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May 8, 2006
X-Ray for Emma (she's okay) and status quo for Courtney
On Saturday night, my dad was passing through town to see Courtney and the kids. He was swinging Emma around by the arms for a few seconds, and immediately after putting her down, she started complaining about a sore arm -- thanks Dad! ;-). I thought the arm might have just gotten tweaked and that she was scared to move it out of remembered pain. She wasn't crying at all, just not moving the arm. When I tried to move the arm, it did cause pain, but I've seen enough episodes where the "memory" of pain looks the same as actual pain. So, I figured it would be better in the morning after a night to forget that it had happened. On Sunday, she was still complaining about the arm, and didn't use it much all day. If it hadn't been Sunday, I would have taken her to the doctor then, but naturally, these things ALWAYS happen on Sunday (see below for story about Emma's stitches). Emma was able to bend it up and down without pain, but any sort of rotation of the forearm caused pain. I decided to give it until Monday morning. This morning, it was still about the same. She was acting totally normal, but not using the arm. So, after dropping James off at school, I took Emma to the doctor. The first doctor/nurse-practioner thought that the elbow had gotten dislocated and popped back in, and was concerned about the clavicle (collar bone). In retrospect this was the extreme diagnosis. So we were sent to the outpatient clinic for an x-ray .After the x-ray, we went back to the pediatrician where we were informed that thankfully, nothing was wrong. Another doctor/nurse-pracitioner came in and told me that Emma most likely had a "nursemaid elbow." (the practical diagnosis) In short, a tendon in the elbow pops over to the wrong side of the elbow bone. If I had known the procedure, that I know now, I could have fixed it in 2 painful seconds on Saturday night and it would have been better in 20 minutes. Either the tendon had popped back in place when we were positioning Emma for the x-ray, or when the nurse was checking her before or after the xray. Some children are more inclined to get this type of thing, and should be less so as the elbow bone grows bigger with age. I'm thrilled that I don't have TWO patients in the house.
The reason I waited until Monday was because I wanted to avoid the emergency room at all costs. The Sunday before the accident, Emma had slammed her thumb in my car door. She had a pretty deep laceration, so a friend took me and Emma to the hospital where she got two traumatic stitches. Given that recent experience, and the emotional trauma of "the accident", I was hoping that we could avoid the emergency room. She actually liked going to the doctor and getting an x-ray.
Courtney is also doing pretty well. Her eyelid still only opens about 50-60%. There's definitely *some* swelling left in her face, but I'm not certain that the eyelid is going to improve a lot more past it's current point. It's very possible that we'll have to deal with that issue later with an octal-plastics surgeon (a year from now). She's been washing her face with a washcloth without pain, and the lacerations and surgical incisions seem to be healing nicely. Courtney definitely looks a little different, and is still pretty banged up, but I remind her daily of the fact that God spared her life and that she looks fantastic given the extent of her injuries. We're being diligent about managing her pain in order to keep the dental/mouth pain at bay, and that seems to be really good for spirits. I'm dissolving chewable ibuprofin in water, and the addition of that OTC medicine seems to have helped with the time between doses of the strong stuff.
Courtney mentioned a few more details about her condition that I wasn't fully aware of. When I described the extent of her numbness in an earlier post, I only referred to the tip of her nose ... I guess her whole nose is numb. Also, when she mentioned that she didn't have double vision, she failed to mention that sight out of her right eye really isn't that great. Some of this is caused by having an eyelid over a portion of her eye, but even if I were to pry that eyelid up, her vision wouldn't be pre-accident normal. We have an appointment with the opthamologist in UVA on Wednesday, so I'm sure we'll know more later this week.
Courtney's parents left on Sunday morning, and we both miss the help of her mother. She was a great help and huge emotional support for Courtney. My mom and John are coming to town on Tuesday night to help out for a week, but it's just the 4 of us in the house for a couple nights. It was weird to be sitting in what felt like an empty house last night. Yesterday, the kids and I bought a new TV and DVD player for our bedroom. The one we had in there was pretty lousy and hard to see from bed. I also got Courtney a handful of movies (mostly Indie films and chick flicks) ;-). Since she's going to be in our room a lot more over the next month or so, I thought that it would be money well spent. Sometimes, Courtney needs to escape the downstairs chaos for some mental rest, but doesn't really want to sleep. Since she can't read for too long because of the eye, movies are the best option. A friend also brought by a couple books-on-tape that will also be nice.
Thanks for your continued prayers for Courtney. She still has a long road ahead, and is encouraged daily by knowledge of your support. I read all of your comments and emails to her every night.
