Hayden Gets A Cast...
Hayden was such a trooper all.day.long. And when I say long, I mean long. His day started around 7:00am and I don't think it ended until close to 10:00pm. Yikes! The day started like a typical Tuesday around here(November 15th to be exact!), with Mommy going to work and Gigi taking Hayden to school, but it certainly didn't end normally. Apparently Hayden decided to do a little dive and spin on his head(at least that is his story!) while at school, which somehow injured his elbow. I say somehow because Hayden does things like this quite often around the house and hasn't gotten injured, so who knows how the injury actually happened at school! This happened right at the end of the school day when the kids were being picked up, and somehow the teachers missed seeing the actual incident. So, without an individual over the age of 2 witnessing the event, we will have to go with the story Hayden tells us which is the dive and the spin! He was pretty proud of how he did it(the 2 year old dive and spin move is pretty cool after all!), just not too happy with what happened afterwards. Gigi was in line to pick him up when she heard him scream out so she went right up to get him. One of his teachers was holding him and explained to Gigi that she hadn't seen what happened but knew this was a different kind of cry. She was right about the cry being different. It was unlike anything I have ever heard come out of him. That's right, I heard it all the way from work. It's those Mom superpowers/the awesome invention of the telephone. As soon as I talked to Gigi I came home from work and took Hayden to the pediatrician. Although I hoped for good news, I knew it probably was not going to end that way for us on this particular day. When your predominately right-handed child will not use his right hand to any extent and flinches when any movement comes remotely close to it, as a Mom you just know it's more than a really bad bruise. Yes, when I called the nurse to make him a same day appointment(after telling her ALL of the above info) she let me know it could just be a bad bruise on his funny bone. I just politely told her thank you for the info and went on with my appointment. I'm one of those "better safe than sorry" kind of Moms when my child is screaming like a hyena and can't be calmed down. It would be worth the copay just to hear the doctors "everything is going to be okay"speech even in the case it was a really bad bruise! Unfortunately for Hayden, it was a little more than a bruise this time.
Waiting our turn...
The picture above is from the waiting room at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta - Scottish Rite. Yes, we ended up at the big hospital downtown. Dr. Papciak evaluated Hayden's arm and although he didn't know exactly what was wrong, he said it would be best for us to make the drive and go to the children's hospital and have them x-ray it. He said he didn't think it was broken, but because of how uncomfortable Hayden was he knew it was something and Children's was the best place to go to find out what it was. By the time we made it down there Hayden was feeling much better. Why you ask? The special sling Dr. P made for him of course. It had some kind of magic powers in it that made Hayden feel SO much better. I could not believe it. It even crossed my mind for a minute... "maybe it is just a bad bruise." One that needed a bandaid! I'm pretty sure that went through my mind because that is what I wished it was... you know how your brain likes to play tricks on you! Logically, I knew Hayden wasn't in as much pain because his arm was being confined to one location, which meant something was definitely wrong. The "him thinking of the sling as a bandaid and therefore making his boo boo all better" would have just led us to a better outcome, so it was nice to entertain that thought for a moment! Either way, I was just glad the sling provided him some pain relief. I'm pretty sure the wait would not have been bearable without it! Well without it or the shows they had playing in the waiting room! Even with all that, it tired this duo out...
The picture above is from the waiting room at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta - Scottish Rite. Yes, we ended up at the big hospital downtown. Dr. Papciak evaluated Hayden's arm and although he didn't know exactly what was wrong, he said it would be best for us to make the drive and go to the children's hospital and have them x-ray it. He said he didn't think it was broken, but because of how uncomfortable Hayden was he knew it was something and Children's was the best place to go to find out what it was. By the time we made it down there Hayden was feeling much better. Why you ask? The special sling Dr. P made for him of course. It had some kind of magic powers in it that made Hayden feel SO much better. I could not believe it. It even crossed my mind for a minute... "maybe it is just a bad bruise." One that needed a bandaid! I'm pretty sure that went through my mind because that is what I wished it was... you know how your brain likes to play tricks on you! Logically, I knew Hayden wasn't in as much pain because his arm was being confined to one location, which meant something was definitely wrong. The "him thinking of the sling as a bandaid and therefore making his boo boo all better" would have just led us to a better outcome, so it was nice to entertain that thought for a moment! Either way, I was just glad the sling provided him some pain relief. I'm pretty sure the wait would not have been bearable without it! Well without it or the shows they had playing in the waiting room! Even with all that, it tired this duo out...
