Sunday: A&E
Sep. 26th, 2006 09:45 amLinnea had a rotten night. At some point on Saturday she hurt her arm - she spent some time swinging out of people - and complained quietly about her hurt wrist. "My bang my wrist," she said. "My wrist is hurt." On the train we established that she could squeeze a finger, and that she didn't have pain any further up her arm, so we wet a muslin in the cold tap of the train loo and wrapped it around her arm. She whimpered as I wrapped it, but when I had finished she said "Thank you very much" in tones as pathetic and noble as any I have ever heard.
So on Sunday we didn't wake her early. We let her sleep in, and when she did wake we had another go at helping her hurt arm. An elasticated bandage seemed to help ("Thank you very much" again) but she still didn't use her arm at all, not even when offered a treat for each hand, which would usually work wonderfully. So we sorted ourselves out and piled into the trike, all four of us.
And so to A&E. We checked in, or whatever it's called, and waited some, and a nurse came along and examined the dangling, limp arm. Linnea didn't express pain, but then she generally doesn't. The nurse had her play with some of the toys in the waiting room, and sure enough she didn't use the dangly arm. As part of the diagnosis, the nurse flexed the arm and turned the wrist. The way it was dangling, she said, looked like a pulled elbow. And about half an hour later, while we were waiting for the doctor, Linnea used the hurt arm to shove a wooden toy castle big enough for her to hide inside across the floor.
We waited to see the doctor anyway, and he said it was probably a pulled arm that righted itself. If we'd had the courage to flex her elbow and turn her wrist, we might have fixed it at home. But wrists scare me.
We were at the hospital an hour or so. This time, I knew it wasn't my fault, so I didn't tell anyone it was. So that's nice.
After hospital we went into town to look for a fleece jacket and a rain poncho for me. The only ponchos I could find were the same material as my existing raincoat, which gets just as damp inside from sweat as it does outside from rain. That level of breathability isn't good enough if I'm going to have a baby in a sling on my chest under it. So I've got to investigate Vaude ponchos which Altimus can get in for me if I decide I want one. The Badger the Bodger or Bodger the Badger fleece jackets seem ideal; I'm a big child size and they are high-quality fleece at medium-quality prices.
Then we ate at Cafe Iguana, whcih was gorgeous - it's Reading's only vegetarian cafe and they have a real passionh for organic produce - and headed home, where we ate again almost immediately. Oven chips, fried eggs, and frozen veg. Ew.
Linnea had another rough night, including me in her bed for an hour, during which time she rolled forcibly into my abdomen, which really, really bloody hurt.
So on Sunday we didn't wake her early. We let her sleep in, and when she did wake we had another go at helping her hurt arm. An elasticated bandage seemed to help ("Thank you very much" again) but she still didn't use her arm at all, not even when offered a treat for each hand, which would usually work wonderfully. So we sorted ourselves out and piled into the trike, all four of us.
And so to A&E. We checked in, or whatever it's called, and waited some, and a nurse came along and examined the dangling, limp arm. Linnea didn't express pain, but then she generally doesn't. The nurse had her play with some of the toys in the waiting room, and sure enough she didn't use the dangly arm. As part of the diagnosis, the nurse flexed the arm and turned the wrist. The way it was dangling, she said, looked like a pulled elbow. And about half an hour later, while we were waiting for the doctor, Linnea used the hurt arm to shove a wooden toy castle big enough for her to hide inside across the floor.
We waited to see the doctor anyway, and he said it was probably a pulled arm that righted itself. If we'd had the courage to flex her elbow and turn her wrist, we might have fixed it at home. But wrists scare me.
We were at the hospital an hour or so. This time, I knew it wasn't my fault, so I didn't tell anyone it was. So that's nice.
After hospital we went into town to look for a fleece jacket and a rain poncho for me. The only ponchos I could find were the same material as my existing raincoat, which gets just as damp inside from sweat as it does outside from rain. That level of breathability isn't good enough if I'm going to have a baby in a sling on my chest under it. So I've got to investigate Vaude ponchos which Altimus can get in for me if I decide I want one. The Badger the Bodger or Bodger the Badger fleece jackets seem ideal; I'm a big child size and they are high-quality fleece at medium-quality prices.
Then we ate at Cafe Iguana, whcih was gorgeous - it's Reading's only vegetarian cafe and they have a real passionh for organic produce - and headed home, where we ate again almost immediately. Oven chips, fried eggs, and frozen veg. Ew.
Linnea had another rough night, including me in her bed for an hour, during which time she rolled forcibly into my abdomen, which really, really bloody hurt.