We made it 11 years

Today was quite an adventure.

We went to a birthday party for an adult friend. It was a surprise party and an Elvis theme. The hosts have quite a thing for Elvis. It was crazy.

So the kids were all riding around riding on a golf cart. The hosts Grandson is a friend of Elliot's and he's been driving this golf cart around for a long time. I really didn't have any concerns with the kids riding on it. However, at one point the boys thought it would be a good idea if the dog rode around with them and he apparently wasn't crazy about the idea. So he got squirmy which made Tess fall off. In her words, "The doggy pushed me off the cawt!"

I was eating at the time and I heard her crying. Not a major "I'm hurt bad" cry. She came and sat with me and cried but it really seemed like she was more embarassed about falling and that her pride was hurt. She said her arm hurt. After a few minutes Hubby took her and realized that she wouldn't move her arm much, wouldn't grip his finger, etc. So we decided to take her to the doctor.

Of course it's Sunday, and there's no such thing as an emergency clinic in our town, so it was off to the ER. Hubby drops me and Tess off and has to head home to get Marleigh ready for practice. Within about 30 minutes I wondered if I should just tell the receptionist nevermind. Tess was griping my hand, moving her arm. Seemed to be much better.

We get back to a room where a nurse comes and feels her arm and pushes on it. She doesn't make a peep. Doesn't really act like it hurts much at all. She says it hurts but won't say where specifically. She's not consistent with her pain either. One minute it does hurt here and then next minute that same spot feels fine.

So then the doctor comes in and feels around. She does the same with him and I confess to him that I have a feeling it's not anything very serious and that she's probably not being very accurate. Basically, I thought she was faking. I think he thought the same thing but wanted to get an x-ray just in case.

After the doctor left the room I asked Tess if she was fibbing. She got all teary and said she didn't want to get in trouble. She said it DID hurt but that now it was better and she just wanted to go home. Too late, in comes the x-ray technician with the portable machine. Oh well, we'll go ahead and get a couple pictures just for the heck of it.

Tess cried during the pictures but I was sure it was because it really was a bit scary. A big huge machine over her and some weird heavy apron covering her belly. She just kept saying she wanted to go home. Hubby was there too at this point and kept telling her to calm down. Frankly I think we were both just a bit embarassed that our just-turned-4-year-old was able to dupe us.

Several minutes later the doctor walks back in and starts off with, "Well, dog gonnit..." I'm certain he's going to finish with, "...I can't figure out why it's hurting. I think she must have just bruised it." Instead he says, "She broke her arm".

I wonder what went through his mind when Hubby and I both looked really surprisingly pleased with his announcement. Not that we would wish her a broken arm. But she wasn't faking! We were at the point that we thought we were crazy for rushing her to the ER. I think we were both thinking that we should have taken her home and watched to see how she did instead of just rushing her to the hospital. But we did the right thing. Yeah us!

Her diagnosis is a Proximal Humeral Fracture. Her arm is broken up high, between the elbow and shoulder. Apparently they don't cast a break in this area. So she's in a brace. It goes around her upper abdomen and there are "cuffs" that hold her upper arm and lower arm in a bent position so that it can heal. She has to wear it for a month and in 2 weeks we go in to her regular ped to see if it's healing correctly. I was sort of surprised that I don't need to follow up with anyone for 2 weeks. I guess that's normal?

I recently saw a friend that had broken her foot. I asked her how it happened and she rolled her eyes and said she was just walking across her yard. I told her that she really needed a more exciting story. "Try something like, 'I went skydiving and had a really bad landing'" I told her. So this evening Marleigh said we should come up with a better story for Tess's broken arm. I said, "I think being pushed out of a moving golf cart by a dog is a pretty good story."

Did I mention that Tess is right handed and it's her right arm? This should be an interesting month.

We've been parents for 11 years now. This is our first broken bone so I guess we're doing pretty good. Hopefully we won't have any more. It's awfully hard seeing your little ones in pain.