Our first (very minor) Winnipeg ER experience - August 10

It'd been a busy week leading up to our Ontario camping trip, so Friday night was to be when I loaded up the van and got us ready to go.  Unfortunately, plans changed when the after-dinner jaunt to our local playground saw Iz accidentally flung off the top of a play structure, landing with a thud on her side.  I wasn't there.  But she came home crying with a very swollen arm through her elbow area, not willing to bend it.  She shrieked in pain at certain movements.  Iz is a tricky kid in the pain department.  At times, she has been very ill with pneumonia or breathing problems and hasn't even registered a fever nor any complaints.  Just vaguely doesn't seem her normal energetic self.  She can also jump hard off things, fall down, dust off and keep right on running, not registering pain from scrapes or cuts.  She can be tough, play rough.  But then again, one tug of a comb through the hair can evoke death shrieks, a sibling bumping her can leave her moaning for half an hour.  It can be hard to discern between her dramatic flair and her at times, dulled pain sensations.

So . . . after getting the other two to bed, I decided it was best to make sure it wasn't cracked.  Not what I wanted to be doing.  Fortunately I grabbed my computer, some snacks, a borrowed "Shaun the Sheep" DVD which had 3 hours of episodes (which I won't be watching again having watched them all!) and a few comfort objects.   The ER was packed and the queue just got longer as police brought in numerous street folks in different stages of drug use (it seemed), often very scantily clad, one ripping off all clothes in protest.  I got to see a side of downtown I don't normally and was glad Iz fell asleep around 11:00 so she didn't pick up some new vocabulary or feel encouraged in her nudist tendencies . . . 

Tired us killing some time making faces on the computer camera

After 4 hours of waiting, the swelling had subsided a lot and she was letting me move it more.  But having waited so long I wanted to double check all was well.  After midnight, we saw a doctor for all of 3 minutes - he was obviously overwhelmed with more pressing cases, not bothering to wake Iz up to check her - just touched her elbow.  Sounding like an overly-worried Mom, I explained her pain tolerance and asked if he could at least bend her arm or wake her up.  "No, she'd be awake shrieking if it was really a problem."  Well, I'm off to Ontario tomorrow and just want to make sure.  "There are hospitals all over Canada.  You can get a second opinion tomorrow."  

Thanks.  The bonus was, I got to watch my first taste of the Olympics (on Day 17!).  And Iz was a really great trooper, snuggling the whole time.  It was nice to have one-on-one time with her, something that seldom happens for such prolonged time.  She was the great welcoming voice in the ER waiting room, talking to all sorts of folks from my lap (her voice carries so well).  We all got a kick when I indulged her with a little bag of Hawkins Cheezies.   Each one got a commentary on what it looked like, with her loudly exclaiming about a big fat one, "Aww . . . 'dis one looks like a cute, little piece of poo!"  That's likely humour where you just had to be there.

All said, we're thankful she was fine - having our active kid in a cast was the last thing we needed.  She favoured her arm for about five days.  And she still complains here and there about it, but usually when she's been corrected for something and feels upset.  Then she'll yell out, "But my arm hurts!"  Nice try.