Yup, She's Broke

On the day before Elizabeth's birthday she had ballet class.  After class they were released to go to the back to get their shoes and coats on to leave.  As she hurried to the back of the studio she flipped her ankle and fell.  She has low tone Cerebral Palsy.  Her muscle tone is very loose and floppy.  When she falls, her reaction time is to slow to catch herself.  So when she falls, she falls very hard.  When she was six she fell down two steps, at the feed store and couldn't even catch herself fast enough to protect her poor face and broke her nose and arm.

I was not in the studio when it happened but Carolyn said Elizabeth sat and cried.  When I came in to pick them up at 5:00 p.m., she was putting on her shoe and limping badly trying to get out to the car.  By the time we got home it was too painful to bare weight and walk on.  Sigh.

I thought it looked broken and she acted like her foot was broken.  I could even see the spot I thought it was broke on the top of her foot.  Once I got all the household settled down for the night I ran her over to the ER.  (Tim, the toddlers and Antonio all go to bed at 7:00 p.m. so left after they were all in bed for the night.)  It takes forever in our ER to be seen, treated and released.  But I knew we needed to do this as she was in so much pain.  Also it was easier for me to do this now with Tim at home and everyone in bed than during the next day with seven kids with me.  We drove over and checked into the ER and waited.  Got called to have vitals taken and shown to a room and waited.  When the doctor finally came in to see us, Elizabeth showed him where on her foot it was painful.  The doctor left...we waited.  The X-ray tech came in to do X-rays and left and we waited.  The doctor finally came in and said it was not broken but a sprain.  That she should use crutches for a week or so and then push her self to start to walk on it.  They splinted her ankle and a guy came in and fitted her for some crutches and we were released with a paper on how to care for a sprain and a number for the ortho doctor to get her sprain looked at.  I still felt her foot was broke and could not wait to get the appointment with the ortho doctor to get a second opinion.

Elizabeth can not do anything to strenuous as it over taxes her heart.  When she over exerts herself, she breaths very heavy.  She used to be trached and has a narrow airway, so this sounds just horrible like she is suffocating...she turns red, her skins gets very cold/clammy and she sweats profusely thru the top of her head.  Her hair literally gets wet.  Well...we left the room we were in, with her using her crutches.  She struggled horribly with them, her muscles are just so low tone.  We had only made it part was down the hall when she was breathing heavy and hair getting wet.  We struggled to the door and I pulled the van up to pick her up and take her home.  Elizabeth has a wheelchair/stroller that we own for when going to the zoo, on trips that require a lot of walking or for when she is sick, on oxygen or when her heart is giving her trouble.  Needless to say, I got her wheel chair down from the attic for her to use when we leave the house, as she just can not do the crutches safely for more than just a few hops across the room with out getting wore out.

On Thursday I took her in to see the ortho doc.  Praise God the toddlers had a visitation that day so I could take Elizabeth into the doctors and give my total attention to her. 

The orth doctor came in and Elizabeth showed her the same area she did to the ER doctor.  Explaining how it happened and where it hurts and where it did not.  The doctor said..."I think what we have here is a broke foot and not a hurt ankle."  I said...Yes,  that is what we showed them in the ER.  The doctors said... "I just reviewed the X-rays the ER took and they did not even X-ray her foot."  "Just her ankle."  Sigh.  So they did an X-ray of her foot and bingo!  There was the break. 

This gave Elizabeth great relief and a feeling of validation.  As she kept saying it hurt so badly and she felt it was broken.  They splinted her foot with a temperary splint to wear for one week till the swelling goes down.

Then we will go back and they will put a cast on to wear for the next 6 to 8 weeks.  Sadly, she is going to miss being in her ballet recital that she has worked so hard to be in.  But it hurts and she understands. 

I have told my children that no one else is allowed to hurt their leg or foot.  As when Tim is at work, if we go out, I have four children now that need to be pushed in wheel chairs or strollers and only four of us to push them! 

God is so good.  Elizabeth didn't need surgery or have any complications from this injury to deal with.  It is minor comparatively really in our life.  All is well.  God is faithful.

Galatians 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Blessings,
susan