Nursemaids Elbow

Have you ever heard of such a thing? I hadn't until yesterday when that's what happened to my sweet Ava Joy. I had just put her down while I turned around to get groceries out of the van. I turned back around just in time to see her running to the street. Instinct kicked in and I grabbed her. Unfortunately I grabbed her little wrist and when I did, I heard two pops. I knew instantly that I had hurt her. I carried her in and sat her on the sofa while I got everyone and everything else out of the van. She stayed on the sofa and kept grabbing at her arm. She couldn't move it without screaming. I took her in to the pediatrician; the whole drive there crying because I knew it was my fault that she was hurt and praying that the doctor would be able to do something about it and that it wasn't going to be another ER visit (and co-pay) and that my baby wasn't hurt too badly. Ava kept her arm fully extended and cried at the slighest movement. But our pediatrician is awesome! Have I ever bragged about her to you? She's very thorough and very conservative; she's a mom and is always willing to tell me her mom perspective and her doctor perspective. I've never not trusted her advice (like I have with other doctors!) and love that I can confidently talk to her about anything. She knows our whole family well and never forgets anything we've talked about. I've never felt rushed in her office; she is very friendly and I've never left her office without laughing with her. She's gained my kids' trust and they love her just as much as I do. She's very personable and has shared stories about her family, siblings, and even haircuts! So, you get the picture...we love our pediatrician! So she comes in yesterday and after I describe what happened she said that it sounded like Nursemaids Elbow. It is very common in children ages 1-5. Basically it's where a ligament gets stretched and stuck under the elbow bone. They have to get it to release by doing some very uncomfortable exercises. But she assured me that once it does release, there is no more pain. Sure enough, Ava screamed through the whole thing. Dr Wardell heard it pop. After that Ava calmed down. She wanted us to wait a few minutes to see if she would start using the arm again. It wasn't more than a few minutes before my little angel was laughing and running around and digging through my bag for a box of raisins. She was fine! Wha-hoo! No ER visit, co-pay, cast, sling, or any other things I imagined up in mind. I was SO grateful! I guess I lost my mother of the year award yesterday (you know, the one I was feeling I had earned earlier in the day when I so diligently cleaned my house and ventured out for some errands, including the grocery store, for the first time with 2 babies!) But at least my Ava was okay!