This is exactly what I asked yesterday in the Emergency Room after checking the ladybug in after an afternoon of playing with the cellist.
Apparently, they were playing a game where she would run to him, jump up and he would grab her by the arms and she would fall to the ground. This went on for a couple of rounds, and then…I heard a scream. Now, I’ll admit, the ladybug often screams while playing with the cellist, so I didn’t respond as quickly as I should have. However, the crying that followed let me know that something was serious. She started stating that her arm was hurt, and she was holding it flexed against her body. She wouldn’t let me touch it. I immediately thought that it was broken, but I tried to stay calm enough to keep her from reacting in a worse way.
I called Papa Nicholes and told him what was going on, and then I had to assure the cellist that he did nothing wrong. Y’all should have seen his face. It was heartbreaking. We got the twizzlers and the cellist settled with Mor-Mor and then the ladybug and I went off to the ER where we found that she had:
NURSEMAIDS ELBOW
If this where you are scratching your head, then you are in good company, because I was too when I was told that. Essentially, she pulled her radius (the bone on the outer portion of your lower arm) out of its ligament and it just needed to be popped back in. The attending physician did that with a quick handshake type motion and we were good to go. She even got a popsicle for her trouble!
I will say, this is the shortest ER visit I have ever had (we clocked in just under an hour) and the doctors actually listened to the ladybug try to “explain” what was going on with her arm. They understood “arm” “hurt” and “the cellist” (of course she said his real name) but I had to fill in the blanks. Just call me the baby whisperer. All in all, she was back home wrestling with her cousins later in the day.
We do have to watch her because unbeknownst to me, little girls are more prone to be afflicted with nursemaids elbow, and it usually occurs in the left arm. You can cause it by swinging your child by their arms, or even pulling them up off of the floor in a haste – hello temper tantrum anyone! We do have to make sure that we watch her arm for any instance of it occurring again. When her arm completely fuses together, we shouldn’t have to worry about it as much.
I just want to say that I am completely grateful that it wasn’t something worse, and that we had an overall positive (or as positive as one can get) experience with it. While we were waiting, I got to read Clifford the Big Red Dog and a story about a cat that takes over the authoring skills of its owner. It was pretty comical.
As always, make it a great day, and enjoy the beginning of your weekend!
Glad the ladybug is better! I am sure big brother felt so bad poor fella. When Trevon got nursemaids elbow we thought for sure he dislocated his shoulder or something. We went to Google before making any sudden moves lol. Once I saw the symptoms of nursemaids elbow we knew for sure that was what it was. The ER visit was so short. He was scared (and in pain) but after the “handshake” he was on his way and back to normal. He still won’t go back on the monkey bars though lol.
Hmph, if only the ladybug wouldn’t go back to doing the things that she did in order to get the nursemaids elbow. She was back in full force once we got home and she saw her cousins. It was remarkable.
Glad Ladybug is better. I have never heard of “Nursemaid’s Elbow”. Wow! You know kids do crazy things. We used to propel my little sister across the room with our feet, so… Yeah, kids do crazy things.
Daenel – SO DID WE! My goodness, I think that I am going to have a hefty price to pay for the way that I lived my childhood! LOL!
I know how scary a trip to the ER can be and I’m glad the ladybug is fine. I am constantly cringing while watching my two play around here. The saying, ‘you learn something new everyday’ is so true.