Kid #3 woke up on Friday complaining his shoulder hurt. I figured he'd slept on it wrong, so I told him we'd keep an eye on it and go to the pediatrician on Monday if necessary. By Monday it seemed to be bothering him less, so we didn't go to the doctor. Today, a preschool teacher lifted him out of the van at school (holding him by the ribs, not the shoulder), and he burst into tears. Realizing he was still in pain, I drove home and made an appointment with the doctor. I picked him up around noon and took him to the doctor, who checked him out and sent us over to the hospital for x-rays. The poor kid has a hairline fracture of the clavicle and has to wear a sling for six weeks.
I still can't figure out how this happened. Possibly he hurt himself roughhousing at school on Thursday, or goofing around with the girls in the afternoon, but his teachers never saw him acting as if he were in pain that day, and neither did I. The only other possibility I can come up with is that he fell out of bed during the night. Anyway... this is the first broken bone any of my kids have suffered, and I feel terrible that I didn't take him to the pediatrician the instant he complained. Even though taking a "wait and see" approach is usually the right thing to do!
I have no kids. Some people feel this means I just can't understand what it's like. I prefer to think it keeps me objective.
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion to prevent future problems: Velcro Sheets.
Seriously, I hope he feels better. It's hard to watch your babies hurt.
Once daughter #2 ran a fever--with no other symtoms--and she did not appear to be too terribly sick so I waited until the second day to take her to the pediatrician. I got her dressed and drove to the doctor's office. When the doctor checked her, he took off her shirt. She had a rash--which wasn't there when we left the house. It turned out to be scarlet fever.
ReplyDeleteYou never know.
I am just waiting for a similar situation to happen in my family. It hasn't happened yet, but I know of several friends where this had happened. One was to my friend's daughter, who complained of a stomach ache. They waited, and it didn't go away. They took her to the ER, but was sent back home. It got worse, so they took her back to the ER and demanded tests. She had appendicitis, and was rushed to surgery, only to find the appendix had burst. Talk about Mommy guilt. That five year old little girl was in ICU for a few days, but thankfully, she has made a full recocvery. It can happen to the best parents. How do you know when it is truly serious? It's not an easy decision, that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteOuch, poor kiddo. We've been really lucky I guess with PJ, no broken bones yet. My sister's three boys have yet to have any thing broken but the youngest did have to get stitches. The only time PJ's ever had to have any surgery was when he was about thirteen and sixteen months old for undescended testicles. I still remember how the poor little guy went to pick up his toys after the second surgery and wimpered as he bent down. Hope the little one's doing better though.
ReplyDelete