Broken Collarbone

On April 21st, we went to a new park in Norcross. It was a really neat park, next to some train tracks (next to rivers and lakes, trains are Liesie's favorite things). After being there for about 30 minutes, I heard Liesie crying. I was talking to a friend, so my back was to her. I turned around and she was lying on the ground next to a stand-up spinning thing (I'm really good with descriptions, lol). She wasn't crying hard, and she got up when I walked over. She became really clingy, though, and when I told her that we'd have to leave if she didn't stop, she asked if we could go to the doctor. Very un-Liesie like. She was complaining about her arm, so I asked her to raise it and squeeze my hand. She did both, but didn't like to. She didn't complain much when I felt around, but she just wouldn't stop crying. My friend's son had broken his elbow about a week before, and he had complained the first day, but not how you'd think if something was broken. She told me that she knew something was wrong when she was driving and whenever he braced himself on a curve, he'd cry out. It was noon (what is it with kids getting sick/hurt during non-office hours?), and there was a children's urgent care just past my house. I figured that if she settled down during the ride, we'd just go home and she'd take a nap. She started to complain about bees stinging her elbow (while she was holding her shoulder) whenever I hit some bumpy road, so I knew something was up.

I love Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. We've been several times (asthma x-rays for Caleb, stitches for Joshua, suspected broken wrist for Caleb (thankfully just sprained), and now for Liesie. We've never had to wait more than 10 minutes, and you're in and out. Liesie had calmed down by the time we got there, so I was half thinking of just going home. The nurse came and did her assessment and gave Liesie some Motrin for the pain. The doctor came in and had her do the same things I did at the park. She did those pretty well, and by now I'm sure they were thinking I was just one of those overprotective mothers. Still, they decided to x-ray her just to make sure. Back in the room, the doctor came in and said she did have a minor collarbone fracture. They discussed what kind of splint they wanted for her, and decided on just splinting and wrapping, instead of the foam harness I had when I fell out of bed (also at age 5) and broke my collarbone.

Liesie took it all in stride (the extra attention didn't hurt any). It didn't slow her down any, either. She was climbing all over the place and running around the next day.



When the kids came home from school, she was showered with more attention and accessorized with a flower and a yard flag:

She was supposed to stay wrapped up for 3 weeks. After the first week, she started unwrapping herself after she went to bed. Then she started unwrapping herself during the day when I wasn't looking. She swears that unwrapping healed her. I kept her from using it as much as I could, and she's as good as new.