I'm pretty sure this happened after his first set of x-rays!
I had my little digital camera in my purse/diaper bag that I had brought with us and boy am I glad I had it. Especially since we had a sweet set of nurses that were dying to take pics for us!:) I'm super glad the nurse thought to grab it and snap this moment when I finally got to close my eyes for 5 minutes! Such a sweet moment. I loved that I could lay with him and comfort him.
I had my little digital camera in my purse/diaper bag that I had brought with us and boy am I glad I had it. Especially since we had a sweet set of nurses that were dying to take pics for us!:) I'm super glad the nurse thought to grab it and snap this moment when I finally got to close my eyes for 5 minutes! Such a sweet moment. I loved that I could lay with him and comfort him.
Look at that tiny little hospital bracelet...:(
Resting while we wait on x-ray results. So glad he could get a little rest!
He probably got a good hours worth of rest before the nurses finally came back in to let us know the results were back. Who knew it took that long for an x-ray result? I guess it makes since seeing as he's not the only patient, but gosh it seemed like forever! This is what we saw when the doctor came back into the room...
He probably got a good hours worth of rest before the nurses finally came back in to let us know the results were back. Who knew it took that long for an x-ray result? I guess it makes since seeing as he's not the only patient, but gosh it seemed like forever! This is what we saw when the doctor came back into the room...
The inside of a tiny little arm with not one visible problem...
It was pretty cool to get to see the inside of Hayden's arm... especially for him. But, extremely frustrating for me when the doctor said he didn't see anything wrong. No break. No fracture. Nothing. Uggggghhhhhh. What is it then? What could be causing all this pain. He said he thought maybe it was nursemaids elbow and tried to work that out, but him messing with it caused Hayden nothing but more pain. So, he opted for another set of x-rays instead of going with his first theory of nursemaids. He still thought it was something in his elbow, just maybe something he couldn't see in the original x-ray. Here is the close-up x-ray...
It was pretty cool to get to see the inside of Hayden's arm... especially for him. But, extremely frustrating for me when the doctor said he didn't see anything wrong. No break. No fracture. Nothing. Uggggghhhhhh. What is it then? What could be causing all this pain. He said he thought maybe it was nursemaids elbow and tried to work that out, but him messing with it caused Hayden nothing but more pain. So, he opted for another set of x-rays instead of going with his first theory of nursemaids. He still thought it was something in his elbow, just maybe something he couldn't see in the original x-ray. Here is the close-up x-ray...
See anything alarming?
Nah, they didn't either. Ahhhhh! At this point we had been at the hospital for at least 3 hours. Nothing. I know it's not their fault, but I just felt so bad for Hayden because he was in so much pain and there was nothing they were able to find wrong with him. It was awful. So, the doctor decided to do one more set of x-rays... this time on his whole arm including his wrist. Let me just note here how difficult it was to get these x-rays. I had to hold him. Two x-ray technicians had to help. Hayden was screaming like he wasn't going to make it through it, and I just wanted to cry for him. We did it though...
Nah, they didn't either. Ahhhhh! At this point we had been at the hospital for at least 3 hours. Nothing. I know it's not their fault, but I just felt so bad for Hayden because he was in so much pain and there was nothing they were able to find wrong with him. It was awful. So, the doctor decided to do one more set of x-rays... this time on his whole arm including his wrist. Let me just note here how difficult it was to get these x-rays. I had to hold him. Two x-ray technicians had to help. Hayden was screaming like he wasn't going to make it through it, and I just wanted to cry for him. We did it though...
Wrist and all...
Still nothing. Yep, you read it right. Nothing. Couldn't find one little thing. I know it is a good thing that nothing is broken, but it is still awful because he is in so much pain and the medical team doesn't know why. The doctor that was staffing that night(yes it was night by this point) decided it would be best to just cast Hayden's arm so that at least he would not be in pain. He said a cast would alleviate the pain for him and keep him from injuring it worse. He said maybe there was a small fracture that he couldn't see on the x-ray and said it was a possibility it was still nursemaids elbow. Either way he thought a cast would be the best option to fix either problem. He said after 1 week we could follow up with a pediatric orthopedist and they should be able to give us more information. He also said there was a good possibility that they would take it off after the 1 week and Hayden would just start using it like normal again. Lets hope for that. I can't believe my baby is having to get a cast. And doesn't even have a broken bone. How crazy is that?!? Here goes nothing...
