minsue
Gosling
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2002
- Posts
- 22,062
Tonight is definitely one of those nights.
Last Saturday, my niece was at a friend's house and fell off a bunk bed and broke her arm. Badly. Or placed badly, at any rate. She fractured it right above the elbow, right at the growth plate. After spending most of the night in the emergency room, she was sent home with a splint, instructions to keep her elbow above her upper arm to help control where the swelling was, and hope that surgery wouldn't be required. Oh, and a long sock over her arm so they could tie it to her own bunk bed (from the bottom bunk) to keep it above her head while she slept.
That was the bad news.
On Tuesday, when they finally set it in a cast, the risk of surgery being needed later on was down to 15% (along with the need to make repeated visits over the next two years to make sure her arm is growing). And a bright pink cast with glitter in it.
That was the good news.
I felt terrible for her, but I was relieved since it could have been so much worse. Until tonight, when my mother called.
Yesterday, she fell again. From a bunk bed. Again.
This time she was on the ladder trying to get a Barbie doll from her sister's top bunk and lost her balance. She couldn't catch herself with only one arm. She didn't break her arm this time. She broke her skull.
Now she has a basal fracture, a temporal fracture, and a ruptured eardrum. There is a piece of bone pressing her brain and they can't do surgery to remove it because of a high risk of hemorraging where the other fracture is. There was spinal fluid coming out her ear. Christ.
So now we wait and hope.
Tomorrow night was supposed to be her birthday party. She'll be six next week.
Last Saturday, my niece was at a friend's house and fell off a bunk bed and broke her arm. Badly. Or placed badly, at any rate. She fractured it right above the elbow, right at the growth plate. After spending most of the night in the emergency room, she was sent home with a splint, instructions to keep her elbow above her upper arm to help control where the swelling was, and hope that surgery wouldn't be required. Oh, and a long sock over her arm so they could tie it to her own bunk bed (from the bottom bunk) to keep it above her head while she slept.
That was the bad news.
On Tuesday, when they finally set it in a cast, the risk of surgery being needed later on was down to 15% (along with the need to make repeated visits over the next two years to make sure her arm is growing). And a bright pink cast with glitter in it.
That was the good news.
I felt terrible for her, but I was relieved since it could have been so much worse. Until tonight, when my mother called.
Yesterday, she fell again. From a bunk bed. Again.
This time she was on the ladder trying to get a Barbie doll from her sister's top bunk and lost her balance. She couldn't catch herself with only one arm. She didn't break her arm this time. She broke her skull.
Now she has a basal fracture, a temporal fracture, and a ruptured eardrum. There is a piece of bone pressing her brain and they can't do surgery to remove it because of a high risk of hemorraging where the other fracture is. There was spinal fluid coming out her ear. Christ.
So now we wait and hope.
Tomorrow night was supposed to be her birthday party. She'll be six next week.
