be done for it except baby her, obsess about her, and generally spoil her so you'll have to fight the battle of unspoiling her when the casts are off. She needs the babying and obsessing now, and so do you.
Uh -- the verification word is "dieve." DIVE? With this subject matter? This thing is spooky.
I've always gotten the most out my insurance's ER coverage. 'Nuff said.
When AC was little, I took her to the ER a lot, convinced she was dying. As she got older, I got used to being a mom and didn't freak out quite so easily. I haven't been to the ER in a while (knocks wood everywhere). I think you did great, kicking into Organizing and Control Mode and getting the job done. You're allowed to have a tiny breakdown once the drama has passed.
(Very gentle) hugs to DQ. And you, too.
You have every right to obsess. Just remember to BREATHE. :-)
My grandson has a broken arm. I just found out exactly why yesterday. He was at basketball practice, when another kid asked him who his favorite college football team was. (Who do you go for?) When this other kid didn't like the answer, he pushed my grandson off the stage onto the gym floor. He caught himself with a straight arm. I told my DIL yesterday -- get his tai kwan do instructed to teach him to FALL.
Hugs to all.
LJ
#1 son was my ER kid. When he was in the second grade he spent a week in the hospital with a nasty infection in his foot. He stepped on a rusty nail playing with friends in a vacant lot down the street. I called the doc and he said to soak it in hot water with epsom salts and called in an Rx for penicillin. By the next morning his foot was twice its normal size. I called the doc again and he said to take him to the ER and he'd have a surgeon waiting for us. The surgeon took x-rays and asked if we had an orthopedic surgeon we preferred. A couple hours later #1 son was in the OR having a nasty infection cleaned out of his foot. And the only antibiotic that would treat it could only be given intravenously, so he spent a week in the hospital. To make matters worse, they never asked which hand he used to do things and put the IV in his left hand. So he had a hard time writing and eating. And because he was in a cast, he was bedridden. I practically lived at the hospital for that week. This is also the child who at age 3 woke up before us on a Saturday morning, climbed up to the top kitchen cabinet and ate half a bottle of Maalox tablets. That was my first and only experience with Ipecac syrup. And then a year or so later, he fell against a piece of furniture and cut his forehead open, which required a trip to the ER and stitches.
#2 son made a few trips too. He went to an ice skating party and I used the time to run errands. When I went to pick him up, he wasn't there. Seems he'd fallen, they'd called the house and the DH had to pick him up and take him to the doctor who put a couple stitches in his chin. This was before the days of cell phones so they had no way to get in touch with me (aside from putting out an APB with the police, and a cut chin doesn't warrant that ::grin:: ).
Kids get hurt. Luckily, they heal quickly. Maven Linda is right about the spoiling.
When we were kids, my brother got his arm in the wringer of the wash machine. For those of you too young to know what this is, it was to wooden rollers that you forced the clothes through to wring out the water (the manual spin cycle). So it actually flattened my brother's arm, but miraculously nothing was broken.
No babying him though because there were 9 kids and my mom did not have time for "fussing." :)
But, please, baby your daughter as much as possible. I would.
Hugs, Angel! Poor little girl -- but she looks remarkably unfazed in that photo, which is good. :)
Maven Linda -- my jaw is hanging open the way Angel described hers doing in the ER. A two year old climbed on a horse!!?? How is this possible? My goodness, I can't imagine! Better watch out -- you may have a future gymnast there. :)
I managed to get through childhood without any broken bones, thankfully. This is surprising when you realize that I rode and jumped horses on a regular basis. I can't count the number of times I went over the fence while the horse chose to stay behind. ;) Nothing more than bruised pride each time.
But once, when I was ten, I got thrown when my horse bucked and I wasn't expecting it. I blacked out, and when I woke up, I limped my very sore butt over four acres to try and find this horse. Why? Because I'd been told you ALWAYS get back on.
I had to go get my six yr old brother to help me. My dad saw me and asked what was going on. I shrugged it off and pretended like it was nothing. Got the brother, trekked over four acres, and found the horse. My brother had to hold him, and it took me many tries to haul myself up into the saddle. But I did it.
That horse never threw me again -- and I had to go to the ER when my parents realized I'd obviously hit my head. Slight concussion and a cracked collarbone -- and incredibly sore muscles.
There was also the time I had a heat stroke and passed out -- after, you guessed it, riding my horse. Another trip to the ER. I was about 12.
Poor DQ.
I've told you all my dramatic stories already. I just hope her permanent cast makes it easier on all of you.
Poor baby and you too! I've been fortunate that my son didn't break anything during his childhood. And I was relatively healty as a kid but as a grown up that's another matter. Back in '95 I broke a bone in my foot, ended up with a hard cast for 2 weeks and a walking book for 4 weeks, boy was I happy with that hard cast came off. However, that hard cast was entertaining, it glowed in the dark and my 4 year old son found it totally entertaining. Good luck with DQ and relax a little.
robertsonreads
When I was a kid we were told not to run in the hallway at school. Like every other kid I ignored the advice.
I was in elementary school and I was doing something and I was running down the hallway. I was running just as fast as I could possibly run, I remember the staggering run that you get when you are pushing it as hard as you can actually go. And a door opened right in front of me.
I bounced off the door (and knocked the teacher back into the room) and heard a snap. It turned out that the edge of the door hit right on the collar bone, the little ridge of bone just to the side of the neck on the front. Broke it cleanly and I wore a sling for several weeks.
Interestingly, it still is tender after 40+ years though I haven't experienced any actual problems with it.
A word of encouragement, when my son was young he broke his leg and was in a cast for a long time. After the cast came off he limped for so long we were afraid it might be permanent, but kids are resilient and today he plays adult soccer and has never had any problems. So don't worry too much if it doesn't seem ok after the casts come off.
