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May 28, 2008
Aches and Pains
Years ago, and I mean like 40, my sister did something to her foot that led her to complain about it one night. She was about five.
The next day she played on it without issue. That night she complained of pain.
The following day she played on it again without any problem only to have bedtime aches.
The next day mom took her to the doctor where the foot was X-rayed, found to have been broken and in the process of healing.
"You should have seen the looks the nurses gave me. As if they thought I was the worst mother in the world," my mom has said when she tells that story.
And that's the story I told the doctor today when I took Samson in.
"So you're here trying to avoid getting mean looks later," he said laughing.
"Basically, yes. But he has been complaining and he seems to have trouble walking."
It all started when I took Sam to the bicycle shop for bike gloves. And I only mention this part of the story so I can say that I paid more for his gloves than I did mine. I agonized over spending $20.00 on bike gloves for myself (I said $25 in the video from last week and didn't realize my mistake until the film had gone through post production) — and I cranked out almost 2400 miles last year — but didn't give a second thought to spending $22.00 on gloves for Samson. I don't know what gene it is that makes me like this but I need to get it reversed; I'm the one with the job, I should get things I want without worrying too much over them. (I doubt Sam comes anywhere near 2400 miles going up and down our street.)
After we got the gloves home Samson needed to hop on the bike to test them out. Naturally, what with it being late in the evening on Memorial Day, he banged his foot up. Maybe I should have gotten him boots instead.
The foot continued to have trouble bearing weight Tuesday morning so we shot off to the doc's.
Anyway we went for an X-ray that was taken by a gal named Morag. When I asked if that was Scottish she replied, "That's a good guess." She was polite about it so I stopped short of explaining that as Americans go I wasn't all that stupid. Surprisingly, it wasn't until she'd given her name that I was able to hear her accent. When I commented on it she explained that she'd had to put some work into getting to the point American doctors could understand her clearly. Later I asked if she'd be kind enough to say "Captain, she can't take much more"; she politely declined. (And, no… I didn't really ask that.)
Sam's foot is not broken. It's just a bone bruise, or a muscle bruise or some other type of thing that's treated with ibuprofen, ice packs and Jack Daniels. He should be fine in a couple of days.
Technorati Tags: Cycling
Posted by delmer at May 28, 2008 12:27 AM
Comments
That's what they recommended for me. Ice packs, advil and JD. Then AA. Ahhhh memories.
Posted by: libragirl/Rachel at May 28, 2008 5:46 AM
Tequila shooters works for my girls every time!
Posted by: Mikeo at May 28, 2008 8:19 AM
Must be the season. I buggered up my ankle last weekend by...just walking. Yup. Graceful, I know. I was just walking along and somehow managed to step down on the outside of my left foot instead of the bottom of it. The pain was immediate and intense, but I shook it off and kept walking (I was at a neighbor's house and didn't want to make a big deal out of how uncoordinated I can be). The rest of the day, the foot was actually fine. Until the evening, when the pain was so severe I was trying to figure out if it was possible to break a bone and have it not bother you for 5 hours. I did the icepack and Advil, but the JD was too high up for me to reach (step stool probably would have caused another mishap). Woke up the next morning and it was MUCH better. It's been bothering me on and off this week, but more off than on, so I think I'm going to live.
Posted by: Emma at May 28, 2008 9:18 AM
Rachel: I should probably start lining up a sponsor. :)
MikeO: Tequila shooters now ... Jello shots in 15 years.
Emma: I was playing basketball back when I was 22. A guy came down on my foot in such a way he twisted his ankle and was out the rest of the game -- I was fine and continued to play; it was likely around 1 p.m. About 7 I had to drive back to school and found my ankle so sore I had trouble holding the clutch in. The next day I was on crutches and had to be driven to classes. I was fine a couple of days later.
I hope you heal up OK.
Posted by: delmer at May 28, 2008 9:44 AM
I stepped on my foot "wrong" and thought I had only twisted the ankle. I walked on it for three days before going to the hospital (broken in two places!) Son1 fell whle playing soccer on a Friday. Didn't complain until Tuesday--You got it! Broken. They had to reset it! Sometimes these things can't be avoided. I'm sure doctors have heard all sorts of stories! Did you get questioned by a child advocate? Those are always fun!!