Still nothing. Yep, you read it right. Nothing. Couldn't find one little thing. I know it is a good thing that nothing is broken, but it is still awful because he is in so much pain and the medical team doesn't know why. The doctor that was staffing that night(yes it was night by this point) decided it would be best to just cast Hayden's arm so that at least he would not be in pain. He said a cast would alleviate the pain for him and keep him from injuring it worse. He said maybe there was a small fracture that he couldn't see on the x-ray and said it was a possibility it was still nursemaids elbow. Either way he thought a cast would be the best option to fix either problem. He said after 1 week we could follow up with a pediatric orthopedist and they should be able to give us more information. He also said there was a good possibility that they would take it off after the 1 week and Hayden would just start using it like normal again. Lets hope for that. I can't believe my baby is having to get a cast. And doesn't even have a broken bone. How crazy is that?!? Here goes nothing...
Hayden wasn't too thrilled about getting the cast. The graham
cracker the sweet nurse gave him didn't even seem to help!
cracker the sweet nurse gave him didn't even seem to help!
But nurse Megen sure did do a great job!
That is one good looking cast huh?!?
That is one good looking cast huh?!?
Hayden checking it out!
And then relaxing and watching a show while it finished drying!
Lookin' good!
This is the exact moment Hayden decided to call his cast his "new arm"
and he has never called it anything but that to this very moment!
As much as we refer to it as his cast I'm sure that will be
changing before too long! At any rate, this was right
before he was getting ready to touch
it for the first time...
and he has never called it anything but that to this very moment!
As much as we refer to it as his cast I'm sure that will be
changing before too long! At any rate, this was right
before he was getting ready to touch
it for the first time...
He was nervous and excited all at the same time...
And literally only touched it with one finger!:)
But, told me it was cool when he was finished!
Never knew a cast could make someone this happy!
The whole thing is just as crazy as ever. No one saw the injury occur. Nothing shows up in the x-rays. Hayden is in the worst pain of his life. A cast fixes everything. Well, for the moment that is. I just hope everything is okay at our 1 week check up tomorrow. I am super happy it doesn't seem like it is going to be anything serious, but I'm still a little nervous about it. It has been challenging to have a cast to say the least. Oh, how bath time has changed around here! At any rate, I just want everything to be okay. I must say, Hayden is extremely happy with his "new arm". He loves it. I'm afraid he won't ever want it off. It gives him a since of security I think. He is just back to his normal self doing all the things he used to do. He just has a "new arm"! No big deal for him! So glad he has such a good attitude about it. Hoping I can follow suit after our next appointment. I just want a better explanation(like a diagnosis!) and want everything to be okay. I know that's not always possible, but a girl can hope can't she?!? Let's just hope for the cast to come off and Hayden to use his "real" arm like normal tomorrow!:) As for the other posts I was talking about earlier in this post, you can view those here...
Run, Pig, RUN!!!
Whoa, That's A BIG Punttiiinnnn...
It's Potty Time... Big Boy Style!
Until next time... ENJOY!:)
The whole thing is just as crazy as ever. No one saw the injury occur. Nothing shows up in the x-rays. Hayden is in the worst pain of his life. A cast fixes everything. Well, for the moment that is. I just hope everything is okay at our 1 week check up tomorrow. I am super happy it doesn't seem like it is going to be anything serious, but I'm still a little nervous about it. It has been challenging to have a cast to say the least. Oh, how bath time has changed around here! At any rate, I just want everything to be okay. I must say, Hayden is extremely happy with his "new arm". He loves it. I'm afraid he won't ever want it off. It gives him a since of security I think. He is just back to his normal self doing all the things he used to do. He just has a "new arm"! No big deal for him! So glad he has such a good attitude about it. Hoping I can follow suit after our next appointment. I just want a better explanation(like a diagnosis!) and want everything to be okay. I know that's not always possible, but a girl can hope can't she?!? Let's just hope for the cast to come off and Hayden to use his "real" arm like normal tomorrow!:) As for the other posts I was talking about earlier in this post, you can view those here...
Run, Pig, RUN!!!
Whoa, That's A BIG Punttiiinnnn...
It's Potty Time... Big Boy Style!
Until next time... ENJOY!:)
2 comments:
Poor Hayden! I was almost crying for him as I read your post. That had to be the worst watching your child go through that much pain. I'm glad in the end everything was okay.
As painful as that was, he sure did LOVE that "new arm" while he had it. I am glad he is all better now :-)
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