She was balancing on top of a climbing tower (not in the climbing part, but actually up on the structure (That's my girl!)). Several adults were in the room, but nobody saw what happened. All we know is there was a loud thump and a distraught Bella-boo sprawled on the floor. After 30 minutes of screaming, she fell asleep for a short nap on mama's lap while mama iced her wrist and kept it steady. I was already on the way as we were planning to hang out at our friend's for the evening. When I got there, Belle woke up and started crying (hard) again. It was pretty obvious that this was worse than the normal spill.
We weren't sure exactly what to do... do we go in and spend the night at the ER, or could this be a bad sprain, is it something we should wait til morning to figure out an action plan for? A few quick web searches and we called in to her pediatricians after-hours line who referred us to several local hospitals. Hospitals? Oooh, I hate the wait! The last time I went to the ER, I passed out on the desk and still didn't get a bed for an hour, narrowly missing the point of no return...
So I asked about after-hours clinics. There weren't any on the list, but the after-hours lady knew of some in the area, so we called one near us. The after-hours clinic said we needed an xray, but because Annabelle is so young, we should really hit the ER. (They expected that Belle would not be able to pose for the x-ray by herself, and the ER was capable of sedation.) Gah! Sedation!? This night just got bad!
After pleasantly presenting the possibilities of the night, much to the alarm of my wife, we talked options. A mere 30 minutes later and we were off to the Park Ridge ER (a 2 minute drive, hooray for convenient location!!).
Belle was so sweet. It was obvious that it hurt a lot. She shielded her arm at every turn, and would whimper at the mere thought of contact. :*( I tried to put her coat on and she was distraught. She put one arm in and was softly crying "No daddy, no daddy" as the other arm's turn came up. She didn't pull away, she just knew it would hurt. :*0 Ahh! Poor baby!
I didn't put her arm in the sleeve. I zipped it into the coat against her ribs, and she was much happier about that.
Side note: When Cheryl and I were discussing options, I told Belle that we were going to take her to the doctor. She asked why. "Well, because the doctor will be able to look at your arm and make it feel better," I said. Her immediate response was, "Really?" with a HUGE smile on her face. I assured her it was true and she told us "Let's go!" It took us a full 10-20 minutes to get out the door. Belle was prodding us the whole way, "Go now! See doctor. Make my arm better! Hurts huuuurts. Go now! Come on. :)"
When we arrived at the ER, we registered and sat in the waiting room. 2 things to note:
1. Registration took less than 3 minutes
2. The receptionist was EXCEEDINGLY friendly
We took our seat amid the sick and broken people. Belle asked what was wrong with each of them, smiling and providing reassurance to each while coddling her own arm. She was definitely a hit.
By the time we made it in to the triage nurse, Belle was in high spirits and excited that the doctor would now fix her arm. (Major props to Park Ridge, we only waited 30 mins for the triage nurse.) The nurse took her temperature, checked her heart rate and O2 level, then examined her arm. Annabelle took a little convincing to stick the thermometer in her mouth, but after mama demonstrated the proper technique, Belle followed right along.
Now for the scary part. The nurse started to examine the arm and wrist. I flinched with each movement, but Belle, thoroughly filled with faith in the nurse's skills, submitted to a thorough exam and didn't make a peep. So much so that the nurse was convinced that nothing was broken. (So was I! Belle didn't flinch or make a sound despite the acute pain that was, without a doubt, shooting through her limb.)
They asked us to have an xray, and we asked if it would make a difference in the treatment. The triage nurse totally understood where we were coming from (minimal unnatural intervention since birth), so she asked the dr to see us before the xray. The doctor took a look and recommended the xray without a doubt.
Belle posed well for all of the shots, sitting on daddy's lap and holding her wrist very still in the x-ray's cross-hairs. I asked the tech if we could see the pictures (as I had been telling belle that we were imaging her insides, so she was very curious). The tech was really nice and pulled the shot back up on the computer, though he told us in no uncertain terms that we could not ask him any questions about them for legal reasons. :) Belle thought the pics were great! She held her hand up towards the screen and told the tech "Pictures of my insides! Those are my bones!" *big awwww! moment*
The doctor came back with the, now surprising, news that Belle did indeed have broken bones. Bone(s) plural I asked? Yes, she broke all of the bones in her wrist.
Ow! Poor Annabelle! Her pain tolerance must be amazing. The nurse splinted her arm and we were on our way with a number to call in the morning to get a hard cast. Belle had waited patiently between doctor moments in the ER for about 3.5 hours total, and had waited patiently through mom & dad's decision making process, and the car travel. She is such an incredibly patient and trusting child! I love my little gymnast!!
