Tough Guy

We had our first injury-related trip to the emergency room last night (for Anthony, that is - those of you who know me well are aware how many I've had for my OWN injuries!). It was about 9:25 p.m. Darrell was in Anthony's room putting together his new toddler bed. Anthony and I were in the living room, dancing to some tunes; I was trying to keep him entertained because he was tired. A song ended, so I sat on the couch for a break, with Anthony on my lap. He crawled off my lap, next to me on the couch, and when he rolled on his right arm, I heard a "pop," then he started crying. Darrell and I tried to calm him down, and for a bit, we weren't sure whether he was crying because he was hurt or if it was because he was so tired and this was the last straw. After about 15 minutes, when he still wouldn't calm down and he screamed every time Darrell tried to move his arm, we decided to take him to the ER.

MY suggestion was to go to Eisenhower Medical Center, which is about 15 minutes away, but Darrell was worried and wanted to go to the closest hospital, which is JFK Hospital, just a couple miles away. We got there, and of course, the place was jammed. I will NEVER go there again by choice. It was dirty, the people working there were slow and not helpful, and after we sat there for nearly 2 hours, I suggested we leave and go to Eisenhower. I called over to see how busy they were, and they were slow, so we left to head over there. Poor Anthony was in pain, and every time he tried to move his arm, he cried. Not to mention that he was exhausted because it was well past his bedtime!

So we went to Eisenhower, where everyone was very nice, the place was clean, and they got us in right away. They actually seemed to CARE that my son was in pain! (We will be heading there first from now on!) They didn't even take an x-ray, because the doctor knew right away that he had dislocated something in his elbow. Apparently, this is a common injury in young children, and it's called Nursemaid's Elbow. Anyway, the doctor had to straighten his arm, put pressure in the elbow, and twist a bit - all of which must have been excruciating for Anthony, judging by the screams and tears coming from him. But within five minutes, he was using his arm again and had calmed down, and gave me a "high five," so we were able to leave. We got home shortly after 1:00 a.m. Darrell stayed up and finished putting together Anthony's new bed, since we had already taken down the crib and the pack-n-play. Anthony refused to go to sleep in the new bed, so fell asleep in bed with us, then Darrell moved him to his new bed, where thankfully, he slept the remainder of the night.

Today, he's been pretty cranky (Anthony, not Darrell - although Darrell's in Venice, so he may be cranky too, I just don't know about it!), so I figure his arm is probably still sore. I gave him some motrin, but he's still pretty clingy and needy. Probably just tired and traumatized by the whole ordeal. He finally just fell asleep for a nap in his new bed (after much protesting and many tears), so hopefully he will sleep for a long time!