Hemi Hazards

Today at 11:50, Blondie tripped on the playground and was sent to the nurse. The note from the nurse said that she was there a whole 3 minutes and received ice even though there was no swelling. It also said that her wrist had great range of motion. Unfortunately they didn't call me (even though my classroom is on the way back to hers).

At 3:00 she walked into my room and I just glanced at her wrist and KNEW something was not right. So I ran through my evaluation routine. Blondie straighten out both arms (couldn't do it). Bondie hold this marker (couldn't do it). Blondie, squeeze my finger (OWWWW). So I immediately got on the phone with the pediatrician office who of course doesn't do x-rays there. We then had the choice of sitting in an emergency room, or waiting until 5:00 until the ortho clinic had walk in hours. They recommended the orthos because they could x-ray and cast, and the emergency room could x-ray and then apparently just send me to the ortho anyway, and HONESTLY, wouldn't I be sitting in their waiting room for and hour and a half anyway. Blondie was fine, no great drama and apparently no great pain. She played carefully, and did some homework.

We drove down to the ortho and after waiting 45 minutes for the one doctor to see just US in the waiting room she was x-rayed. The x-ray tech was feeling a little tense because Blondie couldn't turn her hand the way they needed her too (not because it was broken, but her arm doesn't easily go in a normal palm up mode anyway). I asked if they could put it in position and tape it down, and the tech was SO relieved. Apparently most parents freak out when she suggests it, but I don't see the big deal. Even with the tape I had to jump in there and hold her arm for one of the pictures.

After the x-ray we headed back to the room, and the doctor came in. He wanted to know what her "normal" arm condition is like, and I said, "left side hemiparesis as a result of a hemispherectomy due to Rasmussen's Syndrome."

"NO WAY!" he says. (Remember my inner Hazel written about a few days ago?) "Actually no, I just made it all up." Of course he could hear the sarcasm and I'm sure it was in about 3 places already in her chart. So he says, "I've never met a hemi person before." "That's okay," I said, "we're all about educating doctors.

He proceeds to tell me that Blondie has a buckle fracture on her radius and that she needs a cast up to her shoulder. That is exactly what I don't need, but I guess it isn't about me at the moment. So we got a lovely blue cast that matches her eyes and we can't wait to see the school nurse tomorrow.

So for those hemi parents wanting to know how to tell if you need to get X-rays --- if the child can still feel pain in it a couple hours later you better get it x-rayed. If they shake it off and you can squeeze things without pain they are probably fine.