True Story Tuesday - The Elbow

When my son was less then three years
old (now 22) he dislocated his elbow
while him, my ex and I were playing in
the backyard in the pool. My ex was
sitting on all fours when Cory decided
to flip over his Dad’s back. Now keep
in mind that this was not a large pool
just one of those 3 footers. When Cory
went to flip he landed on his wrist and
started screaming. We got him out, dried
him off and noticed that he would not
let anyone look at his wrist, not a good sign.

Shortly after taking him in the house,
while I changed clothes, he fell asleep
in his Dad’s arms. He slept for about
20 minutes only to wake up crying
and holding his wrist. He would not
let either one of us really look at it.

Off to the ER to find out after x-rays
that it was not the wrist but he knew
that if he held it still it would not hurt
further up his arm. He had dislocated
his elbow. After feeling around and
talking with Cory, the doctor popped
it back in place. Poor child yelled out
then there was silence; the pain was
gone just like that.

Course you have to keep in mind that
when you take a child into the ER
with an injury there are a lot of
questions at which time I did not
have a problem answering. But that
was to change with the next ER visit
just few months later.

Cory and my daughter, Amber was in
the fenced in back yard playing and
running and having a great time. I
was in the kitchen cooking and looking
out when all of a sudden Cory tripped
and started screaming….again!

I went out to pick him up by putting
my hands under is armpits and lifting
him. He had tripped in a small hole in
the yard; one that my ex dug to hit golf
balls into and never covered it up later.
This hole was big enough for Cory to
get the top of his foot caught in and
down he went.

Another trip to the ER while my ex
was at work. This time was bit different,
since it could not be popped back in place,
also it was the other elbow this time.
It required a cast. At that time the little
man was into the Ninja Turtles so he
wanted a dark green Ninja Turtle
colored cast!

Needless to say, I was worried about my
son, stressing since I was the only one
there and I felt like I was getting the
third degree. Same ER doctor was on
call that was there the first time…enough
said. They questioned me, they questioned
my son and they kept questioning.

The doctor asked Cory what happened
and he said he fell in a hole. The doctor
thought it was a big hole and he asked
how he got out. Cory told him that
Mommy picked him up. At which time
the doctor wanted to know how I picked
him up. I let Cory do the talking and he
said that I reached down and lifted him
up by putting my arms around him. Bless
you child! This seemed to appease
the staff at that time and although
I know they were doing their job,
I was offended to think that they
thought I would hurt my child.

All was well after that. We did make
another trip a year later to the ER
again cause my son did not understand
the concept of not walking in front of
someone swinging a bat at play! Stitches
that time but at least I can say the same
doctor was not there.

Next week, the story of my son and his
cast and the comment that almost
caused me to crawl under the shelves
at the grocery store!

Thanks for stopping in and please
leave a comment.
Pam