Yesterday Ended With A Bang...Or Should I Say A Pop?

Yes...this would be Brinley's souvenir from the E.R.

Yesterday began like any other day. Brinley and I got up at...well, I won't even admit what time she let me sleep in 'til. We had our 'brunch', and then got ready so that we could go out and run some errands while Bruce was working over-time. Our first stop was Babies 'R Us to exchange a few things. After once again spending too much time--and money--in there we proceeded to Hallmark and then to SuperTarget to do our grocery shopping. I called Bruce while we were on our way home (about 4ish) to see how his day had been and what time he would be leaving work. (Don't worry, we weren't on a busy highway or anything. It was very rural roads...remember, we live out in the boonies now.) Bruce said that he was trying to wrap things up there at work for the day so that he could leave soon. Brinley and I proceeded home and when we got there, unloaded all our goodies and groceries. Anyone that has children knows this is a good 30-45 minute project when you have a toddler 'helping' you.

Bruce arrived shortly after Brinley and I were finished putting everything away. I immediately put him to work grilling hotdogs for supper while I started heating up the chili and got out all the yummy toppings. After Bruce finished grilling the hotdogs and had brought them in the house, I started making our plates and taking things over to the table. While this was going on, Bruce was playing with Brinley to keep her occupied while I was tying up all the loose ends for dinner. I wasn't watching them at this time, but all of a sudden I hear Brinley start crying. As any of you know that have been around us for an extended period of time, Brinley is some-what of a 'high-maintenance' baby , so to hear her fuss or cry isn't anything unusual, but after she kept carrying on even after we sat her in her high chair I started thinking something was really wrong. I asked Bruce why she started crying in the first place (remember, I wasn't watching them), and he said that he had pulled her up by her hands (which we have both done before numerous times and now know is a big no-no for little ones). He mentioned that when he did that, he thought he had heard something pop but just assumed it was one of her joints popping normally. At this time, Brinley is still carrying on and so after Bruce got finished inhaling his hotdogs I grabbed the diaper bag and we decided to head out to the Emergency Room at Providence Hospital, a Catholic hospital in Mobile. While in the car, Brinley settled down. Infact, she either fell asleep from crying or passed out because of the pain, but if we hit a bump in the road or if I took a deep breath (she was wrapped up in my lap because I didn't want to be forcing her arms through the straps of her carseat) she would flinch like it hurt her. When we finally arrived at the E.R. (which is one downside of living out in the middle of nowhere is that we are a good 25+ minutes away from Providence), we were relieved to see only two other people in the waiting area which meant that as soon as Bruce finished handing over the insurance card and signing a few papers, Brinley was able to be seen. (I have to mention, it was definitely the shortest time I've ever had to wait at the E.R.) When we got back to the triage area, we told the nurse what happened and that we suspected that one or both of Brinley's shoulders were dislocated because when her arms were moved even the slightest bit, she began crying out again. The nurse mentioned that it might actually be a dislocated elbow, and that the doctor would be in to look at it. After the doctor came in and felt her arm, he did a little 'tweaking' and then we were asked to wait in a recovery area. He said if it was infact her elbow that had been dislocated she should start to move it around again after 10 minutes or so. Sure enough, after several minutes, Brinley started to use that arm to rub her eyes and point to things in the room. After the doctor checked her over again and we were given our discharge papers, we were able to go home and resume our evening.

Once we made it home, Brinley acted as though nothing ever happened. She and I had a late dinner, she and Bruce played in the living room while I tidied up the kitchen and then it was bath, bottle and bed.


Brinley and her baby doll snuggled up in their pajamas and watching a movie together this evening.

After doing a little research on dislocated elbows in toddlers today, I learned that it most commonly happens to the left arm of baby girls inbetweeen the ages of 1 and 3--which fits Brinley to a 't'. Now that Brinley has had a dislocated elbow once, she is at a disposition of it happening again. Infact, my mother has told me that I had a dislocated elbow several times when I was a toddler, and that they really had to be careful with my arms--such as when they were holding my hands, putting my arms through shirts, etc. When children reach the age of 5, a dislocated elbow is less common because usually the bones and ligaments are finished growing and formed and aren't as loose as they were before.

So...that was our Friday night excitement. So far it has been a wet, cold weekend, and by looking at the forecast it seems like it will continue to be that way. The only upside to this weather is it is absolutely perfect for sipping cocoa and watching Christmas movies infront of a roaring fire. Unfortunately I have a little one that doesn't quite understand why she can't go outside to play when it is cold and raining...