Yesterday evening was somewhat traumatic.  My youngest daughter was attacked and her toe was broken.

The Culprit

We have a hutch in our kitchen where we store some of our nicer dishes.  It belonged to my great-grandmother at one time.  It has apparently, over the years, become somewhat wild and vicious.  Last night it attacked my daughter as she walked through the kitchen.  There was much weeping and wailing.

We did a serious examination of the wild hutch to see if there was any particular reason it would so viciously attack a child.  I am glad to inform you that the hutch does not have rabies.  There was no foaming at the seams and it appears to have settled down.  There have been no further attacks.

The Investigation

Upon inspection of the injured foot, it was discovered that the fourth toe was bent at a 30 degree angle to the right and snuggled up to her little toe.  A trip to the instacare was required.  Sandals were put on the feet and the child was given a ride out to the car in Grandma’s Jazzy chair.  Upon arrival at the doctor’s office we proceeded with check in and the doctor came out for a quick look at her foot and announced the toe pointing in the wrong direction.  Of course we already knew that.  We were taken into the exam room and x-rays were ordered.  The toe was broken just above the growth plate.  Her toe was splinted against the third toe and we were given the number of an orthopedist to call.

Much Pain

Apparently a broken toe hurts much more than a broken wrist.  After a good dose of ibuprofen and an ice pack it was still quite painful.  Daughter had difficulty sleeping.  She could not get comfortable and sleep was elusive. She climbed into my lap to snuggle several times  because she was so tired and couldn’t sleep.  She did eventually get tired enough to fall asleep, but woke up several times when the toe would throb.

Treatment

We went to the orthopedist this morning and he decided that he needed to straighten her toe so that it would heal better.  With a 4 inch needle they shot my daughter’s toe around the break and nerves.  It hurt.  A lot.  My daughter, age 10, did not cry.  She said, “OW! OW! OW!” and squeezed my hand tightly.  Her eyes did water and I told her it was okay to cry, but she did not.  She did complain about having to be shot more than once.  After impressing the medical staff with her bravery, they let her rest while the toe numbed up.

After the toe was numb, the doctor used state-of-the-art medical implements to apply traction.  A red pencil was placed under the pad of the toe and pressure was applied to pull the toe straight.  Tape was then applied to splint the toe.  The splint?  The third toe, of course.  No boot or brace was needed after this surgical procedure.  Her sandals were just right.

Reward For Bravery

Because daughter was so well behaved at the doctor’s office she was given two of her favorite rewards.  The first was a day off from school.  She is required to rest her foot.  The second was going out to lunch with her grandparents.

Daughter is doing very well now.  Her toe is still extremely numb so pain is not a problem.  Her energy level is as high as ever and I am having difficulty keeping her off her foot.  The doctor said she could go to her horse riding lessons if she could get her boots on.  Of course this means that the swelling will have to go down.  Her toe is also turning a really pretty dark purple.