A Rough Week for Makgill

Makgill has had a pretty lousy week. It all started Monday night. We had a wonderful girl from our church come watch the kids while we went to Bible study. Just as things were wrapping up Collin’s phone rang. Of course we suspected to hear screaming from Clara Beth on the other end. We were shocked when she said that Makgill was having a rough time. She said that he got so upset that he threw up when she told him it was time for bed. This is so not Makgill. This kid loves babysitters and has NEVER cried for us to come home. Now his sister is another story. I don’t think she has ever NOT cried for a babysitter that wasn’t family. So naturally we were shocked to hear that Clara Beth was sleeping peacefully in her crib and our baby-sitter loving boy was having issues. We jumped in the car and rushed home. He was okay but quiet when we got there. We thanked the sitter and saw her out, and then Mak started complaining about his wrist hurting. He said he didn’t want to go to sleep without us because his arm hurt. We were a little concerned, but it was late and he was clearly tired, so we gave him motrin and put him to bed. He slept well- all night long- but when he woke the next morning he immediately started complaining about the arm. Collin was able to rearrange his schedule so he could take Mak to the doctor (I had Anna). They were sent over for x-rays, were told there was no break and to go home. I wasn’t crazy about this advice, so I called the doctor. He encouraged me to continue the motrin and have him rest the arm. And to call back if the pain continued. THE PAIN CONTINUED. He completely stopped using the hand and it started swelling. Luckily, my mom was working on Wednesday and our pediatrician was doing rounds, so she was able to talk to him for us. He explained that a hairline fracture may not show up for a few days. We went back to the office that afternoon and were referred to a pediatric orthapedist. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get us in until the following morning. So they sent us home with Tylenol with codeine. Turns out he’s allergic to codeine because he developed hives. He slept really well until about 3:30, when we heard cries from his room. The poor baby was having an asthma attack! So now we have to do a breathing treatment that he is thoroughly opposed to. He slept in our bed the rest of the night. His breathing was still not right in the morning so we had to do another treatment. We made it to the orthapedist, and this is where the worst thing I’ve ever experienced with Makgill occurred. After another x-ray where it was again determined that there was no break, the doctor concluded that Makgill had displaced a ligament in his elbow. This is the really horrible part. The doc has me sit Mak in my lap and says- very quickly- This is going to hurt he will cry you may cry but it has to be done- POP! And he twists my baby’s arm back into place. OH MY GOODNESS! My poor baby was in tears, I was in tears (which I quickly wiped away so he would not be scared), and the doctor was directing us to the playroom so they could observe Makgill. Don’t get me wrong- the doctor was great. He fixed my baby quickly and was very good with him. And Makgill was so brave! I was seriously proud of my baby. He played and was still favoring the hand so they wrapped it in a splint and told us we could take it off on Sunday. Of course when we left the doctor we told him he could have anything he wanted and do anything he wanted for the rest of the day. He got some new Thomas engines and toys, some books, and a Nerf launcher thing from Li-Li. He has been so sweet all day. Giving hugs with his new “hugging arm,” saying “I love you” constantly…Oh, I love that boy so much! If you see him, let him know how brave you think he is, or leave him a comment. Seeing your baby in pain is the hardest thing in the world. We are so thankful that he is sleeping peacefully in his room tonight.

A funny Mak movie:

www.cmsmithportraits.com/movies/makarm

Sweet Baby was so happy to have her favorite playmate back