Soon I'll Get My Frequent Customer Card

This weekend had a bit of an interruption in the form of a trip to Urgent Care for E3. She had been complaining of pain on the external parts of her ear, but it wasn't really impeding her activities or slowing her down one bit so I was unsure it was even an ear infection. We were administering homeopathic ear drops and the occasional dose of ibuprofen and all seemed fine. That is until Saturday morning when the pain amped up a bit and was joined by unbearable itching that she was sure couldn't wait until Monday morning.

Swimmer's Ear.

I had no idea Swimmer's Ear was anything more than having water stuck in your ear - you know, where you shake your head around a bit and the air bubble shifts and the water dribbles out of your ear. But there it is, and we got some antibiotic ear drops to take care of things.

So, we spent the rest of the weekend putting drops in her ears and putting in earplugs for swimming. Monday dawned as the last day for ear drops. Hooray!

Monday night was soccer practice for both E2 and E3; different teams and different locations in town. E1 and I rode our bikes past both practices and stopped to watch for a bit before cruising around town and heading home. The weather was finally, FINALLY, not oven-hot with heavy-duty humidity and I took the opportunity to sit on the front porch swing.

It was all very bucolic.

Then the soccer players and their coach/Dad returned, and the girls came outside to tell me about their practices, and the friends on their teams, and funny things the coaches said. This, of course, lead to general cavorting in the front yard...and being girls, particularly girls who are in gymnastics, the natural progression of the cavorting led to cartwheels and things they do in gym...

E3 attempted a 'bridge-back' (a.k.a. a back bend), and as her hands met the ground she crumpled in a heap, crying. She came back to me on the swing insisting her wrist was broken because she "heard a loud CRACK"...and I realized I'd heard it, but wasn't sure what I had heard. I think E2 heard it as well as I remember seeing her head whip around at E3.

With what we hope was disguised fear, we iced it, and gave E3 ibuprofen, and tried to encourage her to wiggle her fingers...but she could not be persuaded to release it from the cradle of her right hand. I convinced her to take a bath with the promise that I would wrap it when she was done and the warm water seemed to relax and comfort her enough to let her arm float. We tucked her in with her wrapped wrist and the hope that a night of rest would make it all better.

But it was not to be...I took the wrap off this morning because I wanted to wash it (it was filthy from a few months ago when she sprained her ankle and I let her wear it without a sock over it) and because I wanted to see if she would use it more. Nope.

And so, off to Urgent Care we went - our Dr's office doesn't have radiology available and would have sent us there for x-rays anyway. I learned from Saturday's experience and we each ate a slice of cold pizza on the drive over and I brought some snacks for E3, because once again we were heading there over the lunch hour.

When the tech finally did the scan I was standing behind the computer screen as it came up...and when she entered the room to look at it she winced.

"Is that what I think it is?" I asked.

"I think so," she replied.

E3 has a broken arm.

Her arm has a splint, and a sling, and E3 seems greatly satisfied with the stabilization they provide. Once her regular Dr gets the report the splint will be replaced with a cast...just in time for the start of school.

I'm glad this didn't happen at the beginning of the summer...she's glad it's not her right hand.