Adelaide's Emergency Room Adventure

Despite being afraid of many things (dogs, cats, tall slides, people, loud noises, llamas…), Adelaide has her daredevil moments. She loves to hang upside down, jump off the top of furniture, try to tip the rocking chair over and attempt front flips off her bed. You know, fun little kid stuff.

So, we always thought we’d wind up in the emergency room one of these days. But we never guessed it would be the result of something so ho-hum and ordinary. While at church, Adelaide climbed up on a stool to wash her hands. Then she grabbed Matt’s hand, jumped down and – POP! Her arm went limp. There were a fair amount of tears and demands for mommy.

So, off to urgent care we rushed. We told them it was dislocated. But, the doctor really got us worried as he made plans to cast it and started referencing orthopedic surgeons we could meet in the morning. However, after seeing the x-ray, he agreed it might just be a dislocation and sent us to the ER. The nurse who was setting up the cast molding looked a little disappointed, but contented herself to cobble together a little wrap out of adult finger splints before we left.

Adelaide thought her arm wrap was stylish. 

When the nurse was done, she held out her 

left arm and said, "This one next!"

Off to the hospital ER where poor Adelaide got more x-rays, because evidently doctors don’t share and we couldn’t get them to send the last set over. 

Adelaide had conflicted feelings about the ER.

The nurses and doctors scared her, and 

she really needed a nap. On the other hand, 

everyone kept giving her toys and even an Elmo sticker. 

This girl would brave many things for an Elmo sticker.

Five hours after the accident took place, it was finally and definitively decided she had dislocated her elbow. It took the doctor about two seconds to pop it back in. Convincing Adelaide to use the arm again took some doing. But, when the doctor waved a pack of Oreos in front of her – SNATCH! Look who can use her right hand. It also took us a while to corral a medicated, Oreo-stuffed toddler into the car to go home. But, we took heart from seeing her try to climb into the lobby fountain that she was feeling like herself again.