It's Cracked...OUCH!

Esther Marie is the type of baby who is very active and daring. She isn't afraid to jump, climb or dive. I am sure you get the picture...VERY active 2 year old! The interesting thing is that when she gets hurt, she doesn't really cry. That is a behavior that develops out of institutional life. When most infants cry, they get attention fairly quickly from their parents. In an orphanage, you have to wait your turn...IF you get a turn. So, the child learns that crying doesn't work and they just stop crying when they get hurt. Esther Marie can fall or get hurt and she doesn't cry, most of the time. We end up having to watch her more closely because of it.

Yesterday, she took a tumble off the bed and she was really crying...tears. So I knew something was wrong. I held her and she fell asleep, but that worried me...so I woke her. I decided to feed her and she ate fairly well. She loves to eat...it's one of her favorite things to do. But after that, she was clingy and whimpering. Finally, she took a nap and after waking, she felt better. So I thought she must have just been shaken by the fall.

During the night, she whimpered and tossed (sleeping with me), and this morning when she woke, she was crying again...tears. She also was touching her shoulder and frowning. So I knew something was definitely wrong. I called the doctor and made an appointment to see him at 10:30. About the time we left, Esther Marie had perked up again, and I questioned myself about making the appointment. Sitting in the exam room, I was REALLY wondering why we were there. She seemed totally normal. But I kept thinking about the early morning when she was crying so much, and I needed to get her checked out..so I was glad we were there. Our wonderful pediatrician, Dr. W. came in and examined her and touched along her shoulder area. She started to cry so he ordered an x-ray. Sure enough....cracked clavicle(a.k.a. collar bone)! I am SO glad I made the decision to take her and have her checked out.

So what does that mean? Well, you don't put a cast on some one's shoulder...and she is too active for a sling. So you just watch the child carefully, try to keep them from falling again and in three weeks it should be healed. Please pray that it does heal totally with no complications before her surgery on August 20th! (And yes, it did make me feel a little better for him to tell me that this does happen quite a bit with a tumbling toddler....sigh.)