Emily's nursemaid's elbow

NURSEMAID'S ELBOW: This term has become a common word in our home. Beginning on July 11, 2011, Emily was diagnosed with nursemaid's elbow (radial head subluxation) - an injury when one of the elbow bones (radius) slips out of its normal place. On this monday night, following FHE, we were outside playing. Jon was holding Emily by both her hands and bouncing her from rock to rock in our backyard. All of a sudden, she just started screaming and crying. We couldn't figure out what had happened. It was really hot outside, so we thought that maybe she was just too hot. Jon brought her inside and after a couple minutes, she still would not settle down. So, I came in and thought that I would give her a bath to cool her down. As I was taking her clothes off to get ready, Jon mentioned the idea that maybe her arm was hurt since he had been holding her by her arms. Once he mentioned this, I started paying more attention to her arms and how she reacted to them. She was still crying this whole time. The problem became more obvious when I put her in the bath. She was crying and trying to reach for me, but she was only using her right arm. Something was wrong. We asked our neighbor to help Jon give Emily a blessing. Thankfully, Madison is here and so we left Brad with her at home, while Jon and I brought Emily to the ER. We got to the ER and into the waiting room. While I held Emily, as long as I didn't move her arm, she was somber and relaxed. We waited for about 45 minutes and then got brought back to a room. The doctor came in and believed that she did have nursemaid's elbow, but wanted to make sure. After Emily's assessment, the doctor brought in some toys and then did a slow but constant turn of Emily's arm to replace the bone in her elbow. After about 20 seconds, Emily used her hurt arm to grab for the toys in front of her. It was a miracle! It was so glorious to see her use her arm.

Well, two weeks later - Monday, July 25, 2011 - After FHE, we went as a family to the Johnson County Fair. Tonight was the night of the Truck and Tractor Pull... a favorite here in Iowa! We were all excited, especially Brad! The parking for the event was about a 1/2 mile walk away, so Jon put Brad on his shoulders, and I put Emily on mine for the trek (I was keeping her on by holding onto her hands). Emily was doing great until we got to the Tractor Pull. We thought she was just fussy because everything was so loud and overwelming. (It is so loud during this event, that they pass out ear plugs so you don't go deaf). After getting her down and settled, I realized that something was again wrong with her left arm. She was very fussy and was only reaching for me with her right arm. Now, remembering how the doctor had fixed her arm before, I did a slow and constant twist in just the same way. However, trying to "pop" your daughters arm back into place while she is screaming and the tractors are so loud was very scary for me and so I stopped. We decided that we had better go back to the ER. Again, we went back home and left Brad with Madison (such a blessing), and Jon and I took Emily to the ER. When we arrived, there were about 50 people in the waiting room. I was thinking, "We are going to be here for hours." However, Heavenly Father showed us many tender mercies of which we are forever grateful. The triage nurse took us back to assess and check Emily into the computer. When she realized why we had come, she mentioned that this same thing had happened to her daughter, and she knew it was a simple fix. She was about to have us go wait in the waiting room, when she decided to take us straight back to a room. We walked all the way to the opposite side of the ER to get to our room, only to find that this room was occupied. The nurse asked us to wait in the hall while she figured out which room we could go to. While standing there, we looked around and saw the same doctor who had helped us 2 weeks prior. This was such a blessing. We met eyes and she gestured towards us to say hi. I said "Hi, do you remember us. We had the baby with nursemaid's elbow." She responded, "Oh yes, what are you in for today." Jon and I both responded, "The same thing." Just then, the triage nurse came by and asked if we minded waiting on a bed that was in the hallway. Of course, we were just so happy to not be in the waiting room. The doctor heard the nurse and then told us, "I will see you over there." We felt so blessed and watched over. Wow! What miracles!" The doctor came over to see us, assessed Emily's arm, and rotated it back into place. Just that quickly! Just like last time, Emily began using her arm within seconds. Wow! Then, the doctor taught both Jon and I how to fix nursemaid's elbow incase Emily gets it again. We then thanked our nurse and doctor with all our hearts and checked out from the ER. Even though a lot had happened, we had only been in the ER for about 20 minutes! I truly was a miracle for Emily and for our family!

Hopefully, this is the last time Emily's poor left arm feels any pain of this sort. She is a strong girl and we are so grateful it was a quick fix so she can continue working to keep up with her brother. We love our girl so very much!