Proximal humerus fracture - part 3

So as you may have figured out from the titles of the previous posts, the official diagnosis for BR's broken arm is "proximal humerus fracture" on the left side. It's a broken shoulder, the humerus, or upper arm bone broken right at the top. On top of being broken, the bone also moved sideways, causing a displacement of almost 2 cms. Given that BR's arm is not all that wide, it's a big break. Not surprising that anyone who saw the x-ray of the shoulder had a strong reaction.

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I think all three of us were expecting BR to get a cast before getting discharged from the hospital. We were more than a little surprised to be sent home with just a little sling to support her hand. The idea behind it was to get gravity to pull the arm down and get the bone aligned. A great idea in theory, but quite a hard thing to manage when it comes time to try to sleep. The slightest movement and her arm would start hurting, so the first few nights BR would wake up screaming in pain, and even when she was asleep she would be whimpering and whining in her sleep.

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BR is generally not a big fan of medication. It's always been hard to get her to take any antibiotics or pain killers, no matter how crappy she might be feeling. Luckily she hasn't required much medication in the past. Even at the hospital, she was not keen on taking the medicine provided to her.

Turns out, a broken bone convinced her of the usefulness of pain killers. By Thursday morning, she was counting the hours until she was allowed the next dose of whichever medication was coming up. We made sure she got a dose immediately before bedtime so she'd get some relief during her sleep, and if she woke up in pain in the middle of the night, we offered her some as well (with varying success). A few days in, she was back to her usual distrust of medication, giving us some hope that her state was improving.

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The first few days were pretty rough. BR was so quiet and sad, unable to move much, just sitting there. She was a trooper, not complaining much at all, and she appreciated being able to watch TV most of the day. She could not use her left hand at all, couldn't really move (walking down the hall took 15 minutes), didn't feel like eating much. She enjoyed reading e-books, so I bought a few and let her read them on my tablet - but that didn't last long.Thankfully I figured out a way to borrow those from the library, because at 20 minutes per book, it was becoming an expensive habit (kid books are not that expensive, but they are pretty short).

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When we left the hospital we were asked to book a follow-up appointment at the hospital's orthopedic clinic a week later. Counting down the days to the appointment helped us pass the time, and keep our anxiety in check. DH and I were a little worried about the possible complications in case the bone didn't get aligned (surgery, having to re-break the bone?). We tried not to worry about it too much, but all our googling indicated that this is a fairly rare type of fracture in small kids, and none of the x-ray pictures I found online looked as displaced as BRs. So while we tried to remain positive, we had some nagging worries in the back of our minds. And of course we didn't want to worry BR either.

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As BR started feeling slightly better, her mood changed too. She was getting frustrated, both with the situation and with us. At the same time as she regained some strength and energy she felt ready to move more, and we had to remind her of her broken bone. She was also getting bored with the limited number of activities she was able to do. Add to it the crappy sleep, and it's no surprise it was a rough week.

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The one bright spot that week was all the love sent our way by friends and family. BR's class sent her a full envelope of cards and notes from each student. Her teacher prepared her a wonderful bucket full of surprises. A friend dropped by and chatted with her for a little while and they did some crafts together. BR loved receiving flowers and stuffed animals, and she really enjoyed reading all the messages of encouragement in email and on FB.

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Since moving BR's left arm was out of the question, there was no way for us to remove her t-shirt. Since she was stuck at home all week and barely moving, we decided to keep the t-shirt on, giving her sponge baths from time to time. Finally, on the eve of our appointment at the clinic, we cut open the shirt sleeve and took it off, allowing her to have a full bath. Meanwhile I took a few of her shirts and dresses and opened up their left arm so we could get her dressed and undressed without moving the arm at all.