I found Dale in the floor, holding his arm and still crying. I tried to calm him down and assess the situation.
I was able to gather he had been standing on the edge of Alan's bed, 14.5 inches from the floor (we measured), and had fallen and landed directly on his elbow.
He was holding his arm (and still crying more than not), but I was able to get him to bend it with some success. I couldn't see any bumps or swelling, so I tried to help him calm down and continue getting ready for bed.
A few minutes later however, he cried out in pain as he bent his arm to put on his pjs. And it was starting to swell.
Greg was still away on his trip, so I called my parents and they agreed to come take a look. As time went on and Dale's pain did not subside, we decided, yes, an ER visit was in order.
Mom and I loaded a very reluctant Dale into the van and off we went. After finally getting an even more reluctant Dale out of the van at the hospital, he cheered up and braved up and become a model patient. He answered questions, cooperated beautifully, and was an all around brave and good sport.
The xrays proved to be inconclusive, and because children's bones are tricky, the doctor wanted the radiologist's opinion the next morning. In the meantime, he fixed Dale up with a temporary splint and a sling and sent us on our way.
By 11:00pm, Daddy had come home, Mimi and Gramps went back home, and we tucked Dale into Daddy's recliner for the night.
Wednesday morning the report from the radiologist was also inconclusive, and an appointment was scheduled for us at the Orthopedic Clinic for today (Thursday).
At the clinic this morning, the dr agreed the xrays did not show a clear fracture in the bone, but the tissue swelling visible on the xray and Dale's pain on examination were evidence enough of a fractured humerus.
He was hooked up with a nifty cast in the color of his choice that he will wear for three weeks.
I fully expected us to venture into the world of broken bones at some point. I mean, really? We have three boys. Even so it is completely new territory for us. Speaking of, do any of you have any helpful hints for bathing/showering and keeping a cast dry? I'm all ears!
5 comments:
No advice - we've been spared broken bones so far - but lots of wishes for a speedy recovery for Dale!
Your tornado - er adventure sounds a lot like my week. Remind me to blog about it sometime ;)
My little sister fell about a foot and a half off a low low tree branch and broke 3 of her foot bones. Bones are weird. So strong but if you get them at just the right angle, so fragile. My mom put a plastic bag, I think she used a bread bag actually, over the cast and rubber banded it on with a hair scrunchie so that my sis wouldn't splash it when she bathed. Of course it's not that water proof around the scrunchie (if it were it would be too tight) but it did help somewhat.
Hope it's not causing him too much pain! Sounds like an eventful few days!
WOW you have been a busy mama!
It's funny that you check the weather compulsively...I do too! I have 2 different weather apps on my phone, and I check them both and compare. Hmm, wonder if it's genetic? :-)
Hope Dale is feeling better.
I LOVE that you captured the moment(s) in photos and video!! What a true blogging mom:)
Isn't amazing how much better it feels once the cast is on?? As for us - we always opted for the waterproof ones! So much easier:)
Hope it is your last....buuuut, don't count on it:)
Wow, what a brave little man, answering all those questions and cooperating. Hope everything is back to normal soon and NO PAIN! x
Post a Comment