Oh my, we're over halfway through Summer 2014 and it is chilly outside. The high temps this week have barely reached into the 70's. I have been wearing long-sleeves and jackets. Crazy. You just never know what it is in store around here.
We began the summer with a Memorial Day weekend camp-out at our local state park. We had a great time, the weather was perfect (Christmas miracle) and the campground was packed. It was nice to see it being utilized. Memorial Day night, Jay was working, I was in bed and our night-owl of a daughter slipped getting out of the shower and fell hard on her left wrist. All I know about that night is my daughter crawled in bed with me about midnight, told me she had fallen, I asked her if she was okay, she said she hurt her wrist, I went to sleep and spent the night pushing her legs onto her side of the bed.
The next morning, I saw her wrist and could not believe my eyes. It was swollen and horrible looking, red and puffy. I told her I hadn't realized she had really hurt it, like that bad. She said she had called her dad (at work) and then woke her brother up twice (no help there) and crawled in bed with me. Somewhere along the line I have scared her into never waking me up, I guess. Why, oh why would you not come get ME if you were really hurting. I suppose I just should've known. Hmm.
So it's finals week at school and there is no way she can miss. I send her with some Advil and told her I would talk to the PE teacher about PE and make her a doctor appointment for late that afternoon. Her PE teacher made her run anyway (which I really do not understand) and she had a miserable day. By 3:00 when I picked her up for the appointment, her wrist looked worse...if that was even possible.
We had to see a different doctor and within 20 seconds, she said, oh, we might as well send you straight to x-ray. Twenty minutes later, she returns and said as shocked as she was, nothing was broken. Take some Advil. See you later. I was speechless. But they have the medical degree, right?
Two days later, I call the doctor's office again and ask to speak to our regular doctor. The wrist is not better, it's the same or worse. It looks horrific. I had bought her a brace at Walmart and was trying to get her to wear it, but she kept complaining that it hurt too much. Doctor says, bring her in. She goes back, doc says, yeah, it looks bad, the x-ray was clear, here is a brace to wear. Check back in a week if it's not better. We did discover we had been putting the brace I bought on backwards...thereby the rod was pushing her wrist down...which was causing pain. Oops.
A week later, I insist she see us again. They take another set of x-rays, which once again show nothing is broken. I'm kind of at that point where this mama is going to take somebody out if someone doesn't do something about this swollen, completely purple wrist. Apparently I got that point across because they referred us to an orthopedic doctor...and of course, that put us out another two weeks.
Four weeks after falling, the orthopedic doctor sees her wrist and comments that obviously something isn't right. He orders x-rays (they again show nothing is broken), and an MRI just in case; regardless, he will put her in a cast so it can heal. MRI shows fluid at the growth plate, whatever that means. Five weeks to the day she fell, Madolyn got a hot pink cast to wear for two weeks. It is off and she is now taking therapy for a couple weeks.
Although I am very thankful it wasn't more serious, I was very frustrated during this process. I respect medical providers and their education and knowledge, but I was dumbfounded with the idea that an untrained eye (aka Mom) could tell at 24 hours post-fall there was something wrong with this wrist and got nowhere. Why it took three different doctors, three sets of x-ray, an MRI and five long weeks for my daughter to get a cast is beyond me.
Next time, things will go a bit differently. I will remind them of this fiasco and demand a cast. Yes, I will be THAT mother. And our accident-prone daughter has added yet another injury to her very long list...
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