Peter and I had the unique opportunity to spend much of Saturday together; just the two of us. Unfortunately, this happened because Peter had accident so we were at the pediatrician's office and then at the ER.
The accident happened Friday night when we were walking around Duke's campus. Peter was walking behind us so he picked up his pace to catch up but sadly he didn't pick his feet up enough. His foot got caught on the uneven sidewalk and with his hands firmly in his pockets he hit the ground square on his chin. He let out a scream and cry that I have never heard from him before. He was inconsolable for what felt like 10 minutes. There wasn't much blood and he was unable to really tell us what hurt so bad. After getting him calmed down, we loaded him in the stroller and headed to the student union where we got a bag of ice from McDonald's. He laid down on a couch in the dining area and actually fell asleep. We let him sleep, while we grab dinner at McD's and woke him up when we were ready to leave. He was still a bit shaken up and at this point we figured out that it was his jaw that was causing the pain.
We got home; gave him some Motrin and put him to bed. The next morning he was unable to open or close his jaw completely. Based on the opinion of our friend who is an ER doctor we made the first available appt. with the Pediatrician's office.
Dr. Cloverfield, our pediatrician, recommended that we head to Durham Regional's ER for x-rays. She consulted with the ENT on call and they agreed that if there was a fracture it would be the oral surgeron's department b/c Peter's pain was in his TMJ joint. Our local hospital doesn't have the right x-ray machine for that joint and we don't have an oral surgeon so we went to Durham. After 4 hrs in the ER, the radiologist and PA deemed Peter to be without a fracture. Hurray!!!
Two days later, he is still eating gingerly and soft foods only, he can't open his mouth completely and said it hurts to brush his teeth. His pediatrician called today to check on him. She said if he is still having any pain in his joint by the end of the week that we need to check in with our dentist and possibly the oral surgeon!
I'm glad that Peter is fine. That was my very first ER experience and I hope it will be my last. Peter proved to me again that he is a very tough guy. He has done almost no complaining or whining because of the pain.
1 comment:
OH MY Goodness! I'm definitely going to say some prayers for Peter's jaw to be healed! Please tell him I told you this! I know Peter really holds prayer in high esteem. (faith like a child!)
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