Today we returned to our arm doctor for Erin's checkup. Thankfully everything looked great, and things are healing nicely. They even were able to cast her arm today, vs splinting it again, which makes me feel really great.
The past week has been really stressful for me trying to keep her arm still, clean, and from getting "more broken". Two events that stand out are Erin walking across the floor in our living room, a clear floor, surface unmarred by toys, paper, or clothing, and falling, without an explanation. Yep, there's mom coming through! The second event occurred Friday evening, at David's work cookout. Erin made herself right at home in this backyard, instantly making friends with the other child present, and immediately finding a way to be near the water feature. The two of them played and played, but suddenly Erin spied a worm in the bottom of the water. understand that when it comese to worms, Erin is all business - this is her life! She found a long stick and began trying to fish it out of the water. Now, this water feature is fairly deep, and has a fountain shooting out of the middle. Erin discovered this first hand, as she lost her balance, lost the worm, and lost her "dryness" in one fell swoop. We heard a yelp, splash, then crying, and turned to see a dripping, sniffling little girl. Her legs were scratched up, she was soaked, and she had landed on her arm, so it was hurting and soaked as well. Poor thing ... even her mouth was full of water, and when she opened up to squeeze out the words, "I'm wet.", the water poured out. Thankfully, our host offered her some dry clothes and she played the rest of the evening without incident. Those are just two examples of why life at our house has been a bit stressful this week - try explaining to a stubborn, active 4 year old why she can't ride her new bike, climb the tree, jump on a trampoline, race the other kids on the sidewalk ... it is not a fun or very successful experience, I might add.
Anyway, today, the doctor was pleased, and had the nurse put the cast on it (she wanted a rainbow cast, but settled for pink - it's very cute!), and when we go back on June 1st, we may get to keep it off! Exciting news for this girl who wants to be in dirt or water 24 hours a day! Thanks for praying for a quick and low-pain recovery! Have a great week!
Monday, May 14, 2007
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Cast Away
The doctor visit yesterday was not an enjoyable trip ... more x-rays (with techs that were not as gentle as the ones we had in the ER), a doctor who could have cared less if we were there, or if his patient was a grown up or a kid (he was disgusted by the dirt under Erin's nails), and we left with no cast, just a fresh splint. However, Zack, the splint/cast applicator, was very cool, and the most helpful of anyone we saw there, including the rude receptionists, the nurse, and the doctor. We look forward to seeing him again, and Erin is still pining away for a rainbow cast. Zack promised her he'd do his best :) So, we go back for more x-rays next Monday, and will still probably be in the splint situation for the week following that, if I understood him correctly.
The doctor told us we needed to keep Erin quiet, and away from the other kids, so she wouldn't get knocked down or trip and fall ... any further injury will probably snap the bone, and be cause for surgery. Right now, it's just a fracture, so we can treat it "conservatively". Now, for those of you who know Erin, and even if you have ever read anything about Erin from this blog, you will probably get an inkling of how "easy and fun" it has been to try to explain to this child that she has to act calmly, not run, not play with the other kids, and not jump around (on beds or any other thing, like furniture, floors, out of trees - which is what she decided to do as we were heading out to pick up Avery today), but watch them out the window as they play right in front of our house. Oh well, this is a good time for learning lots of lessons, I guess, on all ends. You might think of us now and then, as we struggle through this healing period, and pray for Erin, that she would heal quickly, and also that sitting out for a few weeks would not be too torturous for her. She's been in tears several times already, so hopefully this will be easier to grasp as time goes on ... OR, David and I will spend lots of time trying to keep her tied down (after chasing her across the yard like we did last night as she made a break for it during our leadership team meeting). Thanks for loving her, even though she's a pistol!
The doctor told us we needed to keep Erin quiet, and away from the other kids, so she wouldn't get knocked down or trip and fall ... any further injury will probably snap the bone, and be cause for surgery. Right now, it's just a fracture, so we can treat it "conservatively". Now, for those of you who know Erin, and even if you have ever read anything about Erin from this blog, you will probably get an inkling of how "easy and fun" it has been to try to explain to this child that she has to act calmly, not run, not play with the other kids, and not jump around (on beds or any other thing, like furniture, floors, out of trees - which is what she decided to do as we were heading out to pick up Avery today), but watch them out the window as they play right in front of our house. Oh well, this is a good time for learning lots of lessons, I guess, on all ends. You might think of us now and then, as we struggle through this healing period, and pray for Erin, that she would heal quickly, and also that sitting out for a few weeks would not be too torturous for her. She's been in tears several times already, so hopefully this will be easier to grasp as time goes on ... OR, David and I will spend lots of time trying to keep her tied down (after chasing her across the yard like we did last night as she made a break for it during our leadership team meeting). Thanks for loving her, even though she's a pistol!
