[GardenOfDarwin]

Our 6 year old son did 'something' to his right upper leg this afternoon...fell in a hole, fell on a hose guide...we can't quite figure out what he did - he said he just fell and overextended the thigh. He was just screaming by the time we got to him. He's not bearing weight or walking on it, though he can touch it with no problem. No swelling or heat from it, no bruising or distension. We gave him Tylenol and iced it and 2 hours later he still required a lift to the dinner table. He grimaced and bawled when his leg was moved or shaken, but not when touched, even with pressure.

A total of 4 hours later he was still immobile, refused to be taken to the bathroom and refused to participate in our usual bedtime routine with the promise of Mommy/Daddy no-holds-barred playtime. We gave him more Tylenol and a dose of Benadryl so he could sleep. What now?

Shall we take him to the Dr. or ER tomorrow? We're pretty sure he's not malingering - he's pretty disinclined to go to the ER and if he was pretending, I'm quite sure he'd have had a miraculous recovery after the mention of the hospital. We can keep him on the couch during the day (we homeschool, so school absence isn't an issue), but if it's a hairline fracture or a strain or sprain, should we get him medical attention? If we thought it was broken, we'd have been there already...but this is kind of vague.

What say you? Parents? Nurses? Doctors? Anyone? What would you do?

Susan

[zeuss]

I'm a firm believer in a "mother's instinct" in these kind of areas. If you get a sense that something is really wrong, absolutely do not hesitate or allow anyone to talk you out of it. 99 times out of 10, that "mother's instinct" is right. And the reverse is true. If you have a gut instinct that there is really nothing to get alarmed about, go with it for a while. There is just some kind of unexplained connection there that makes is so that Mother Knows Best.

Good luck to you all and keep us up to date. And of course all of this wouldn't be a problem if one could actually go into an ER and get compitent help in a timely manner. But alas - a pipe dream.

[Emmie9999]

I agree with Zeuss that your instinct is going to guide you well. With that said, I will say you sound concerned. Is something in particular worrying you?

I find it unusual the area is not giving out any heat or getting at all inflammed, which would, IMO, follow along with a sprain or bad muscle pull. At least, that is what has happened to me or mine when I (or they) have done the same. A trip to the doc would certainly not do further harm, IMHO.

I'm sorry that I cannot give anything more constructive. I hope the poor little guy feels better soon! Please do keep us posted, okay?

[GardenOfDarwin]

I'm concerned but reserved. If I thought it was a broken (or even fractured, I think) bone, we'd have gone straight away, but this seems more like a muscle pull or ligament/tendon tear or something. He says it hurts in the middle of the thigh on the front and towards the inside, though when we were reading books at bedtime, he was lying in his bed on his side with his two hands between his thighs - it didn't seem to bother him at all.

I think the tell will be in the morning. If he still says he can't walk on it, we'll take him in. If he's limping around we'll continue with icing it and keeping him off it as much as possible. We're leaving for Thanksgiving on Tuesday morning, but we can rearrange our plans if need be.

I guess time will tell...

Susan

[NBeth]

Screaming at first and still refusing to put weight on 4 hours later--I'd take him in, unless he seems PERFECT in the morning. My gut says there's something wrong. But if you can get into a regular doc and he hasn't developed any other symptoms that worry you, no need to torture everyone by going to the ER...

[GardenOfDarwin]

Screaming at first

Well, I should say that he's kind of a wuss. Takes after his father...

Susan

[erikakn]

My thoughts are with you, Susan. It often feels like being a parent is like being a soothsayer and translator. In 2007, my DH and I often asked, "Is he just being two or is he not feeling well?"

I agree that a visit to the doctor is in order if you son still refuses to walk on Monday. While I was growing up, my mom's attitude was generally "I'm not taking you to the hospital unless you've nicked your jugular." She's a registered nurse! But when it comes to her grandson, she's very supportive of my checking with Urgent Care when his pain or discomfort persists.

With my health plan, we have "Urgent Care" which is perfect for non-life-threatening-emergencies-but-I-still-need-to-see-a-doctor-today situations.

Good luck--I hope all is well.

Erika

[Tigratrus]

That is sooooo not nice. Granted I don't have the pain threshold that god gave women, but I can deal with injury/pain. It's *sick* I don't handle well, and I know/admit that.

All that said, Alex is a bit oversensitive. If Elizabeth was reacting this way we'd probably have been at the hospital hours ago

My gut reaction:

He really strained/sprained something, and moving the joint hurts a *lot*. If we take him to the hospital, it's going to be hours of waiting and then they are going to want to position his leg for an X-Ray, he's going to be freaked out by what the exposure to X-Rays will do to the rest of his body, and it's going to *hurt* when they position his leg. After all the time and exposure to germs/flu at the hospital they are going to tell us to keep it immobilized and maybe put ice on it and send us home.
::sigh::

We'll see how he's doing in the AM. Poor Boogle...

James

[GardenOfDarwin]

Off to the ER we go... Report back later.

Susan

[Emmie9999]

Oh dear! Poor little guy. I was really hoping this AM would show signs of improvement. If he needs to go, he must feel rotten. Still, it's best to get it checked. Please do keep us posted!