Pete had a restless night and woke up early, cranky and still unwilling to put weight on his foot. Zero bruising, very minor swelling, but he tried to stand up on it and fell down crying. Poor little guy. I dosed him with ibuprofen, offered him an icepack, and took him to the weekend clinic as soon as it opened. (Good thing I was there early -- boy, does that place fill up quickly.)
The staff were great. We got in quickly, got X-rayed quickly, got splinted quickly, and got home an hour and a half after we left. The X-rays looked normal but the doctor said it can be tricky to identify a fracture in a 3yo's ankle. He tried to wrap Pete in just an Ace bandage, but Pete still wasn't willing to bear any weight that way. The nurse put him in a splint and he is hobbling around happily now. (The nurse also helped me out. I went in with an empty stomach and realized just before it was time for us to go that I was thisclose to throwing up in the exam room garbage can. Morning sickness in my 31st week -- not what I'm used to. She took pity on my green self and brought me a much-appreciated juice box.)
Monday morning a radiologist will review the X-ray; Monday afternoon we'll follow up in family practice. Here's hoping the hobbling is short-lived.
Oh, and there was not even a glimmer of a suggestion that they were concerned about possible abuse. I said he fell at preschool; they took it at face value. Wonder if that neighbor has any clue that her decision is still causing me stress in the middle of October?
Prayers that he gets a 'clean bill of health' from the radiologist on Monday and hoping that he's feeling more comfortable.
I think your thoughts re CPS are totally normal given what you went through--the few times we have had accident "followups" with our ped I find similar thoughts going through my mind. As far as the neighbor, I have the suspicion that even if she did know that it was causing you stress the attitude would be that it was worth it. People with that mindset seem to be of the "if it only saves one child!" < insert handwringing> mentality.
Posted by: KatieButler | October 12, 2008 at 07:09 AM
Thank God he's okay!
I've recently added a new blog to my reading list, and I thought you would really relate to this story of hers: http://fourby40.blogspot.com/search/label/Being%20Real%20-%20Reported%20Story
Posted by: Erin | October 12, 2008 at 10:41 AM
So sorry you're still thinking about your CPS ordeal. When my oldest rolled off the bed at 5 months and the ped recommended taking her to the emergency room, I was scared to death that some sort of investigation would be involved and I've never been investigated before. And I agree: this neighbor would probably think it was appropriate for you to still be concerned. She wouldn't be losing any sleep over your stress.
Posted by: mary | October 13, 2008 at 06:53 AM