The Tale of Autumn's Arm

Yesterday started out great. My mom dropped off Anthony shortly after 9:30, as per the usual Thursday routine. We ate breakfast together, got myself dressed and Autumn ready for the day. It was especially exciting because we were heading out for a playdate with Anthony's friends. I hadn't expected to drop off Autumn too, but at my friends insistence I left her and was able to run some much needed errands.

Autumn and Anthony had a blast; she came home and napped while he rested on the couch watching Netflix on the couch. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and Christian joined us a few hours later while Diego was at cub scouts. They were having a great time! She was totally contented to just watch them play with Wii.


I started to make dinner and this is where the story takes a turn for the worse. In my kitchen I have had an Ikea Lack shelf leaning up against the wall. My brother and sister-in-law gave it to me and I just haven't had the time to get the screws needed to put it up in my bedroom. It's about 2" thick, 10" wide and 75" long. It's a big, 15 pound shelf. You'll notice it behind Autumn's right shoulder in this picture:


I had just called Anthony and Christian over to sit down to eat a snack. Autumn had already finished dinner and was driving her little dump truck around the kitchen. I was talking to the boys and eating so I didn't see exactly what happened. I don't know if she ran her truck into the bottom of the shelf, knocking it over or if she grabbed it and tried to move it. The next thing I remember is a loud noise, seeing Autumn on the ground and the 15 pound shelf falling on her, trapping her left arm underneath the top of the board. The tallest part of the shelf hit her, all 75" of it, so it had the greatest force of impact. I was sitting in the same position where the above picture was taken. I jumped up and pulled the shelf off her and by this time she was screaming.

Autumn doesn't really scream.

It was already bruising. I tried to run my fingers over her arm to feel if anything was broken or seemed out of the ordinary. She did NOT want me to touch it. All the while my two nephews (who I love...) are totally casual and tipping in their two cents and in my panic all I could think of was OH MY GOSH BE QUIET MY BABY IS DYING. Totally in panic crazy mom mode.

She didn't want her arm touched and would start sobbing whenever I tried to touch her elbow. I was growing more scared and was about to call Urgent Care of my nurses line when my sister came in to pick up her two boys. She could tell Autumn was uncomfortable and didn't want her to touch it. She suggested I let Autumn sleep on it and if it was still bothering her tomorrow to take her in.

Well, I was okay with that idea (sorta) until about 10 minutes later when I tried to move it/touch it and she again started sobbing. I scooped her up - dinner on the table uneaten, TV on, shelf and truck still on the floor, no shoes or socks on her - and drove to Urgent Care. With our horrible track record for broken limbs in this family and friends whose kids have broken limbs and not known for days I wasn't taking any chances. Did I mention the panic crazy mom mode I was in?

Of course, sitting in Urgent Care she's pulling herself up on the chair, walking around, crazy happy. Turned out she had a fever, and also a slight ear infection. She didn't love being at the doctor and was not fond of their touching of her arm and bruise. They took Xrays of her little arm and sent us back to our room where a few minutes later the Doctor came in and said "There don't appear to be any fractures." Huzzah!

Sure, I may end up paying ridiculous costs for Xrays and the exam but to me piece of mind is priceless.

The smallest sling they had was too big for my sweet girl, so they ace bandaged her arm, prescribed some medication for her ear and sent us home. I'd sent Adam a text message when I got to Urgent Care - and my Dad. I don't have to tell you who was more concerned of the two, but if you follow my blog at all I think you can guess. =)




I was worried about how she'd sleep, but she did great. Just like any other night. This morning I took off the bandage and she seemed relieved to be able to stretch out her arm. It hasn't bothered her at all today, so I think we're in the clear. It was a scary evening, but I'm glad she is okay! She was already back to her normal, mischievous ways by lunch...




Tonight during and after her bath I did my best to try and get her to cooperate long enough so that I could get pictures of her bruises. Because of the impact of her elbow being slammed into the floor and the weight of the shelf falling on top of it, she has bruises both on the inside of her elbow and the outside, with the inside being the worst.

The outside of her arm.


Yes, she's upside down. It's the only way Adam and I could get her to keep her arm extended. This is the inside of her elbow.


Pictures of bruises always stink, but there you have it. I am happy to report while the score is now Shelf: 1, Autumn: 0 - the broken bones count remains 0.

2 comments

  1. Being a mom is scary business. I am so glad she's ok (other then the ear infection - yuck).

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  2. Pretty dramatic way to get an ear infection diagnosed, Kel. =) I'm so glad she's ok. The broken bone club is one I'm happy to continue to exclude you from. =)

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