Friday, May 04, 2007
Returned Monkeys
You may remember a few weeks back, I had a post about monkeys jumping on the bed, a trip to the ER, and a really big bump on Erin's head. The monkeys connection was simply a joke. However, today, we revisited that song (and the ER), on account of two little monkeys (aka Erin and her friend Jordan) that were jumping on my bed.
Thirty minutes prior to leaving for a picnic tonight, I was frosting cupcakes, and preparing to make the burgers for us to grill tonight. We had spent a large portion of the morning/afternoon baking cupcakes for the picnic tonight, and I needed to slap some sugary goodness on them. I heard the sound of Erin hollering for me ... "Momma, I need you, cause I hurt my arm real badly, and I just need you quick!" I didn't hear screaming or crying, but the red flag alarms were signaling loudly in my "mommy head". I ran to the stairs, where Erin and her friend Jordan kind of collapsed at my feet. Erin was crying, but not loudly, and writhing on the floor. Jordan was trying to console her, and keep from getting in trouble all at the same time. I moved Erin to the couch downstairs, loaded up a scooper of Children's Motrin, grabbed an ice pack, and headed down to check the damage. From what I could tell, there was lots of pain associated with any moving or touching of the arm. It was swelling somewhat, and Erin was still thrashing around from discomfort (all the while, dashingly attired in her baby blue Cinderella dress, a stunning display of outdated Mary Kay makeup, chocolate cake batter drippings, and good ol' backyard dirt). The story that came out, was that Erin and Jordan had been jumping on my bed, Erin fell down on the bed, and Jordan landed on her arm with her foot while she was still down.
What to do ... call Rachel, my nurse friend ... no answer ... call David, ask him to come home ... send Jordan back to her house ... drive to the ER.
We arrived at a slow time, so got right into a room, and began the battery of procedures. They took x-rays, and the first round, which had been very painful for the dirty princess, did not show what the doctor wanted, so we had to redo it, which didn't make anyone excited. However, they gave her some Tylenol 3 (you know, the kind with codeine in it), and that helped a bit, as did the tremendous techs who worked so patiently with her. Those films showed what we feared, a break, right above her elbow. The drug kicked in while we were looking at the film with the dr, and Erin slept right through them putting it into a splint - thankfully, because I think she might have lost it at that moment. We now have a prescription for the special pain meds that she can take every 4-6 hours, and we took a bath with that fantastic splint on tonight. We see another doctor on Monday, and will know more then, but I just wanted to let everyone know that Erin has broken her first bone.
Have a great weekend!
Thirty minutes prior to leaving for a picnic tonight, I was frosting cupcakes, and preparing to make the burgers for us to grill tonight. We had spent a large portion of the morning/afternoon baking cupcakes for the picnic tonight, and I needed to slap some sugary goodness on them. I heard the sound of Erin hollering for me ... "Momma, I need you, cause I hurt my arm real badly, and I just need you quick!" I didn't hear screaming or crying, but the red flag alarms were signaling loudly in my "mommy head". I ran to the stairs, where Erin and her friend Jordan kind of collapsed at my feet. Erin was crying, but not loudly, and writhing on the floor. Jordan was trying to console her, and keep from getting in trouble all at the same time. I moved Erin to the couch downstairs, loaded up a scooper of Children's Motrin, grabbed an ice pack, and headed down to check the damage. From what I could tell, there was lots of pain associated with any moving or touching of the arm. It was swelling somewhat, and Erin was still thrashing around from discomfort (all the while, dashingly attired in her baby blue Cinderella dress, a stunning display of outdated Mary Kay makeup, chocolate cake batter drippings, and good ol' backyard dirt). The story that came out, was that Erin and Jordan had been jumping on my bed, Erin fell down on the bed, and Jordan landed on her arm with her foot while she was still down.
What to do ... call Rachel, my nurse friend ... no answer ... call David, ask him to come home ... send Jordan back to her house ... drive to the ER.
We arrived at a slow time, so got right into a room, and began the battery of procedures. They took x-rays, and the first round, which had been very painful for the dirty princess, did not show what the doctor wanted, so we had to redo it, which didn't make anyone excited. However, they gave her some Tylenol 3 (you know, the kind with codeine in it), and that helped a bit, as did the tremendous techs who worked so patiently with her. Those films showed what we feared, a break, right above her elbow. The drug kicked in while we were looking at the film with the dr, and Erin slept right through them putting it into a splint - thankfully, because I think she might have lost it at that moment. We now have a prescription for the special pain meds that she can take every 4-6 hours, and we took a bath with that fantastic splint on tonight. We see another doctor on Monday, and will know more then, but I just wanted to let everyone know that Erin has broken her first bone.
Have a great weekend!
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