Broken itty bitty bones

Where do I begin? Yesterday M was in the office and had found a pair of purple 3 lb weights and proceeded to lift them up and over his head to show that he can work out and that he was strong. Indeed, he is strong and I was proud of him, but I told him that I don't think it's a good idea to do that because they could fall and land on his toe and if that did happen, he would scream very loudly because it would hurt.  So, down went the weights and we all moved on with whatever it was we were doing.

 [ The weapon ]

I was in the office watching/helping my dad with the new desk that I had just purchased (on Craigslist) and my minis were just outside the room in the hallway (literally right outside of the office) and they appeared to be playing. From what I remember, they had a giant sticker book and were removing all the stickers. No biggie. Innocent fun, right? Ehhhhhhh!

 [ Guilty boy (don't let that
sweet face fool you) ]

Just as my dad and I are lifting the heavy hutch to put it up on the desk, C lets out this shriek. You know, the one where you know it's something that needs attention and it's not one of those 'stop bothering me/leave me alone shrieks.' So, I bolted (sorry, Dad that I left you with that heavy hutch) and ran to Caymin and see that she's gripping her finger and crying uncontrollably and then I see blood on her hand and her shirt. What the?! What just happened?! I see the the purple weight was right next to them.  I glare at M and yell at him that I don't ever want him to ever touch those weights ever again. (I was in the heat of the moment and snapped)

[ impossible bandages to open in an
"OMG, I need a bandaid moment!" ]

I rushed Caymin to the bathroom to run it under water. I knew the weight hit the top of her finger but why was the bottom of her finger bleeding so badly?! It was literally gushing and I really don't deal well with situations like this. Thank goodness my dad was there. I ran and got a wet paper towel and we wrapped it around her tiny little finger. Bandaids! Bandaids! Where are the effin' bandaids?! All we had were  these Spiderman bandages that were ridiculously hard to open up! (Frantic situation and impossible bandages were just what we needed, right?!)

So, I'm running across the house looking for a freakin' bandaid and I knew we just bought some because I remember when the hubby cut his finger, he refused to use one of these (even though he repeatedly said he didn't care what the bandaid looked like) and went out and bought some new bandaids -- adult, non-character baidaids, at that!

However, these adult, non-character bandaids were not in our bathroom or in any of the drawers in our bathroom. I figured that I was in such a rush to find the freakin' bandaids that I probably overlooked them. So, I rummaged through the bathroom again. Then I rummaged through the kitchen (where we keep the vitamins) and then back to the bathroom. AHHH! Where are the bandaids? Of course, by this time, I went back to Caymin in her bathroom and looked under her sink and yup, there they were.... in the bathroom where we started out. *smacks my head*

I removed the Spiderman bandage and replaced it with 2 of the regular ones that hubby purchased. Caymin was so sad/upset. You could just sense the pain. Oooh, I felt so bad. I thanked my dad for helping me and that I was so glad he was here. (I honestly don't know what I'd do if it were just me? Would I panic because of all the blood? Most definitely. Would I know how to wrap up her finger and calm her down and manage the 3 year old who caused this?) <<< Can you tell that I'm already feeling guilty about it?

Shortly after, Caymin passed out on the couch and I let her nap for 2 1/2 hours. Normally, she's not supposed to nap because come bedtime, she is anything but tired, but given what just happened, I let her nap. I told her that she had to keep her finger pointed up though. (it was super cute to see her sleeping like this!)

^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^   ^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^  ^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^    

[ I cringe looking at this ]

Now, fast forward to today. I had a doctor appointment at 8:30am and while in the room, Caymin mentions something about her finger. I briefly mention to the nurse what happened and she tells me that I should probably go take her to the doctor just to make sure it's not broken, but the nail may fall off. I peek at it and it's purple! I start freaking out (silently) and then I start feeling very hot. I just don't know how to deal well with blood, apparently. So, upon waiting for my doctor to walk in the room, I call the pediatrician and get an appointment set at 11am.

