Ouch!

This past Thursday, Jenna learned by experience that the funny looking word in her 'X' book is defined as a picture of her bones.

I had a work meeting that day at 2pm. At about 1pm I sat with Jenna on my bed and put on her sandals. She stood up as I told her it was time to leave. and in a matter of seconds she scrambled up, yelled "Don't get me!", and then fell off the bed and onto the floor. She landed on her bottom and considering the padding there, I was almost relieved when I went to her and picked her up. A cushy diaper to land on and she never hit her head. Bonus! She immediately started to cry which was understandable due to the acrobatic stunt and abrupt landing. I noticed a problem, though, when she went to put her arms around my neck. Her left arm was clearly not working correctly.

By now it was time to leave. Do I cancel my meeting and take her to the clinic? She had calmed down considerably by now - had she just jolted something in her arm that would improve while on the way to Grandma and Papa's house? In the garage I paused as I put her in her carseat. I moved her arm up and down at the shoulder joint. No problem. I then moved her arm at her elbow joint. Immediate tears. Uh-oh.

I made some calls and scheduled us for a doctor's appointment. Unfortunately the first availab le appointment was about an hour away. The mobility testing I had done in the garage must have really hurt because she spent much of that hour sobbing and asking me through hiccups if we could leave yet. We sat quietly and I did my best to comfort her. It was horrible.

At the clinic, Jenna's spirits improved immensely. Why do you ask? Because she could do her favorite thing in the world: "play toys". She says this like it's one magnificent word, a word created just for her. She kept her left arm tucked to her side and had to ask for help to crawl up on a chair. At one point she looked at me with frustration and said, "Mommy, will you hold my arm for me?".

After a very frustrating visit with a doctor who clearly doesn't understand the capabilities of a two year old, one set of x-rays and one Dora sticker for the patient, we were sent home much relieved. Her arm was not broken, but she had likely tried to catch herself during her fall and bent her elbow the wrong way causing a brief dislocation. The doctor described this very common child injury as nursemaid's elbow. In fact, Jenna had the exact thing happen to her ankle when she was about 10 months old. Children's joints are apparently very malleable as they grow; that is why dislocations are such a common injury. Jenna may just be more prone to it than other kids.

Treatment is Tylenol and ice (if possible) and time. She adapted very well and used that arm when it didn't hurt and avoided the stuff that did hurt. By 24 hrs, she was much improved.

It's still tender, but she adapts when she needs to use it and doesn't complain at all. (Had it been me, I'd still be milking this for all it was worth!!!!)

Human services has not knocked on my door yet.