Sick Times at Eadsmont High

I am convinced that I picked up a bug at Monkey Joe's this week (post upcoming). I know they advertise a sanitizing procedure, etc. but could I expect anything less from a bounce house full of five year olds? It is germ heaven. Mix the ideal atmosphere with the changing fall weather and you get what I hesitate to call a flu breeding ground! I don't want to say I got the flu or the swine flu but it might be a possibility.

Sunday night brought the vomiting followed by a day of bed rest and lack of nutrition. Thank god Lily went to daycare because Mama was in no shape to take care of her. I slept and faded in and out of misery most of Monday and only got out of bed at dinner to force down some Chicken Noodle soup Michael made for me. He was so sweet.

I woke up Tuesday a little weak and woozy from the day before but headed to work. I have hardly anytime off throughout the rest of the year so I had to force myself to go. I know it is people like me that spread this stuff. But I am more apt to say it is corporate America. I am still not 100% but today brought the cough and cold symptoms. But I would say my scale is skewed a bit since it couldn't be any worse than it was Sunday through Monday.

But I am jumping ahead of myself. Yesterday also was an injury day. I got a call on my way to daycare yesterday afternoon that Lily injured her hand and I needed to come get her immediately. Luckily I was only a stoplight away because I was panicking. The word X-ray and swelling jumbled through the cellphone as I sped up to the center.

When I walked into her class she was in the corner with one of her old teachers. The teacher was cradling her like a little baby something she never lets you do anymore. The toddler energy prevents any cuddling that doesn't occur on the run. Her face was extremely puffy from crying and she was breathing hard from her crying fit. She clutched her blanket like someone would steal it from her at any moment. At that moment I saw a little glimpse of myself in her. The way my eyes swell when I cry hard and my face gets red and puffy and the way I struggle to catch my breathe. I had never seen her this upset. Not even when she hit her head in the garage a few months back. I knew it was going to be bad.

The owner and teacher explained to me what happened. The teacher was pushing some toys outside and Lily had snuck behind her without the teacher realizing. After the toys were passed the door, the industrial door (the kinds with the push bar opening mechanisms) closed but Lily's hand was in the hinged side of it. Ouch. The owner said Lily was hysterical wouldn't let her touch it and it looked like it needed an x-ray.

I rushed her to our pediatrician who thankfully is right around the corner from daycare (such a good idea and fabulous planning on our part). Of course he sent us straight to urgent care to get it x-rayed. I should have just skipped that step. But I wanted it looked at as soon as possible. He sent us to an orthapedic urgent care so we could get everything done at a one stop shop. He did say the odds were on our sides as it takes a lot to break a child's hand since it is so much cartilage.

By this time she was not crying but would scream if she tried to use the finger. Even when she reached for the cookie I tried to give her. They adapt so quickly though because she learned that hand was not useable. She got the cookie but not the way I wanted her to. So I say this cookie test was a fail. The pointer finger was the worse and was so swollen the skin had broken and was really purple. The middle finger was swollen and bruised but not as bad. I had seen her bend it so I was really only worried about the one finger.
The whole time to urgent care I am thinking a) How the hell to you get an x-ray of a toddlers hand? b) How the hell to you immobilize a toddler's broken finger? This is going to be interesting.

Luckily the finger was not broken just a lot of soft tissue damage. We were sent home with instructions to ice and Motrin on a routine basis for three days. I will say the x-ray was just as bad as I suspected. That poor X-ray guy. She screamed and fought the whole time. Michael is convinced we fried her brain during it because she was squirming right under the machine unprotected except for her chest.

A unexpected sweet moment of the whole experience was getting to see the tiny X-ray of her hand. So sweet and tiny with the bones not even grown together yet. It reminded me of the first time I saw that little hand when I was only 12 weeks pregnant during our ultrasound. You could even see the little tiny chubbiness of it then and now. For a moment I remember how little she still is and how the injuries have only just begun.

So needless to say my lack of posting has been justified. But upcoming I have NCSU homecoming, and fair pictures finally!