I Broke Miss M

Today I "broke" Miss M. Okay, not literally, but it was a rough morning nonetheless. The morning started out great. Then Miss M decided that she DID NOT want to go "bye-bye", she enforced her views on the issue by using her favorite word repeatedly, "no."

While holding her right hand I was helping her walk down the five steps from the main level into the family room so that we could leave through the garage. I was probably half way down the steps when she, standing on the top decided she wasn't going to walk anymore. You know that famous toddler trick that leads to you holding on to the hand of a dangling child. She started crying, but it wasn't any different from her normal protest cry. I put her in the car seat and then return to the family room to get Emma as our first errand was to drop her off at the groomers.

Miss M fussed off and on all the way to the groomers, Emma whined, it wasn't a pleasant trip. I still did not think Miss M was hurt, just mad that mommy was making her go when she'd rather stay home and antagonize the cat. However, when I went to get her out of the car seat at the groomers she let out a blood curdling scream. This was when I noticed that her right arm was limp at her side. Something was horribly wrong with my baby!

Quickly I got Emma checked into the groomers and left to make the trek through the nasty winter weather to get Miss M to the clinic on base. All the while she is crying because she hurts, I am crying because I don't know how to make it better, and am going over and over the morning's events to try to figure it out. She has done that dangling toddler trick numerous times because we make her hold a hand when in parking lots, what was so different this time. Finally I decide that the elevation change between us due to the steps must have been enough to dislocate something. I KNEW that her arm wasn't broken because her bones are still so pliable that it would have taken major force to break the bones.

After what seems like forever we finally make it to the clinic. My cell phone only has enough power for one call. I call Hero, I barely got the words, "Something is wrong with Miss M's arm" out before I broke down in sobs. He asked where I was, I told him the clinic on base, he assured me that he would be there in a minute. I gingerly take Miss M out of her car seat and take her inside, praying the whole way that I won't slip in the ice and slush and that they will see her and not refer me off base. Our base only has a clinic, even though there is access to radiology and a lab, they can not handle traumas.

Once I explained the situation to the receptionist she told me that I should have taken Miss M to the ER because they can not do casting. I explain to her that I know her arm is not broken, but that she needs to be seen because something is obviously wrong. She tells me that she doesn't have an appointment until 3pm, but will see if they can "squeeze" her in. The receptionist disappears into the clinic, but quickly returns to tell me that they will squeeze us in as soon as they can. Miss M and I take a seat in the lobby, shortly thereafter my HERO arrives. Just the sight of him strengthens me.

About 15 minutes later a med tech comes out to look at Miss M's arm. She thinks that Miss M may have "Nursemaid's Arm", basically a dislocated elbow. Apparently this happens to A LOT of toddlers. She sends us to the radiology department for x-rays and then tells us when we get back to check back in to the desk so that they take us back to be seen.

We gather up all our gear; my purse, Miss M's diaper bag, water, Hero's hat and gloves, and jackets all around. Once in the radiology department it is time to hurry up and wait again. Finally, Miss M is called back. Hero takes her. He used to be an x-ray technician before he became a Logistics Readiness Officer, so we knew he would be able to hold Miss M in the positions they needed. I sat in the waiting room listening to my precious baby SCREAM in pain, tears running down my cheek.

Miss M's first x-ray

Back to the clinic we trek, only this time we are quickly taken to the back. While they are taking Miss M's vitals we notice that her elbow isn't as swollen as it was and slowly she is starting to use that arm again. By the time the doctor joined us Miss M was lifting my purse with that arm and was her happy self again. The x-rays showed no fracture, just as I thought. Doctor explained that he likes to get films on these cases before he starts manipulating the arm to insure there are no fractures, makes perfect sense to us. The three of us concurred that when Hero was manipulating her arm to get it into position for the x-rays he reduced the dislocated joint.

Now Miss M is back to her happy self and there are no signs of her traumatic morning. I broke her, her daddy fixed her. This experience gave me a glimpse of the pain Heavenly Father must feel when we are hurting. Children are our greatest treasure, our greatest pleasure, and our greatest educator.