Posted by: metalmom at May 28, 2008 9:35 PM
MetalMom: Three days! Yikes. So far I've avoided contact with child advocates. Our trips to Urgent Care must be spaced out far enough.
Posted by: delmer at May 28, 2008 9:58 PM
I can relate to your mom's story. At a year & a half, my daughter decided to disobey her mommy by getting out of the bathtub when I ran to get a towel in the hallway (literally 3 steps away, mind you). She got out of the tub on her own, slipped on the floor, and ended up spiral breaking her leg!
I will never forget bursting into tears when the x-ray tech confirmed it was indeed broken. All of the techs gathered around me to reassure me that I didn't suck as a mom.
She ended up with a hot pink cast, and was the most popular kid in daycare!
Posted by: Ginger at May 29, 2008 12:58 AM
Cassie walked on her broken ankle for three days before I took her in. Until they put her in a cast I thought those "looks" were - "what do you have her in HERE for?!? That kid should be outside playing! She'd be crying if her foot were broken!" *shrug shrug* When I was hurt as a kid my dad always told me, "Tell me again if it still hurts in a week."
Incidentally, I don't know why, but I'm having trouble posting a comment. I might triple post at least on the other one.
Posted by: Jill/Twipply Skwood at May 29, 2008 7:16 AM
Ginger: It's amazing how fast they can move toward danger ... and how slowly they can move when it comes time to putting their shoes on. (At any age.)
Jill: When Haydn had his knee problem we waited and wait -- he was sort of a fibber when he was younger and almost everything he said needed to be run through a BS filter. In the end he needed surgery. Kids are hard to troubleshoot sometimes.
Posted by: delmer at May 29, 2008 9:41 AM
Injuries are so hard to gauge--I bet it's even worse when it's your own child. Yesterday I accidentally stabbed myself in the hand with a kitchen knife, and I'm still wondering if a week from now I'm going to end up in the ER with gangrene and a stern lecture about tentus shots. :(
Posted by: diane at May 29, 2008 1:23 PM
Injuries are so hard to gauge--I bet it's even worse when it's your own child. Yesterday I accidentally stabbed myself in the hand with a kitchen knife, and I'm still wondering if a week from now I'm going to end up in the ER with gangrene and a stern lecture about tentus shots. :(
Posted by: diane at May 29, 2008 1:24 PM
This reminds me of a couple of incidents. When Jim was 2 he burnt his fingers on the barbecue. My wife's mother was not impressed with us.
Earlier this year Maggie bruised her face somehow in a fall. I imagined her teachers thinking of another cause, and they did query her, but she assured them.
Perception can sometime become reality these days.
Posted by: Michael at May 31, 2008 3:15 AM
Yeah, that's the thing about Cassie - she's never been a fibber or a wuss about that kind of thing. If she's saying she's hurt, she's hurt. It's just that I thought she'd be crying or something if it were broken.
It did make it a LOT easier with the jellyfish sting she got last weekend, because to look at it there was absolutely nothing wrong with her at all. So I was glad to know I didn't have to be skeptical about her screaming.
Posted by: Jill/Twipply Skwood at June 1, 2008 8:33 AM
Diane: Once, many years ago, some friends suggested I go to the ER "just for fun," as I was sure I wasn't injured. I ended up with stitches.
Michael: I don't know how true this is, but following Sam's accident and making jokes about Children's Services, someone told me that a child can have up to 9 bruises before CS has to get involved. Nine seems about right on my boys -- I just didn't know there was any sort of count at all.
Jill: I guess jelly fish stings can be pretty painful. When my niece was younger she got stung -- unfortunately, at the time, she was sort of a drama queen which impacted the level of immediate TLC she received ... upon closer parental examination the TLC was poured on as parental guilt escalated.
Just this weekend I saw a show about box jellyfish -- an Australian version that is very small and, yet, can kill a person.
Posted by: delmer at June 2, 2008 6:34 AM