Now the guilt is really sinking in. Should I have taken her yesterday? What if her nail falls off? What if it's broken? Am I a bad parent for not thinking that this was more serious than it was? I have never broken or fractured anything and I don't know what the signs are for anything other than a bump or a bruise. Bandaids protect boo-boos. Was that my best solution?! *deep sigh*

[ a smile after the tears ]

We get to the pediatrician and the nurse asks if she can remove the bandaid to see her finger -- and cue the dramatic tears and very loud crying. Oh boy. The nurse eventually removed the bandaid with some pink scissors and ta-da... a very yucky pointer finger is right in front of us. The nurse looks at it (and must have glanced at my face) and grabs some gauze and peroxide and wraps up the finger and I believe she even said, "We are wrapping this up so that Mommy doesn't have to see it anymore." (makes me frown that I fail at being strong for my daughter)

The doctor comes into the room and asks what happened. Silence. So, I step in and say, "I believe that it was an accident, but I'm not 100% sure. I'd like to think that M was holding the weight and it just slipped out of his fingers and landed on hers." Sadly, this is where the truth of it all came out.

We asked Caymin what she was doing and she said she was pretending to sleep. (umm, okay, I thought you were playing with stickers, but pretending to sleep it is)

[ wrapped in gauze ]

I asked Madden how he was holding the weight -- was it up high? was it down low? He holds his hands up about shoulder length. *I inhaled deeply*

"Madden, did you drop the weight on Caymin on purpose?" 

"I was trying to wake her up."

I believe my heartrate picked up at that moment. "So, you dropped the weight on your sister's finger to wake her up?"

"Yes."

I then turned to the doctor and I believe we both said, "yes, that'll wake someone up."

OMG... MADDEN! WHY WHY WHY is what I wanted to do. I wanted to place my hands on his shoulders and shout this. (but I didn't) I just sat there (my mouth agape, probably)

Dr. Harvey tells us that he'd like for us to go to the Radiology office and get x-rays of her finger.

[ waiting to do the x-ray ]

We load into the car and drive to the office, fill out a handful of papers (since we're new patients and all) and wait. I'd say we were there for about 30 minutes (not long but long enough). Caymin requested that I be in the room, too. Madden, unfortunately, was not allowed in the room and had to stay outside the room in the chair (and not get out of that seat) until Mommy came out of the room. 

[ waiting room toys ]

Caymin was so worried. Thank goodness that x-rays are painless. That office told us that the x-rays would be at our pediatricians office within the hour. (are you kidding me?)  After that, we headed back to the pediatrician and sat in the waiting room for quite some time. We got to the doctor at 10:30am and didn't leave until 1:20pm. That's a very long time, especially with a 3 year old and a 5 year old.

[ getting a splint put on ]

Well, the results are in and it's a fracture. The itty bitty bones at the tip of her pointer finger were broken. They wrapped up finger/hand in a pink (with purple hearts) splint and told her to keep iton throughout the week and that we could remove it on Monday.

This totally throws a wrench in all the plans we had this week. :(

Wednesday, we were supposed to go to Sarasota and go to the beach with Jessica and her kids. Can't do that. Caymin can't get her finger wet and sand wouldn't be a good thing either. I can't imagine going to the beach and telling Caymin, "I'm sorry, honey but you can't go swimming and you can't play in the sand. Just sit on the beach on this towel and watch everyone do what you can't." (no, I wouldn't say that, but it's what would happen if we did go to the beach)

Thursday, we were supposed to go to the pool with Faith. Can't do that. She can't get her finger wet. I don't think she'd be able to hold her arm out of the pool the entire time without getting it wet. :(

Friday, we were supposed to go to the beach with the playgroup, but again, sand and water are a no-no.

Saturday, we were supposed to go to a pool party for my nephew's 1st birthday party, but again, she can't get her finger wet. So, we'll still be going to that, but she has to sit with her feet in the pool only. :(

And Sunday, we were supposed to go to another birthday party at the spraygrounds. But once again -- water. UGH.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do about that. Not go? That doesn't seem fair, but she can't really participate if it's a water activity. She can't ride her bike or go bowling or draw. She's left handed and it's her pointer finger on her left hand. (go figure, right?)

She's in good spirits now, chowing on some M&Ms and acting like she normally does.

My poor little girl.  I guess I need to go through the house and remove anything (like weights) that could harm little ones. (that's practically everything if you think about it... paper=paper cuts.... okay, that's a little much, but my point is that accidents happen and removing things that could be dangerous would leave me with what? A mattress on the floor?)

So, that's been my last two days. How's yours?