Britney Dearest: Boys Will Be Boys: Bruises, and Scrapes, and Breaks, Oh My!

/ Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Boys Will Be Boys: Bruises, and Scrapes, and Breaks, Oh My!

kid, fracture, child, children, broken, bone, arm, elbow, pediatric, supracondylar fracture of the humerus

Recently, something my husband and I had been dreading for awhile (because my son is a fearless little daredevil!) happened- our youngest son, Gabriel, fractured a growth plate in his right elbow. More specifically, he has a non-displaced pediatric supracondylar fracture of the humerus.


What Happened
After taking my two oldest kids to school my husband and I were in the unfinished area of our basement [with concrete floors] cleaning up, gathering all the give away stuff. My 4-year-old son came downstairs in to the basement with us and as he proceeded to leap over toy to go into his playroom, he slipped and fell elbow first and hit his lip on a big metal Tonka truck.

My son instantly started crying and it was different than usual. I have never heard him squeal the way he did. My back was facing him, but my husband saw everything. As soon as he fell my husband ran over and grabbed him and said, "that was a bad one honey." We checked his head first because my husband thought he hit his head on the truck, but he only had a little cut on his lip. We asked him if he hit his head and he yelled out, "MY ARM!" My stomach is getting weak while I type this. It was a heart rending situation.

We babied and nurtured him for about 10 minutes and he calmed down a little but was still crying about his arm. He wouldn't bend it or allow us to touch it. When he gets hurt, he usually gets over it really quickly. He'll say, "It's alright, I'm okay Momma. I don't need anything." He's a really strong kid. As my husband was rocking him in our rocking chair I compared his sore arm with his other arm. I started freakin' out because it looked like the sore arm had a deep dimple in the elbow. I asked my husband to see if he noticed a difference. He suggested we just take him to the ER.


The ER Visit
We were in the hospital for about four hours total. It turned out that what appeared to be a deep dimple in his elbow was a result of the swelling surrounding the fracture. My son was given pain meds through his nostrils twice, prior to each x-ray. The first time my husband and I went in the x-ray room with him, my husband had to help keep him still. He hated the x-rays. He cried. I cried. During the second x-ray I stayed in the patient room while my husband went with him. After awhile, the doctor came in and gave us the diagnosis and other information. The nurse put a splint and sling on his arm, which he wore for five days.

I didn't take any pictures while we were at the hospital the day it happened. I was focused on my baby.


kid, fracture, child, children, broken, bone, arm, elbow, pediatric, supracondylar fracture of the humerus
Gabe's first night wearing the stint without the sling.

Following the incident
Gabe had a tough time sleeping the first few nights. He didn't like resting his arm on a pillow and he rolled over onto his arm a few times. He's a wild sleeper. For baths my husband wrapped his arm in a trash bag because it couldn't get wet. That was funny. My husband and I tried our best to make our baby boy comfortable by giving him medicine to help with pain and inflammation and cuddling. We have been like helicopter parents, hovering over his every move. Gabe was outside playing with his brother over the weekend. He fell once and when I went to check on him he said, "I'm okay mom, I didn't break my other arm."

With his right arm out of commission, he still opens the car door for me every morning before taking the kids to school. He cries when he needs help because he's Mr. Independent and wants to be able to do things on his own, like get dressed, put on his shoes, but he can't. He has kind of found a way to put on his seat belt, but still needs help sometimes.


Follow Up & Cast
He got his cast put on today (Tuesday, March 1). It kind of sucks because we're leaving for a big family vacation in two days, but I'm sure he'll make the best of it and fun regardless. The cast won't prevent him from flying, which is what he's most excited about. We were able to get a waterproof cast that's able to be fully submerged in water (YAY!) and he was able to pick out his favorite color.


kid, fracture, child, children, broken, bone, arm, elbow, pediatric, supracondylar fracture of the humerus
The waterproof material was put on first.
kid, fracture, child, children, broken, bone, arm, elbow, pediatric, supracondylar fracture of the humerus
All done and waiting for it to dry.

My son has been treated like it's his birthday. He has received get well gifts and cards from my in laws. A lot of calls and texts from family and friends. What's so funny is that although people were feeling sad for my baby, they weren't really shocked because everyone who knows him knows he's such a rough boy. He gets in trouble for climbing and jumping off things he shouldn't. He stands on and jumps off the back of our sofa. He sneaks and climbs onto the kitchen counters to grab a cup or bowl. He runs through the house constantly. He climbs on and jumps from the bed of my husband's truck. He has had so many bruises and scrapes over the past couple years. He's very busy. Most people who called to check on him thought he hurt himself while doing something crazy, but nope.


We had just left the orthopedic clinic at our local children's hospital.

Overall, I'm very grateful that it isn't a displaced break and I'm so proud of my Gabey Baby! I have never broken a bone so I don't know what it's like. He has to wear the cast for three weeks (thank goodness it isn't 4-6 weeks!) and I believe he'll heal just fine. I was told kids usually heal quicker than adults. He's right handed so with him having to use his left arm and hand, maybe he'll become ambidextrous like his father :-).


Have you ever dealt with any fractured/broken bones with your children? If so, how did you handle it?

Thanks for reading!
Tags : , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

About Me

Hi! I'm Britney. I'm a wife, mother to 3 children, and a serial hobbyist. Britney Dearest is a YouTube channel I started in 2016 to document my family's life. If you want to laugh, smile, and become part of a fun-loving growing YouTube family, we're your tribe so find us on YouTube and subscribe! Turn on notifications to avoid missing new vlogs and videos. For business inquiries, sponsored videos, product reviews, all that fun stuff send your information to britneydearest@gmail.com Read more

I'm on YouTube!

Follow By Email

* indicates required

Like on Facebook