When I was 21 I had a car accident and broke one arm really bad and dislocated the other shoulder and yes it was a trip to try to do things. We manage my sister was a lot of help. You learn to deal with it. I put trash bags on my cast so I could take a shower. For several weeks I couldn't do much for myself.
ML--Two years old and climbed onto a horse!!! Oh, the horrors!
Lynn--She looks unfazed because that was AFTER they gave her Lortab ( a really nice painkiller). But before the drugs, she was still remarkably good. The only time she screamed was during the x-rays, and it was entirely justified considering what they had to do to her. :(
Hearing everyone's stories makes me feel so much better. While we were at the hospital, I told a friend of mine who is a nurse there that I felt guilty that I'd waited 2 hours before bringing her in. He told me not to worry. Most parents don't bring them in until the next day when the swelling presents. It's just hard to tell with kids that age.
Angel
RobertsonReads--Glow in the dark cast?!?! That would be cool. Drama Queen is hoping for hot pink. We've got an appointment for Thursday, thank the Lord!!
Angel
Mother has an ER tale...when my No. 2 daughter was small we were on a first name basis with every nurse and doctor in the ER. You see, she was trying to keep up with her sister who was three years older (it cannot be done!)
At age 3 she knocked out a tooth; got a cut over her eye and climbed to a top cabinet in the kitchen and
swallowed numerous aspirin tablets.
I don't think being wrapped in a sheet and having her stomach pumped out was pleasant for her, but three days later she opened the fridge door and took out her Poly-Vi-Sol vitamins and swallowed that. When the doctor informed me that the vitamins would not hurt her, my remark was, "But I Will!" and she was spanked! She didn't swallow any more N0-No's!
FYI: Her older sister, your own Playground Monitor was a model child...no trips to the ER with her. ;-)
Verification word: "hysina" That is either a code word for hysteria or a hissy fit, I don't know which!
You go right ahead and be obsessive! But take care of yourself too and don't stress out!
She looks so sweet in the pic.
Yes, I've spent a few nights sitting with my son in the ER waiting for the doctor to stitch up boo-boos. Bicycle accidents, 4-wheeler mishaps and the unfortunate encounter with the edge of the coffee table.
My daughter made it to the age of 15 before her first visit. She was at dance practice and sprained her ankle while doing a ballet jump. (PC would know the name :)
Her ankle was huge! She spent 8 weeks on crutches and in a removable cast. Do you know how many activities a 15 year is involved in that she still had to attend? A LOT. It was rough going but we made it through ok.
Hugs to the both of you!!!
Model child that I was, I did have a trip to the ER. Remember when sister and I were playing on the bed and I hit my arm against the foot board? The ER doc said it was a bad sprain and bruise, but he billed Daddy's insurance for a broken arm. I remember lots of ugly words being said in our house.
Please forgive me, I was mistaken. No. 1 child did have a trip to the ER...when she was 18 years old and arrived home from a college group trip to New York with shrapnel in her knee...but that is another story!
Hugs to that darling Drama Queen. She's got 6 weeks of those nasty old casts and then at least 6 weeks of occupational therapy. Been there, done that when at age 70 I had my first broken bone.
I have such interesting verification words today...like ringibra...whatever that is.
Oh yeah -- I'd forgotten about my New York City disco bombing incident. Now everyone is going to think I'm a wild child.
Yeah, sure.
Ha ha, we already knew you could be a little wild, PM!
I think being obsessive is taking a lot out of me. What I really want is a nap! Instead I have to work.
Angel
Oh my! I'm so sorry about your daughter's wrists! We've been fortunate so far to have avoided broken bones in our children, but when I was a child, I slammed my little brother's hand in a door and nearly severed the tip of his pinky. It was a harrowing experience for the whole family, and he ended up in a full-arm cast for what seemed like months. He's fine now, but has the ultimate trump card for just about all arguments ;)
Hope your daughter heals quickly, and take care!
Answering the question about my two-year-old grandson climbing on a horse . . . he climbed a fence to get to the horse. The horse was evidently very accommodating and stood very still while he climbed on its back . . . bareback. He was holding the mane.
He was definitely an intrepid child. He's 18 now, and very capable. He was driving a tractor and a truck in the hay fields by the time he was 7. Nothing fazes him.
One would have been bad but I can't even imagine having two broken wrists - poor both of you!
I have two daughters - my oldest was the drama queen and my youngest took everything in stride. Oldest had two concussions, fainted when she saw blood, fainted at sea world because she came down with chicken pox just as we got there, needed stitches over her eye and seemed to catch everything there was to catch - we all call them her ailments lol - today she's grown but gets horrible migraines and upset stomachs and still seems to catch everything. Youngest needed stitches under her chin and never said a word and had something cut out and watched as they did it, had a doz. warts frozen off both feet - never complained. Two very different children lol. Hope the casts come off soon.
Catslady--That's exactly how these two are. My youngest never gets upset much and takes everything in stride. The oldest, well, there's a reason why we call her the Drama Queen. But she's been surprisingly even keel during this whole adventure. :)
Angel
So sorry about the broken wrists... how awful for her. Poor baby. I feel your pain--tho mine has never broken two at the same time, we've made a yearly trip to the orthopedist since 7th grade and it is heartwrenching to see them in pain.
I always tell my now teenaged daughter, you won't know how much I love you, worry over you, agonize over your rotten days, rejoice with you over your fabulous victories, and pray for you to soar until you are a parent yourself.
I still go and check on her to make sure she is breathing in the middle of the night. She's fourteen. I don't know what I will do when she goes to college. Call her? At 3am?
Many hugs and prayers for a speedy healing and patience in the days ahead.
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