Worst call ever...

I'm in my room with a student working at about 9:30 when my phone rings.  Really, my phone never rings and I have it on a very low setting so it was kind of shocking I registered that I was getting a call at all.  My student happened to be on "reward time" so I just happened to be at my desk.  It was all as if it was meant to be!  We have caller ID, so I saw that it was the main office.  I figured I'd better answer.  When I picked up, it was M's daycare.  "Hello, this is *Assistant Director* at *M's school*.  She has been crying all morning and we think we have it narrowed down to her arm.  She hasn't been moving her right arm all morning and cries at the slightest movement.  We tried giving her her sippy just to her right arm and she wouldn't take it."  Poor baby!  I went across the hall to get the school nurse (who knows my student well) to see if she would cover me for a minute so I could call M's pediatrician and Daddy (who was home sick this morning with my stomach stuff... ewww!).  She said, "No, you just need to go right now.  Just go right to urgent care." 

I made the fastest arrangements I've probably ever made and headed out the door.  I left a quick message on JJ's phone on my way out the door.  Smart me I had programmed M's pediatrician's office into my cellphone and called them on the road to daycare.  They said they had an opening immediately (with the other ped. in the office) and could see her for that type of health concern.  When I got there the Director of the daycare met me at the door with M crying.  She looked miserable.  We got her into her coat.  Wailing.  I got her into her carseat.  Screaming.  Poor sweet baby girl.  I kept telling her that we were going to the doctor and he would make it all better.  When she heard doctor, she said, "No more monkeys!  Naughty, naughty monkeys!"  (That's what she knows of doctors right now: Momma called the doctor and the doctor said, "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!")  As I was gingerly getting M into her carseat, Daddy called and said he was heading out a little later to do vision screenings at a school with his class - he had missed morning class but felt better.  He would meet us at the clinic to see what we should do the rest of the day.

We beat Daddy to the clinic and she was just absolutely worn out from crying.  She was worried as the nurse tried to weigh her and resigned to a little cuddle time as the nurse took down "the story".  JJ was the next to arrive, thank goodness.  Daddy just brings a sense of calm to intense situations.  I *try* it's just when my baby is crying like that I want it fixed yesterday... you know?  Daddy felt M's arm and told me exactly what he thought was wrong.  Subluxation of the radial head (of the elbow).  Uh-huh... EXACTLY what I was going to say...  Doctor came in.  He again wanted to know the scoop.  He wanted to know a specific incident last night or this morning.  I totally believe my daycare that they were twirling her around by her wrists or anything like that!  I think it definitely was a case of a kiddo grabbing her wrist and she wanted to go one way and he wanted to go the other or a good bonk that went unnoticed until she tried to move it or whatever.

He felt her arm - to M's discomfort and pain.  I'm sure she was also worried and anxious at this point.  All this hullabaloo, pain, unfamiliar situation, not in the routine, etc. He said he wanted us to take a little time - read a book or two and see if she would start moving her arm on her own.  If not, he wanted her to have x-rays done.  Sure enough.  It was crazy!  We read one, maybe two pages, and she completely started using her arm again.  No more tears.  Laughing and playing with Mommy and Daddy.  It was such a miracle.  JJ looked at us reading and said, "THAT is why I want to be a doctor."

Now whenever MVJ hears the word "better" (as in - "You're so warm, let's take off your sweater.  There, that's better.") she says, "Doctor.  Better."  We are so happy she has this positive association with doctors.  Maybe the sucker at the end of the visit helped... : )