Labor Day: From Chicken to an Arm Cast (9/7/10)

Today was Labor Day. We were so excited to have an extra day off and made plans with our co-worker, Mary to meet her and her family in Frankenmuth for lunch at the Bavarian Inn. It was supposed to be a pretty nice day so we hoped to walk around town afterward but it turned out really rainy. We had a great chicken dinner but Lily was getting a little restless so I had Paul take her downstairs to the gift shop to entertain her. She was very interested in going down there earlier as she could see a huge frog display at the bottom of the stairs. While in the gift shop, she was trying to look at some display and some jerks pushed her aside so that they could look at the display instead. She lost her balance. Paul was holding her right hand so she ended up falling and catching herself with her left arm. She instantly started crying. Paul brought her back upstairs and thought that she was crying because he removed her from the gift shop. I could not get her to calm down at all and kept telling him that it sounded like her "I'm hurt" cry but he didn't even think to tell me about the fall because it seemed so minor. Paul took Lily to the car while I tried to quickly pay for the meal and leave. While waiting for me in the car, Lily calmed down and started playing with one of her stuffed animals. However, when she tried to transfer the animal from her right arm to her left, she instantly started crying again. When I got to the car, Paul told me about her fall and her sudden reluctance to use her left arm. It looked fine but she was definitely holding it funny. As soon as we hit the road, Lily stopped crying and fell asleep so we headed home. When we pulled in the driveway, I tried to gently remove Lily from her carseat so as not to wake her but as soon as I touched her left wrist to remove her arm from the restraints, she woke up screaming. I strapped her right back in and we headed straight to the ER.

Our ER trip was fairly quick as far as ER trips go. We got there around 2pm. The first order of business was to obtain an x-ray of Lily's arm. We actually knew our x-ray tech which was a funny coincidence. She cooperated pretty well but cried every time a nurse, tech, or doctor came in the room. Probably because she knew that they would touch and move her sore arm. She spent most of the time cuddled on my lap or Paul's as I distracted her with Yo Gabba Gabba on my iPod. A staff member also came by with some books and bubbles to distract Lily. They couldn't find a visible break in her arm but due to her obvious pain and the way that she was holding her arm, they think that there is a distinct possibility that she has a Salter-Harris type 1 fracture which is near the wrist in the growth plate. When there is a fracture in the growth plate, it is very difficult to see via x-ray until it starts healing. So they put Lily in a giant splint cast, gave her some pain medication, and told us to see an orthopedic surgeon in 1-2 weeks. The cast is so huge on her tiny arm but the immobilization seems to help with the pain. They gave us a sling for her to wear to help support the weight of the cast but it seems to cause her pain on its own and is a bit too big.

Lily was actually smiley and happy when we got home from the ER around 7pm but quickly became frustrated and teary when she tried to sit down, play, and get back up as she can't do things like she is accustomed to. She couldn't push off from a seated position with her giant cast and I think it hurt her arm to try. We gave her pain medication before bed. I hoped the Tylenol with Codeine would help knock her out but she barely slept. She probably couldn't get comfortable with the new giant cast on her arm and couldn't toss and turn like she usually does. We cannot call into work after a holiday, not even for emergencies like this so my mom is going to come stay with her tomorrow to help her get used to life with a cast. Poor poor baby!

My sad little girl watching Yo Gabba Gabba on my iPod while waiting for her x-ray:

Leaving the ER with her new splint and sling:

My poor baby's eyes were so red from all the crying she did. It was hard for me to not cry right along with her: