Nursemaid's Elbow Part Deux

Last year about this time, Crispin was learning how to roll over and it was very endearing to watch him just almost make, but no, he would roll back to his tummy or his back. One morning he was on his back and he rolled over to his tummy but his arm was stuck behind him, the kind brothers that he has, helped him get his arm unstuck. I had to work at Emily's that day and so I get him ready and he's a bit fussy when I put on his jacket and when I put him in his car seat. I do think it's unusual but I'm not alarmed. At Emily's he stayed in the swing and slept for most of the time I was there. When I go to put him in the car seat this time, he screams and now I'm worried. I get home and notice he's not using his left arm. I panick and call Clint and he says to make sure I let the ER know that HE was not home at the time it happened. Thanks alot - I tell him! I take Crispin in to urgent care and they diagnose him w/ nursemaid's elbow. They pop it back into place and after about 15 minutes he's still not using it. So, they have to do an X-ray to make sure nothing more is wrong. After 3 hours, he gets a clean bill of health and we are sent home with a sheet of paper explaining what just happened and how to avoid it again.

Here we are almost a year to the date later and Crispin is dealing with Nursemaid elbow part deux. They said after he gets it once he would be prone to getting it again. GREAT! So today after church we run into the store to get wrapping paper and me, like a stupid, choose NOT to put Crispin in a buggy because we would be quick. As soon as we walk in the store he starts looking around like Taz the Tazmanian devil wondering which aisle to destroy first. Slade darts off to a section he wants to check out and I am left to deal with Taz. I try to engage him in helping me find the perfect roll of paper, but he has plans of his own. I manage to grab a roll and even a B-day card that will fit the occasion before I have to pick up all the rolls he has thrown all over the aisle. I chase after him and pick him up and start walking thinking all is cool and I have some time to check out what else there is in this souped up dollarchain. I put Crispin down and hold his left hand and he has his coat on, so I hold on extra tight. He thinks it's his chance to run the opposit direction and so like a bucking bronco, he takes off opposite from where I am standing and talking to Slade. He doesn't get far before he falls onto the seat of his pants and I feel a nice big "POP." I know that's he's done what I dread will happen everytime I grab for his hand. Immediately he starts to cry and I'm hoping he's crying because he's not able to run off, but as I look at his limp wrist, I know it's Urgent Care for us.

I get home and tell Clint and of course we are still uninsured, despite our many calls to our caseworker and 2 supervisors regarding status of our case. I call Laura and leave a message for her husband, who is an ER assistant to physicians. I wait and nurse Crispin, and he's clearly in pain when we try to move his hand, I'm wondering it it's his wrist and not his elbow from the way he's acting. I finally get all the snacks, books, drinks and anything else that will help pass the 3 hours waiting. We are about 2 minutes from U of M Hospital.

In triage, they put an ID bracelet on Crispin's leg and he freaks out. He keeps crying and yelling "off off" I'm doing my best to console him with a bowl of frozen blueberries that he was happily eating a few minutes before. The nurse says the need to "probe" him for his temperature. In that time, Slade walks in and tells me Jake will do it for us but to hurry because he has to catch a flight out at 3. I tell the triage nurse that we don't have insurance and that our friend has offered to do it for us and he says "it's not because of the rectal thermometer reading, is it?" He's serious too.

I don't know where Laura lives, so I rush home and get her address and try calling but there is no answer. I call another mom from group and ask her if she knows where she lives, she gives me general directions to the vicinity but she's never been there either. I head out and hit major backed up traffic half a mile from the road I need to turn on. It's about 1 in the afternoon and I'm trying to hurry. I get the the neighborhood that Maria told me and I realize it's the neighborhood to Laura's parent's house. I ask some guy if I could use his phone and I call Laura and she doesn't answer again. I'm pretty sure she doesn't live too far from her parent's house but I don't know where. After driving around for about 5 minutes, I find their house! Nobody is home - they have left I presume to the airport.

Crispin slept the whole time and so when I get home I say to myself that I am going to put it back into place myself. He's asleep still and I pick up his arm and he wakes with a scream and try to do what I think I should do - but nothing. No pop like they say I should feel. I get in the house and tell Clint all about my running around and now how I have to go back to Urgent Care and what am I going to tell them? I tell Clint to do some research on the internet so we can try to do it ourselves. He reluctancly looks up info. He says he doesn't even want to try because who knows who has written this stuff on the internet. I tell him to just try - PLEASE! He tries and nothing. Crispin cries and I'm reduced to that place that just says "SHIT!!!" I come upstairs with Crispin and I sit him on the couch, while I look for some food to scarf down since I didn't eat much of a breakfast and nothing for lunch. Clint comes up and sits Crispin on the arm of the couch, gets his arm and does some slow flexing movement and says "I think I did it - I felt a pop." Immediately Crispin starts using his arm and I'm jumping up and down for joy!

I'm so happy that we didn't have to spend our afternoon in Urgent Care and I'm so happy that Clint found another description of the maneuver and tried it again. Saved my sanity and saved Crispin from being "probed."