Nursemaid's Elbow!
The only thing I can say about this (and I hope I am not jinxing me or the family) is that we have only been to the ER twice, and both for fairly odd occurances. The first visit was when Wesley contracted "Hand, Foot and Mouth" which if you look back at photos was horrendous. He looked pathetic and probably felt as bad.
The second visit was for an issue that I CAUSED and could not have felt worse about. I picked Wesley up from daycare and unlike most days where I have to beg him to leave, this day he came over and put his arms up asking to be picked up. I grabbed his hands, he put his little hands around my thumbs and I pulled him up to me. I heard him whimper and then looked at Sheila and said, "I think I just hurt him". She grabbed him (under his arms) and assured me he was fine. We got out to the car and when I put him in his car seat, he whimpered/cried again. He would not move his left arm. We got home and the same thing happened when I got him out of the carseat. By this point, I knew something was wrong. He laid on my shoulder and would not move his arm. It was limp and laying down by his side. I called Chris frantically and told him that "I had hurt Wesley" and that we needed to go to the ER. Luckily he was in the driveway when I called so we quickly agreed that Wesley needed to be seen and got back in the car. I rode in the back seat all the way to Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk. While I am so grateful for this hospital, our need was not really deserving of an ER visit--I really wish we had an Urgent Care for Pediatrics. The waiting room was full to say the least and unfortunately, we were probably the only ones there who were insured! Very sad scene. There were some very nice people waiting including a family who was from Belgium-we think the father worked for NATO as he was in uniform. They asked why we were there and then in a very nice way chuckled--the mom with her broken english called it "Sunday Arm". She said it was "what parents do on Sunday, grab a hold of their children on each side and swing them on a Sunday afternoon" it is very common! I appreciated her diagnosis as it made me feel much better and that I might not be questioned for child abuse! Anyway, we didn't have to wait too long and when we got back to the room, Wesley seemed to be doing better. He still wasn't using his arm at all, it was still limp by his side but he was moving around a bit. The doctor finally came in and without even looking at Wesley, told us what was wrong. It is called "Nursemaid's Elbow" and is apparently very common in little ones. The tendon that is around his elbow pops off to the side (don't quote my medical description) but basically prevented Wesley from moving his arm. It sounded a lot like a dislocation but far less severe. Anyway, as she was talking to us and telling us how Wesley would be in pain for only a minute while she "popped" it back in, we turned around and he had started using his arm! Little scoundrel somehow figured out how to fix his own arm--which was great. We were not looking forward to the doctor having to do it nor did we want Wesley to be in pain. So, we spent the evening in the ER for almost no reason. There is no doubt in my mind that we did the right thing but I have to chuckle that this is how it was resolved. Wesley must have a 6th sense!
So...with all of that being said, the video below is probably concerning! I took this video on Feb. 20th which is about a month prior to our ER visit. Needless to say, Wesley will not get to enjoy the jumping up and down he did with his Daddy like this again. Children grow out of this "nursemaid elbow" around 3 but the doctor said the age is 3 mostly b/c parents stop picking up their kids like this because they are too heavy!
This video is so fun, though. The kind of laughter that is contagious and makes you smile!
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