Monday, September 20, 2010

Emma Rose & the school nurse

Emma Rose started her first year at school on August 2nd. I knew she would like her teacher and the children in her class, but I never dreamed that she would become close, personal friends with the school nurse.

On August 26th, Emma Rose and I met Nurse Connie. It turns out that bathroom breaks for the kindergarten class is a mini, unsupervised play time. Despite strict instructions from their teacher, the children like to go potty, wash hands, and use the restroom as a playground. Emma Rose and her friend from preschool, Grace, were doing just that when Grace picked up Emma Rose and they both fell on the hard, tile floor. Grace was uninjured, but Emma Rose split her chin open. Nurse Connie called me and in her sweet, reassuring southern accent asked me to come up to the school. She suspected (correctly) that Emma Rose was going to need a couple of stitches. John was working from home that week, so I called him and all four of us went to visit the pediatrician and then made a trek to Scottish Rite. They used dermabond to close the wound. That sounds pretty simple, but Emma Rose was totally hysterical and John and the (larger than John) nurse had to hold her down while the doctor fixed her up.

Emma Rose's second trip to visit Nurse Connie was minor. The dermabond was coming off, and her teacher sent her down just to make sure everything was ok. Emma Rose was only sent home with one of the ever-more-familiar yellow sheets that said she visited Nurse Connie. Her chin has healed nicely, and her bathroom incident served as a reminder for her classmates that they should not play in the restroom. It was a short-lived lesson, so I hear.

Trip number three to Nurse Connie was on Friday, September 10th. While on the playground, Emma Rose was doing a "trick" on the swing. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but it did not end well. She fell on her arm at about 1:30 and went to see Nurse Connie. As usual, I picked her up that afternoon, and she came to the car holding her left arm against her stomach and clutching a yellow Nurse Connie paper. I asked her what was wrong and told her she would feel better soon. She didn't use her little arm all weekend and continued to hold it against her stomach. By Saturday (after telling her that it couldn't be that bad), I knew we had to take her to the pediatrician Monday.

Monday afternoon, the pediatrician sent us to the radiologist. She has a buckle fracture. The technician said it was minor, but it would most likely require a cast. Tuesday morning, I talked to the pediatrician, and we were sent to get a cast. There was more hysteria, but she ended up with a bright pink cast. The cast should only be on for about 3 weeks, and Emma Rose hates it. She has told me daily that she is ready for it to come off.

I am so grateful for good health insurance and for Nurse Connie. She is a sweet southern lady who seems to really loves children. Nonetheless, I hope I don't have to hear from her again this year!

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