Crash Course on Radial Head Subluxation…

…What Every Mom Should Know.  Well, every physician mom should; the rest of us can call it a dislocated elbow.

Last night I was “helping” the munchkin hug her daddy and pulling on her hands (NOT hard) and then she made a face like this.  Prior to the face we all (especially her) where laughing hard!  And then disaster!

She cried and cried and her arm hung loosely by her side.  She refused to use it, even for chocolate.  We knew something was terribly wrong.  And I knew I was a terrible mother.  It is a horrible, no-good, rotten feeling, knowing you hurt your child.

I didn’t think it was broken because she COULD move it (but did not want to), there was no swelling, and she didn’t complain when I put gentle pressure on the bones.  She did cry if we tried to bend it at the elbow.  I googled pulling on toddler’s arm and found (right away – thank you Jesus!) “nursemaids elbow” a fairly common injury for children younger than five.

Then I googled how to treat it and found the blog Hold it Up to the Light (ironic) with an excellent explanation of how to treat it, with pictures.  Now, I wouldn’t normally try to diagnose or try any medical “fix” at home (nor do I suggest others try).  But in this case, I really felt like it was worth a shot.

The fix worked after just a second or two.  After not wanting to use her arm at all, I thought there would be some pain left.  But she got better right away, and a day later I can say all is good in her world.

I feel so blessed.  I am thankful to live in an age where you can “google” answers to almost any question.  I am thankful the Lord gave me enough background to understand what was happening.  I am thankful the Lord gave me courage to try.  I am thankful fixing it took seconds.  I am thankful we didn’t have to go to the doctor and we didn’t have to wait in the ER late at night (for her) waiting for entrance.  Mostly, I feel blessed the munchkin was alright in the end.

I just am so thankful!

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