Elbow Update

So, back on the 14th, I took Addison in to see the pediatrician, Dr. Miller, about her  elbow.  We'd had a second set of x-rays taken the evening before, so I was all ready to get some solid answers.  Unfortunately, Dr. Miller couldn't see anything on the x-ray except for the displaced fat pad.  That was just the first frustration....the hits just kept on coming!  He said that he did not understand why the previous doctor had us wait a week to come see him, and that Addison's arm had been splinted incorrectly the entire time!  I was not a happy mama!  Dr. Miller also said that he wanted Addison to see an orthopedic surgeon as soon as possible to make sure the injury wasn't affecting her growth plates or nerves.  He splinted Addison's arm again, and got us an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon for the next morning.

Needless to say, I was a complete nervous wreck that entire day.  I was so worried about the possibility of Addison having permanent damage to her elbow, and was trying so hard not to be frustrated at the instacare physician we had initially seen.  We tat the surgeon's office for a while before Dr. Barker came in.  Luckily, he had some good news for us!  He, also, couldn't really see much on the x-ray, but said that he was 99% sure her growth plates and nerves weren't affected.  He said it could still possibly be a small fracture or crack, but was likely just a really bad sprain.  I was so happy and relieved to hear that!  He gave us the option of going back to a splint, or just putting a cast on it.  Given how accident-prone Addison seems to be, we opted for the cast for a couple weeks.

Earlier this morning, I took Addison back to the orthopedic surgeon to have her elbow x-rayed again and see about taking her cast off.  She was SO ready to get it off!  That's all that she'd been talking about for days.  They took us back to the casting room, and actually took the cast off first.  Even though I had prepared her for the saw, she still freaked out a little bit when the nurse turned it on.  She calmed down pretty quickly, though, and it only took about a minute to get the whole thing off.

After the cast was off, they took her in for a couple x-rays, and then we waited for Dr. Barker to come in.  He came in, poked her elbow for a minute, and told us that everything seemed to be just fine!  It was apparently just a sprain, and that in a few days after the stiffness goes away, she should be good as new!  We're really happy that this wasn't a more serious situation, and Addison is just happy that she can now swim and ride her bike again!