10.14.2009

Surgery NOT on her agenda!

Last week ended on a sour note in our house. My sweet little girl, Riley, has been fighting with medical issues ever since she was dx with chiari malformation in 2003. Well, I think last Thursday took the cake for her. Not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.

Last Thursday, Riley, had an accident at school at the lunch hour recess, but she was so embarrassed that she didn't really tell anyone how serious it was. She was playing on the monkey bars, and when she got across, she placed both feet on the metal bar step and tried to turn around. As she tried to turn, both feet slipped off the step and her crotch took a direct hit (Wave your hands if you have done something like this in your life?!?!?). She said she cried, got off the steps, and walked over to a corner for the rest of the time. She didn't tell any of her friends, and she didn't any of the adult safety patrols either. As she waddled back into school, she did mention it to her teacher. Her teacher told her, "You need to be careful because that area is very sensitive" and that was the end of the conversation. She continued through the day without mentioning it to another soul.

At 3:16, I went to school to pick Riley up (Keegan was not in school that day because he was up vomiting the night before). As she came out the doors, I could see that she was not walking well at all. I asked what was wrong and she told me that she fell off of the monkey bars and hit her crotch on the metal bar step. A shiver went up my spine because I KNOW how badly that hurts.
I asked her if she was OK and she told me, "It hurts a lot". I had one errand to run and thought she might be OK to run it with us. We got to the store and looked around a bit before the the gruesome foursome all blurted out that they had to go potty. I sent the boys into the boys room, and the girls into the girls room and I waited right outside both bathrooms. The girls were in no longer than 30 seconds when Carson came out and said, "Mom, Riley has blood in her undies!!" I called the boys out to come into the girls room with me, and noticed that Riley did indeed have blood. I knew her monkey bar accident was much worse than she lead onto be. I grabbed all four kids, put the items I had back, and we headed back to the car, but not before putting a call into the peds office. After a bit, I finally got a hold of our nurse and she told me to take Riley home, examine the area if possible, and if anything got worse in the mean time to take her right to the Emergency Room.

On our way home, I called Matt and my mom to see who could come cover the 3 amigos while I worked with Riley. She was in so much pain that I just took her right to the ER. She was SO scared that they were going to have to do surgery. She made it very clear that surgery was not on her agenda!! Luckily, it was a slow afternoon in the ER, we were able to get in right away. As they took us into triage, the nurse asked if this could be anything other than an accident. It took a second for it to register what she was talking about, then I said, "NO, this girl LOVES the monkey bars and she had the callouses on her hands to prove it". At that point, I got scared!

The staff was great. They had a female NP on and she took the lead. She was able to take a small peek at Riley and the damage that was caused, and between the both of us we decided it was best to call in a OB/GYN to make sure she wasn't hurt worse that what we saw. For that to happen, they needed to sedate Riley so she wouldn't fight us. The sedative they used was Ketamine. We had never used that one before and was a bit nervous of the side effects. The ER doc assured me that if monitored closely she would be alright, which she was. Once the drug took affect, the poor girl was chasing bugs on the ceiling, but never notice the OB/GYN examining her. After a good peek, the doc noticed that she had a good 1 inch cut, but because of the location he was not able to place any stitches. After he finished, we waited for the sedative to wear off, which caused her to be severely dizzy, which then caused her to puke. 2 doses of Zofran were given to help with the vomiting. After about 1 1/2 hours of recovery, she finally came through all the meds and we were able to go home.

Riley stayed home Friday with a doctors note, but it was hard on her. She didn't leave my side, she cried all weekend, when my parents came over she hid from them, not talking to them while they were here - which is VERY odd for her. I am not sure how much more trauma this little girl can take. She is not playing with any of her friends at school and she is barely participating. I've talked to her teachers and they are on board with getting the school counselor on board and maybe even some outside help. I am afraid Riley is slipping back into her egg. If anyone has any suggestions for me, please leave a comment.

5 comments:

Lost A Sock said...

Poor Riley girl. I don't have any advice, but I hope things get better for her. She's such an awesome girl.

Kath said...

Poor Riley :( I hope she feels better soon

Vic said...

Oh how rough! I haven't been by in awhile and just was reading a bit... Sounds like a tramatic injury. Hopefully she recovers quickly.

Angela said...

Just catching up here - Poor girl. I've hit there hard too as a kid -- a bike though. Yeah, I'd get her to see someone too -- someone removed from your situation so they can draw it out of her. How can she have been through so much and not need to talk. As she matures and realizes even more about Chiari, she may need it even more. I think you're on the right track with finding a counselor.

Becky said...

Oh my goodness poor Riley! I cringe just thinking about her pain.. yikes... Hope she is doing better now...

Speaking of monkey bars... I think I was right there with you on those monkey bars...funny how all these old memories come back. I remember the huge blisters I got on my hands one time. Good olde Badger school ☺ remember we used to practically live over on that playground even on the weekends!