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Original poster

DD9 broke her collar bone and I sent her to school on a spoon of Calpol!

145 replies

JeSuisPrest · 03/12/2019 16:11

DD (9) fell out of bed last night at midnight (fast asleep, not messing about). She complained of a painful shoulder and was pretty upset. She could move both arms but one was obviously painful. She can be a bit of a drama llama so I made all the right noises, gave her some Calpol and she settled after a while. It was agony this morning and I had to help her dress. I said we would go to the local walk in straight away, but she had an event at school this morning she didn't want to miss and said she wanted to go in. If it was still painful she would tell a teacher. I got the call at lunchtime to say she was very upset. I took her to the walk in - broken collar bone. I feel like the shittest mum in the world.

Please make me feel better and tell me about times when you've not believed your children were ill/injured and packed them off to school with a dose of Calpol and the time honoured phrase "The teacher will call me if I need to come and get you" ringing in their ears... 😳

OP posts:
Lulualla · 03/12/2019 16:15

Sorry OP, but if I'd actually had to help my child dress because they were in so much pain then I wouldn't have packed them off to school with a spoon of calpol. That's really quite a silly choice, even if she really wanted to go for an event!

LochJessMonster · 03/12/2019 16:18

My brother was sent to school with very bad appendicitis as our mother thought it was just an exaggerated stomach ache.

She said she wanted to go to school, there was no way you could have suspected a broken collar bone.

terriblyangryattimes · 03/12/2019 16:18

I probably would have done as you did. Dont feel bad about it, it's done now and you can spoil her with cuddles and cheesy Christmas films till shes back at school?

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Tensixtysix · 03/12/2019 16:19

You're only human. Don't let others shame you. At least you collected early.

CleverQuacks · 03/12/2019 16:20

My son fell out of bed when he was two. He cried for all of two seconds and then went straight back to sleep so I just tucked him back in bed. Woke up in the morning and he had a large gash under his mouth that needed 5 stitches! I hadn’t noticed because it was dark. I felt like the worst mum ever so you are not alone.

alwayscauseastir · 03/12/2019 16:20

My daughter went 5 days with a broken arm!! I was very honest with the hospital and told them it hadn't really phased it, she was just holding it funny at soft play. Luckily she had been to nursery on those 5 days and they never noticed anything.

She also swallowed a 20p and I didn't believe her as I thought no way would a 20p go down her small throat with no problems. But I darent risk it so off to A&E we went. Metal detector picked it up in her stomach.

So honestly, don't beat yourself up.

pallisers · 03/12/2019 16:21

My dd went to school with a broken elbow (also a bit of a drama queen at the time). school nurse agreed it was just a bruise. The orthopaedic guy she saw said he had done the same with his own son!

CatFaceCats · 03/12/2019 16:22

Oh I have a dramatic one too - one who likes to be ill and spend the day at home cuddled up on the sofa!
One day she said her tummy was sore, but she’s had dinner the night before, breakfast, normal bowel movements. No mention of the sore tummy until the bell rang.
Guess who got a phone call 30 mins after school went in to inform me she had thrown up.
I did feel bad, but if I fell for every sore tummy/ankle/throat/big toe, then she would have at least a day off per week!

TrophyCat · 03/12/2019 16:22

Don't beat yourself up - I once spent a week with a broken collar bone and the school matron was convinced I was just trying to get out of games so diagnosed a bad bruise and made me play netball... It wasn't till I went home at the weekend, rolled over in my sleep and snapped it completely that I got taken to hospital...

I remember feeling SO SMUG returning to school with my arm in a sling, relishing the fact that my dad had promised to have a 'stern word' with the matron on my behalf.

Cuddlysnowleopard · 03/12/2019 16:23

My friend's son managed 5 days at school with a broken collar bone. She took him to minor injuries when it didn't seem to get better, and it was picked up immediately on an xray.

Soubriquet · 03/12/2019 16:23

My sister broke her arm coming off a swing superman style

My mum was at a friends house (so were we) and the friend said my mum should go hospital as it could be broken.

Mum said no as sister was moving it.

Yep, it was broken. The first of 3

CottonSock · 03/12/2019 16:26

Something fell on my very small baby, onto her head. I didn't do anything and now she has a dent. It was only a small thing. But I still feel like shit.

