Broken Clavicle

So Max has had a very exciting week...

Right before the time change he came in to my bedroom. He was coughing and I could hear him breathing. The time was 1.55am. I wasn't sure if it was the first 1.55am or the second. I let Max crawl in the bed for a little bit, until the clock went from 1.59 to 1.00. And then I got up and got the nebulizer. I gave him a dose but it didn't seem to do anything. Since it sounded a bit like croup I turned on the hot water in the shower and kept him in the bathroom for a bit. That also didn't work, so I bundled him up and got ready to go to the ER. The cold air helped a little, but he was still not sounding very good. We went in the ER, they listened to him, and gave him a dose of steroids. We got home around 4am and went to bed.

Later in the morning, Max fell down the stairs. No one is real quite sure what happened. But he fell. He cried. I snuggled him. He calmed down. His eyes were reactive, he wasn't crying, and he calmed down. So we did not go back to the ER.

On Monday Mark took him to the doctor for his breathing issues. She checked him out for the fall and saw no real issues. Mark took Max for an xray of his adenoids (they are HUGE) and then came home.

Tuesday Mark took Max to NannyJo's house. When I picked the babies up, she commented on Max not using his left arm. I brought him home and noticed that even when offered two drinks, he wasn't using his left arm. So I called the doctor's office and they agreed to see us if I could get there before they closed. I am so happy we changed to a doctor just a mile from the house!! We got to the doctor's office with 15 minutes to spare. They confirmed that he was not using his arm and recommended we go to the ER to have them do xrays.

So I put the 4 kids back into the van, ran home to get some snacks and to change out of my suit, and we went to the ER. I really like the Springfield HealthPlex! They are very quick to get you to a nurse and although it almost always takes 2 hours, you are not often left alone to wait for a doctor or nurse. They did xrays and confirmed Max has a broken clavicle! They gave us a tiny little sling for him and sent us home wtih instructions to get him in with a specialist the next day.

So on what would have been my third day at my new job, I teleworked and took Max to the orthapedic specialist. They checked him out, told us the sling was good as long as Max wanted to protect his arm, but that we could stop using the sling at the point Max seemed willing to start using his arm again. That's handy information! They also gave us a brace for him to wear ALL THE TIME to help keep his shoulders back so his bone will heal straight. We go back in 3 weeks for a checkup. It could be up to 8 weeks before his bone has healed. And his swimming classes are cancelled.

He seems to be doing very well. He's not taking much medicine (and he was only getting tylenol) and he seems to be mostly running around and being his normal ActionMax self. He did try to run across our bed last night and fell and then cried, but other than that he doesn't seem to be hurting himself and seems to remember to take care of his arm. We've also mastered some tricks like putting his jacket on "bad arm" first and we have figured out how to lift him up without putting any strain on his broken bone.