Eden's broken collarbone
Posted by tom | May 20, 2007Theresa wrote the below in response to Eden's breaking of the collarbone, on the left side, yesterday morning before the family headed out to Marietta Day (Hayley, Ellen, & Tom went to Marietta Day w/the Tom's parents and Theresa went to Hershey Medical Center with Eden). Please join us in prayer for Eden's quick healing over the course of the next 4-6 weeks, use of sling, and development of the other side of her body for greater mobility and the ability to feed herself. Also pray for Theresa's continued grace-filledness during the increased time pressure/focus which this will demand.
Eden broke her collarbone on Sat. when she fell off the couch (she was standing on the couch, swatting at Ellen). After about 30 min. of not being able to console and after checking her out, I was pretty sure something was wrong with her left shoulder. She cried when she lifted her left arm. Eden is one tough cookie and doesn't cry at much, and certainly not for any length of time. She also started to fall asleep in my arms and again laying on the floor. That was way out of character. So I took her to the ER at Hershey Med . . .
X-rays showed she broke her left clavicle. A head CT showed no bleeding in the brain, thank God. She was initially sleepy at the ER, but as the day went on (and on, and on...) she was less sleepy, though not her normal "never-sit-still" self. She took a nap on the way home (after a total of 6 1/2 hours in the ER) and then ate a substantial supper. She was given a sling to wear for comfort. It's not essential to healing. This thing should heal on its own in a few weeks. The tricky part is that Eden gets picked up and carried a lot b/c she can't walk and it's now difficult to pick her up without shifting her left arm. And since she injured her strong arm, I basically have to feed her b/c she's not able to feed herself efficiently with her right hand. That may be a blessing in disguise as it has already encouraged her to use her right hand more.Here's what I'm thankful for:
Modern hospitals--For all the shortcomings of our healthcare system, as I was driving there this morning I was thinking about how fortunate we are to live in a country where we can count on xrays and medicine being readily available. What if my child was ill or injured and there was no doctor, let alone modern hospital, to diagnose and treat her?
Protection--it could have been much worse. Mothers are experts at imagining the worst scenarios.
A sweet, tough, cooperative little girl. She only got upset for the xrays. She was so good for the CT that she didn't need sedation and the tech thought she must be 3 years old b/c no 2 yr. old could be that good! She got lots of stickers :)
Family around to entertain Hayley and Ellen and give them an enjoyable day so that mommy could devote her attention to the crisis at hand.