Seeline · 03/12/2019 16:26

I left my 3 to at nursery with a broken elbow having seen him fall off the climbing frame in front of me. Got the call about 90 mins later saying he wasn't quite himself!!

Yoohoo16 · 03/12/2019 16:26

As a child my dsis went weeks with a broken leg. To be fair dm had taken her backwards and forwards to the doctors and hospital and no one could find the break. Dm had started to think she was making it up until, eventually the break was discovered. Dm felt terrible for disbelieving her.

stripeypillowcase · 03/12/2019 16:30

one dc walked on greenstick tibia fracture for a week.
tbf I was fobbed off by gp with growing pains.

TwattingDog · 03/12/2019 16:32

I was sent to school aged 8 by my mum. A nursing Sister. I felt like death, but she wasn't having any of it.

10am they called her to pick me up (my Dad was a teacher at the same school so couldn't take me home!) as I'd thrown up.

Diagnosis of flu and tonsillitis. I was off for weeks.

She did it again about 2 years later, tonsillitis and laryngitis that time.

Original poster
JeSuisPrest · 03/12/2019 16:33

Thanks all.

Chocolate ice cream whilst lying on the sofa and her choice of TV are duly being administered. One the the presents Father Christmas has already dropped off may make an early appearance later.

OP posts:
ThePolishWombat · 03/12/2019 16:35

Not my kids....but my dad!
He has form for being a major drama llama with illnesses. He gets a common cold and you’d think he was dying of flu Hmm
Except for the time where we took the piss for a week because he’s taken himself to bed “with a bit of a sniffle”....when in fact he had pneumonia which genuinely nearly killed him Blush
Needless to say we were very apologetic and he now gets all the sympathy in the world even when it is just a dose of the man flu

RufusthebewiIderedreindeer · 03/12/2019 16:36

I sent dd to karate with a fractured wrist

I think she was 7 or 8

She hurt it on the sunday, she cried on the trampoline on Tuesday (i wasnt there) i sent her to karate on the wednesday (she said it hurt when she punched somebody, i dropped ds1 at sports week on the Thursday and complained to everyone at the drop off that i was taking dd to the A&E and probably for nothing

And then had to take dd to pick ds1 up...with a cast on

BarbaraStrozzi · 03/12/2019 16:37

A friend of mine is an A&E consultant. She missed her daughter's greenstick fracture Blush. (Lovely woman, great mum, bloody good doctor btw - just that it's easy to miss these things in children, specially if they have a track record of being drama llamas.)

SleighOfSparkliness · 03/12/2019 16:38

I broke my collarbone at a gig when I was an au pair in USA. Heard it snapping and everything but still didn’t understand what was happening at that point.

My friend and I managed to get back to our town but couldn’t get home, so spent the night in the 24 hr Dunkin Donuts until someone could give us a lift in the morning. It was a painful lump at this point.

Once home, I needed a shower, but started to cry in pain when I couldn’t lift my arm to get my top off. The kid’s dad realised something was up and took me to hospital. X-rays indeed revealed one very bost collar bone.

donquixotedelamancha · 03/12/2019 16:39

DD1 whines a lot. School rang me to collect her today, got there and she was grinning ear to ear, pestering to return to class.

I can see me telling her to suck it up when something serious finally does happen.

Don't worry OP, if this is the worse parental fuck up you ever make you're doing well.

bonzo77 · 03/12/2019 16:40

I was called by school because DS1 had cut himself accidentally at lunch time. I said put a plaster on and I’ll look at pick up. School said collect or they’d call an ambulance. So I collected and he had a really deep but not very long cut on his cheek with fat hanging out! Luckily a&e were quiet, they glued his face and he went back to school!

Selfsettling3 · 03/12/2019 16:42

My old GP did the same to her child.

Bluetrews25 · 03/12/2019 16:44

DS fell out of the top bunk in his sleep shortly before 5th birthday. Cried a bit. Put him back. Following morning still a bit sore. It might have been a couple of days later we took him to ED - greenstick fracture clavicle. He had x1 dose of calpol and wore his sling for 1 day. Took it off following day for his birthday party and never looked back.
He fell out of bunkbed as we are the worst parents. Bunk beds second hand. Had a plank all along one side, not the other, so put plank side to wall, as you'd have to climb over it, right? Wrong. Plank was to stop them falling out, dimwits, and you are meant to climb over it.