Unintentional injury

There are few things as disheartening as accidentally injuring your child. Namine likes to walk on my feet and I’m happy to accommodate her. But the bones in her legs are fragile, and she has already suffered three accidental fractures in her legs. I like to think I’m careful not to injure her, but accidents…

There are few things as disheartening as accidentally injuring your child.

Namine likes to walk on my feet and I’m happy to accommodate her. But the bones in her legs are fragile, and she has already suffered three accidental fractures in her legs. I like to think I’m careful not to injure her, but accidents can happen.

Last night, she asked me to help her walk on my feet. We’ve done this before — she puts her feet on top of mine, and I hold her hands as we walk, taking baby steps together. But two nights ago, things went awry. Her right foot slipped, and she sat down, hard. She’s taken falls on her butt before, and normally that wouldn’t bother her. But on her way down, her right leg was under her, as she sat down, she landed on top of her ankle.

Looking back, it was probably a good thing that it was her right leg that went under her. Her right knee bends, at least — her left does not bend much, and she’s hurt it trying to kneel before. At least she didn’t hurt her knee, too.

As it was, however, landing on top of her ankle, which already suffered a fracture a couple years ago, must have hurt a lot. She didn’t cry — she screamed. I laid her down, and both Jessica and I wondered if we should go to the ER (it was late) to have it x-rayed. We gave Namine an ice pack to put on her leg, and she calmed herself down quickly. Soon after, she declared that her leg felt fine, and she was ready for her bath. She didn’t complain about her leg at all for the rest of the evening.

Yesterday evening, however, Namine complained of her ankle hurting again. She and Jessica had just arrived home from therapy, and as Namine was climbing out of her wheelchair onto the floor of the apartment, she winced and fell down. We worried again that it was broken, so we made a trip to Urgent Care after I came home from work.

Despite being in pain, Namine was her normal cheery self. It takes a lot to get her down, and it’s not like her to let a little of pain — or even a lot — get in the way. And that’s the trouble; she often will deny being in pain, especially when talking to doctors. But she’s getting used to telling doctors and nurses what’s going on, and she was very helpful at Urgent Care.

They ended up taking four x-rays of Namine’s leg and ankle, for which Namine smiled. They’re pictures of her, after all, and she likes to look her best. The pictures themselves could not have been clearer, and showed that she has no injury to her bones whatsoever. All three of us were much relieved.

The doctor said that Namine just sprained her foot, and recommended icing it if it ached. She also gave Namine an Ace wrap, for which she was grateful. She went to bed complaining of her ankle hurting her, but wearing the wrap, she said, made it feel a little better.

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