Long story long...We were down in the basement one morning having a picnic breakfast on the couch. Our couch has an ottoman as well so I had just placed the tray of food on the ottoman and Kate had climbed up on the couch. This is no big deal, she can climb up and down on her own easily now. At this point I noticed I had received a missed call from a friend regarding meeting up that morning. Returning her call and hearing the signal cut in and out, I got up off the couch and walked to the base of the stairs to try and catch the signal. The base of the stairs is conveniently blocked by a wall so of course I don't see what happens next. Seconds later I hear a thud and Kate wailing. I hurriedly end the call and pick her up off the ground where I notice my big spoon from my cereal had also managed to be. My only assumption is that Kate had it in her hand during the fall. So after 30 mins of off and on crying, I know something is wrong but the question now is what. Try playing 20 questions with a toddler who shakes her head 'no' most of the time. I managed to narrow it down to her arm and after witnessing her try to use it and slump forward under the weight crying I narrowed it down further to her wrist.
Of course I'm panicking during all of this. Heart racing, trying to plow through brain farts of not being able to answer the question 'what do I do now?'. A broken bone was just unheard of, especially at this young of an age. A call to the doc, appt made and instructions for Motrin and ice calmed her (and me) down quickly. Once we arrived at our appt (which was 2 hrs later), she seemed pretty normal and didn't show signs of anything being wrong...aside from not knowing where to put her arm sometimes. So I was beginning to let go of the guilt a little. This can't be too bad...I'll bet it's just a little sprained...I'm sure loads of moms have left their babies unattended on the couch. yadda yadda
After a brief examination involving grasping, stretching and poking with no tears and slight wincing, the doc recommends an xray just to be on the safe side. (Since it was Fri and didn't want us going into the weekend not being sure). I took it as a precautionary measure that was probably a waste of time...in other words, denial. Anyway, a trip across the street and an hour later we're back at the docs with xray in hand. (side note: I'd like to thank Kate for being such a good girl during these medical procedures since it was lunch AND nap time)
Waiting in the exam room again, I'm already thinking about what I need to do once they free us...lunch, nap, ice, maybe more Mortin...because it's just a sprain anyway right? Wrong. Doc comes in saying 'fracture' and I'm shocked and crying. It's described as a buckle fracture and supposedly very common for this age group...even though they wrap her up with a half brace that is 5x bigger than her arm because that's the smallest size they have. (I caught this contradiction later on) She showed me the xray and although it was a fracture, it was very small. Like a newspaper that has been rolled up and smushed together a little. Just a slight crumple in the bone right above her left wrist. No actual separation or crack in the bone. Still, my baby had a broken wrist and needed a trip to the pediatric orthopedic surgeon for further examination :( ...and so the guilt continues in full force.
We went to our appt with the pediatric orthopedic surgeon 4 days later and walked out with a pretty, purple and sparkly mini cast. Kate did great. She was very cooperative and there were no tears. She needed the cast on for 3 weeks which pretty much flew by. She seemed to be ok with it on and rarely paid any attention to it. Bath time was a little interesting but once we got the bagging method down it was no big deal. The pretty and clean sparkly cast soon turned a little dirty and dingy. It was a little difficult trying to keep it clean being on a toddlers arm. Eating and playing (especially outside) was a challenge. I ended up putting a sock on her arm when she would play around dirt or sand. Definitely the coolest kid at the playground. ;) A few days before her cast was scheduled to come off, I got some gold metallic pens and asked some of her friends and family to sign it. Very cool!The appointment to remove the cast didn't go as smoothly as the first appointment. We were in and out in about 5 minutes which was great but the removal was a little terrifying. I never had any experience with casts before but I knew they removed it with a mini circular saw looking thing, which is scary in itself. It was explained that the saw doesn't spin around, but just vibrates so it doesn't cut the skin. phew. Still the sound was very loud and the vibration was pretty strong since I could feel it down her arm. She cried a little but it was quickly over so quickly forgotten.
All in all it was a tolerable experience but something I never want to have to do again. But I shouldn't be in denial that it's not a possibility. She's a very active girl that loves to explore and do things on her own. I'll just be reasonable about it and strap her down with some elbow/knee pads, wrist guards and a helmet.
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