As many of you already know, our little man broke his arm on Tuesday evening, around 7pm, 5/10/11. In particular, he had a
Supracondylar Humerus Fracture. How did he do this you may ask? Well, I was actually not there when it occurred, but according to Eli & my mom, who was watching Eli & Anna while I was at yoga, he jumped off the couch and with some bad luck, landed VERY wrong on his arm. I was walking out of yoga when my mom called, and when I answered, all I could hear was Eli crying. My mom then got on and said he had hurt his arm. At this point, I still was unsure how bad it was as he often endures bumps and bruises. But when I pulled into the driveway and saw Eli looking out the window crying, I knew he was hurt. Coming inside I instantly saw his limp arm and swollen elbow and knew we were in for a trip to the ER. I immediately called Eric and suggested he get off work early, particularly because I didn't think I would be able to safely carry him to the car. I then called the on call pediatrician and she recommended we go to Children's Mercy Urgent Care as we would be able to get seen quicker than waiting in the big Children's Mercy Hospital ER. She was TOTALLY right and I highly recommend this route for these types of injuries.
While waiting for Eric, Eli remained fairly calm and just remained seated in his chair, not wanting anyone to touch his arm (understandably!). He wouldn't allow ice on it, either. He then began to get sleepy, and I knew the pain must have been bad since my boy NEVER falls asleep anywhere on his own besides the car!! Eric arrived home and he gently carried him to the car. Car seat straps were a struggle but we were able to get them on, thankfully. On the way there (about 40 min), Eli slept the whole way, which was such a blessing.
Upon arrival at urgent care, we signed paperwork and were literally seen within 5 minutes. Here is our little guy waiting to be seen. When you see the xray, you can see why his arm looks this way:
Here he is waiting for the doctor to come in at urgent care:
The doctor arrived (after nurses took vitals and such) and she felt his arm a little and gave her opinion that it probably was broken. I was very impressed by how gentle they were with him and at any hint of pain, they stopped touching him. Eli continued to remain in pain, but calm. Then came the pain meds and boy, was Eli a happy and talkative boy! He even said "No more monkeys jumping off the couch!" which caused us to laugh. We were happy to see him feeling better!
After looking at the xrays, the doctor determined it was a bad break that would require us to take him down to Children's Mercy Hospital. She stated she would hear back from the pediatric orthopedic doctor soon but she mentioned that surgery was a possibility. Honestly, surgery never crossed my mind until this point. My initial concern was for him to undergo anesthesia at such a young age! But, I also knew we were in good hands. Here is the xray:
We waited a bit longer and the doctor returned telling us the ortho doctor was wanting to do surgery but she was uncertain if it would be that same evening or if he would be admitted for the evening and surgery would be in the morning. After hearing this, we decided what was in the best interest of Eli and Anna was for Eric to stay with Eli at the hospital while Anna & I went home so Anna could sleep in a bed. She had started to get quite tired and fussy and we knew she could not sleep in the hospital. I knew Eli would be just fine with daddy and while I was unsure if surgery would be immediate, dealing with a sad & tired baby was not going to help matters.
The nurses wrapped Eli's arm and helped us get him into the car. This was probably the most difficult of everything as the car seat straps were hard to get on him without moving his arm. We did it, though, and got to the hospital. Anna had fallen asleep on the way to the hospital so I dropped them off and waited in the parking lot to hear if surgery would be immediate or not until morning. I was torn about this, as I wanted him to have the surgery and feel better, but I also wanted to be there for him. So, I was thankful to hear that the surgery wasn't until the morning. They would keep him comfortable with pain medication for the evening, which worked well as he slept the whole night.
Anna & I got up the next morning, got breakfast & coffee, and headed to the hospital. Surgery was scheduled for 10:30am. We were informed that this break is very common in children and that the surgeon had already completed 3 of the same surgery the previous day and had 3 scheduled for the same day as Eli's! So, we were in good company! The staff was really great and Eli seemed to somewhat understand what was going to happen. He was wheeled down to the recovery room and we spoke with the anesthesiologist and surgeon. The nurses gave Eli stickers, talked to him, and blew bubbles with him. He was very comfortable and it was really awesome. He even got to choose what scent of "air" he could breathe for the anesthesia! He chose orange :) The anesthesiologist listened to Eli's heart and said she heard a slight murmur, but assured us it was due to nerves and that a murmur would have been caught prior to his age if it were an issue. That was a little shock, but she assured us it was okay. We said our "good-byes" and they gave Eli an initial dose of pain meds and he quickly began to fall asleep. He looked so small in such a big bed, but we felt good about the surgeon's abilities. We were sent to the Ronald McDonald House family room and were impressed by the amenities! Food made by volunteers, bedrooms, tv, COFFEE, and an outdoor area.
About an hour later, the surgeon came in and told us the surgery went well. They made NO incisions but rather just manipulated the bone back in place and stuck pins in to hold the bone. These pins would then be removed in 4 weeks. He told us the cast was split down the middle to allow for swelling and that at the 4 week appointment they would removed the pins and put on a new cast. The new cast would then be on for another 4 weeks. 8 weeks total! Another hour went by while Eli was waking up in recovery and when we got to see him, he was groggy, but doing well. We were then moved to a regular room.
In highschool I volunteered in the play room at Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines. I really enjoyed it and considered becoming a Child Life Therapist. I was happy to see CMH also had a play room and therapist who came to visit Eli. She brought him toys and movies and invited Anna to play in the playroom:
After surgery, they wanted to make sure he could tolerate his pain medication, drink, and eat. He started with Sprite, then went to crackers, and then pizza! He did great and we were released at around 5pm that same day.
The first evening and day were a little rocky. We gave him pain meds the first evening and part of the next day but I didn't want him unnecessarily on medication so we went to ibuprofen as needed. Day 2 he needed no meds and did much better as far as his mood. He seemed to pick right back up where he left off! I was initially concerned for him not being able to be active, ride his bike, or rough house, but so far he is doing awesome.
He even knows how to play his beloved racing game and ipod one handed no problem:
Since we frequent Paradise Park, we talked about what Eli could and could not do there and decided to try it out on Friday. He did SO well! Not once did he complain that he couldn't jump in the ball pit or go down the slide. It did help that story time, craft, and cooking consisted of making and baking cookies :)
So while the next 8 weeks will be somewhat limiting for Mr. Man, I can already see after just a few days that he will do just fine. He played all day outside yesterday and his cast didn't stop him one bit. The worry is more on my end, and I should have known with Eli's gusto he would adapt just fine. While we hope to not have to visit CMH again anytime soon (or ever, would be nice!), we were happy with how well we were cared for and how safe we felt with our son's care in their hands. What a week it has been!!