Note to local friends: Courtney is ready to start seeing more visitors, so give me a call if you would like to stop by for a few minutes. I want to coordinate the visits to one 15 minute visit per morning and a possible 15 minute visit in the afternoon -- so hopefully you can try to combine visits with other people that you also know. I know I sound like the visit-cop, but there are a hundred people that want to see Courtney, so thanks for putting up with me. My cell phone is 540-421-1367.
Posted by mark at May 8, 2006 10:38 AM Subscribe (FeedBurner)
Comments
Oh, Emma, Emma, Emma. I love that girl.
I sure wish I could visit Courtney!
Posted by: Kara at May 8, 2006 12:52 PM
When James came to school without Emma this morning and told us that Emma had hurt her arm, I think a collective and instant prayer went up from all the parents, teachers and staff at Kid's Harbor. I am glad to hear that she is okay, and though it is one more thing to deal with right now, it does sort of show that life is indeed getting back to normal..Sure do miss visiting with Courtney at school, hope to see you soon. Love, "Miss Tracy"
Posted by: Tracy at May 8, 2006 1:22 PM
Oh my gosh. I was holding my breath until you said that Emma was ok. I kept thinking "No God! Nooooo!" Wow.
Glad to hear the Ibuprofen in helping! Good stuff!
Check out NetFlix Court. All sorts of things for one month's fee. Have you seen In Her Shoes? It just came out and it's good for a few laughs.
I'd love to come visit when we get to VA next month. I'll call when I know what we are doing. We will be in Roanoke on 6/9 and then hope to get up the road for a visit sometime soon after that. I haven't been in the
Burg since last summer and I'm really homesick.
Love you girl. Hang in there. Maybe I'll bring some Calhoun's take out when I come! :) Amy
Amy
Posted by: Amy at May 8, 2006 2:30 PM
I just added a parenthetical reference to this post's title to help prevent momentary stress about Emma. Sorry about that. I suppose literary suspense and drama are tools that should be employed in a different context. ;-) I hereby promise not to have titles like: A Slip in the Tub or Face Plant any time in the near future, unless said titles refer to factual occurances.
Posted by: Mark Veerman at May 8, 2006 2:44 PM
Mark & Courtney,
What a blessing you have in each other. I am so thankful to hear of the healing that's taking place. I've asked and wondered, so it's quite nice to view this page. I pray for you Courtney, that God heals you and watches over you all. Know that all of you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Love,
Stephanie (cousin, Stephanie that is!)
Posted by: Stephanie at May 8, 2006 9:04 PM
Dear Courtney and Mark,
How we have prayed for all of you here in Orlando. I know it seems like such a long haul you have ahead, and it is, but try to remember that God promises he is teaching us something thru all this pain. And He is. You will look back on this and realize what you have learned and how it has affected you as a family and as individuals. And it will all be good and you will not be able to imagine what kind of person you would be without this refining. We will all continue our prayers and maybe one day you will be back at FA LA LA selling your jewelry again.
Blessings to all of you, Susan Woodman
Posted by: Susan Woodman at May 9, 2006 5:56 AM
Hi Mark,
Tyler has had 2 episodes of nursemaid's elbow. The first trip was a 1 a.m. ER visit but on the second we went straight to an orthopedist. I tried manipulating it myself on the 2nd one, being a PT, but was unsuccessful. They say that they are supposed to grow out of this by age 3. I guess our kids are the exception! Glad to hear she is okay.
Crista
Posted by: Crista at May 9, 2006 7:47 AM
My Molly got nursemaid's elbow once. I was picking her up by her arms. She said it hurt a little, but not a big deal. She kept comlpaining though, and quit using it, which made me pretty nervous. She cried some, and we put her down for a nap and when she woke up, it was all better. The Dr. told us later what was wrong, and it's never happened again.
Posted by: Topher at May 10, 2006 9:33 AM
Hi Mark and Courtney,
We continue to think of and pray for you daily. Thank you for keeping us informed about how things are progressing and what to specifically pray for. I was talking to a dentist I know and explained Courtney's accident and treatment to her. She was surprised that she still has mouth pain and wondered if it could be a cracked tooth and nerve damage or exposure. She recommended that you see an oral surgeon or dentist now to see if that could be assessed. She thought that an oral surgeon might be able to take care of that type of problem even though her jaw is wired. Just thought that I would pass this along. Much love, Darian
Posted by: Aunt Darian at May 10, 2006 3:01 PM
So good to talk to you sunday-courtney.
Jason and I pray for you everyday. I'm so glad Emma is alright! Always something-isn't it?
Hope you're having a good visit with your mom, Mark.
We love your updates.
much love,
Meg
Posted by: Meg at May 10, 2006 3:01 PM