Around 7pm on Wednesday Clayton and Mommy were having fun, rough-housing on the bed, as we often do. Clayton was behind me and I reached for him, grabbed his wrist/hand and tried to pull him up, but he pulled away and as his fingers started to slide away from me, I heard a snap from what I initially thought was probably just his knuckles or maybe even his wrist joint popping. (You know when someone pops their knuckles, like that). However, he seemed so upset and was holding his arm just above the wrist and I was suddenly afraid I had broken his arm! Of course my next thought was that I was just over reacting as worried mothers probably often do. Well, Clayton was crying and we tried all the usual things to settle him down - distractions, his pacifier, etc. we eventually did get him to stop crying but he was clearly still in pain and became very upset if we moved him, and he was still holding his arm just the same way. After 30 minutes or so of him just sitting there, not wanting to move or do anything we were getting increasingly concerned. We didn't notice any deformity or discoloration, but after some advice from Darrel's dad we decide that since he was in so much pain we should probably take him in for X-rays just to double check. At this point I am just beside myself with guilt and fear. It was an accident, but I was clearly playing too rough and now he was in a world of hurt and it was all my fault! We made it to the hospital around 8pm, and after almost 2 hours the resident doctor who was on call that night finally had some bad news for us. She said that there was a very small fracture on his wrist bone! I couldn't believe that I pulled on him that hard, I was so sad. She assured us that it would heal in half the time an adult would take and that within three weeks we wouldn't be able to tell anything had happened - it wouldn't affect his growth or development in any way. So she put a little splint on and wrapped it in a dark green ace bandage and sent us on our way with instructions to ice and elevate and to keep giving him Tylenol for the pain. Also, that the Specialty Clinic would be calling me in the morning to set up an appointment with the orthopedic doctor the next day. This was concerning since she assured us it would heal with out surgery or other complications, but I guess it was just a precaution because she was only a resident and wanted to be sure.
We got home around 10pm and put a very tired little Clayton to bed. He would not move around in his crib to get comfortable so it took him a very long time to fall a sleep, and he woke up 3 or 4 times throughout the night crying out either because he was in pain or uncomfortable and unwilling to move or both. He also woke up very early in the morning. He didn't want to play or even eat breakfast, so I set up a spot on the couch for him and let him watch movies all morning, I let him eat there too. Poor kid was so miserable! He tried to play one time for about 5 minutes but wanted on my lap and then back on the couch right away - he was just in so much pain.
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| Trying to get dressed |
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| Trying to play wearing makeshift sling mommy made |
Finally at 12:45pm we had our appointment with the orthopedic doctor, Dr. Bigelow, and after a very long wait (he was just coming out of a surgery) he told me that after hearing my account of what happened and looking at the X-ray there is just no way that an almost 2 year old has a fractured wrist like that and he didn't see anything on the X-ray image. He said that it was just something called Nursemaid's elbow or radial head sublaxation (click on that link to read what WebMD has to say about that if you're interested). It was almost like his elbow had been pulled out of socket but the doctor explained that it is not a true dislocation, and is actually very common for children his age and happens all the time when parents yank on their children's arms either in play or in an effort to hurry them along. The doctor in the ER had initially suggested this, but I didn't think it was his elbow bothering him and didn't want to be blown off, so I pushed for the X-rays and stressed that it was his wrist that hurt. The ER doctor was also not a pediatric or orthopedic specialist so I am sure glad we were referred to one! Dr. Bigelow was able to pop the elbow back in to place right there in the office, and (after about 5 minutes of tears) Clayton was fine and using the arm to do all sorts of things (expect give the Dr. a high five, I guess he wasn't a big fan!) So after a PB&J (he had refused lunch earlier in the day) and a long nap, we finally have our regular Clayton back! He had fun running around outside the rest of the afternoon and after supper enjoyed climbing in and out of the trucks at the fire station when we visited Grandpa there.
The only difference is that Mommy is going to be more careful when playing, and not going to drag Clayton around by the hand anymore - especially his right hand (the one that was injured). I read online that this injury can easily be repeated, especially in the first few weeks, so no more holding Clayton's right hand - because I can never tell when he will buckle his legs in response to my wanting him to move faster. If I do have to grab him, I will use his upper arm under the shoulder or just pick him up. I am just so grateful there was no other damage done and that he is hopefully too young to remember this! (Wouldn't it be my luck that this will be his earliest memory or something?! - I hope not!)
Don't worry I have happier posts to come!
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| Happy kid - just waking up from his nap this afternon |
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