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Original poster

It’s an A&E one…

297 replies

LawyeredUp · 29/06/2023 23:10

I genuinely never thought I’d start one of these threads, but here I am!

I don’t think it needs a trip to A&E, but could do with the reassurance.

DS is 2 (27 months). He was picked up from nursery by his nanny and got the bus home. Unfortunately the bus was packed so when getting off, she went forwards with the pushchair rather than backwards. And the pushchair fell off the bus with DS in it.

He cried for a couple of hours and couldn’t put any weight on his legs. Once I got home, he calmed down with me after around half an hour, but was still upset at times. He started to cheer up a bit, and I gave him some calpol, after which he was back to himself.

Except he can’t put weight on his legs. He can move them and as we were playing whilst he was lying down, he was happily and easily kicking them around (calpol would have kicked in). I’ve bent them both in different angles and there’s no issue, but he’s not standing. I think his legs are simply sore, as surely it would be obvious if it was a break right?

No obvious head injury (told there were no marks on him right after) and once he calmed down and the calpol kicked in, he had food. He’s still up now (I’ve wanted to keep an eye on him) and for all intents and purposes, he’s himself, apart from not being able to stand properly. It’s a big pushchair and he was buckled in, but I think the shock together with hurting his legs was hugely distressing for him and also he needed his mum, hence why he was upset for so long.

I don’t think it needs A&E, as I’m not too worried about his legs. Maybe see how he is in the morning?

OP posts:
Kingsparkle · 30/06/2023 14:40

@swimminginthesun - exactly. I’m fine feeling daft when it comes to DC. Better safe than sorry. I once went to the GP as a comment the health visitor made over the phone threw me into a bit of a panic. The GP was so kind and may have muttered something about the health visitor under her breath…

NeedToReboot · 30/06/2023 14:43

If it was me, I'd be contacting the bus company and asking them to check the CCTV so you can have a better idea of what actually happened....

whoruntheworldgirls · 30/06/2023 14:53

Hope he's ok OP

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Families
Handsnotwands · 30/06/2023 15:03

MuckyPlucky · 30/06/2023 13:54

Also @Handsnotwands where the actual heck did I sound ‘salaciously thriller’ something bad might have happened to OP’s little one?! That’s truly an insane projection on your part.

I’m a senior health professional, and a mum of two young ones. Why on earth would I want that child to have come to harm?! My strong emotion in my removed post was aimed at the lackadaisical parent’s weak decision-making, delay, and lack of grasping of the severity of the scenario including an apparently light-touch grasp of how it actually happened.

It’s a shame you mistook my concern and strong feelings about this as being ‘salacious’. Very odd.

Show quote history

well i didn't report your comment but as it was deleted i can't have been the only one who inferred the tone and content as being distasteful

HaveITheRightToHoldYouYouKnowIveAlwaysToldYou · 30/06/2023 15:12

How is DS @LawyeredUp ?

HateMyselfToo · 30/06/2023 15:16

OP comes on here in a panic and gets told she's neglectful. Not surprised people don't update.

Simplestead · 30/06/2023 15:33

HateMyselfToo · 30/06/2023 15:16

OP comes on here in a panic and gets told she's neglectful. Not surprised people don't update.

Tbh she didn't sound panicked. Really odd behaviour.

I insisted my 15 year old go to minor injuries because he hurt his finger playing football. It was broken but he could move it fine.

TheShellBeach · 30/06/2023 15:34

Asking the bus company for their CCTV sounds like a good idea.
I hope your little boy is all right, OP.

LaylaLjungberg · 30/06/2023 15:51

Ah what a shocker for him. Hope all is well now.

TeaKitten · 30/06/2023 16:16

HateMyselfToo · 30/06/2023 15:16

OP comes on here in a panic and gets told she's neglectful. Not surprised people don't update.

She wasn’t in a panic, she said she was certain he didn’t need a&e.

User57632678372 · 30/06/2023 16:16

NeedToReboot · 30/06/2023 14:43

If it was me, I'd be contacting the bus company and asking them to check the CCTV so you can have a better idea of what actually happened....

I may be incorrect but I don’t think they can show CCTV to anyone other than the police.

Family member asked for CCTV of an incident outside of a tube station last year and was told no due to data protection, but that they’d provide it to police should a report be made.

Damnyouautocorrect1 · 30/06/2023 16:18

Maybe she’s too busy rearranging her mattress under the bridge.

NowItsLikeSnowAtTheBeach · 30/06/2023 16:40

A&E!

Catsanfan · 30/06/2023 18:01

Can't believe there's no update!

ChrisPPancake · 30/06/2023 19:02

Catsanfan · 30/06/2023 18:01

Can't believe there's no update!

Really? I can.

JeminaSunshine · 30/06/2023 19:13

Catsanfan · 30/06/2023 18:01

Can't believe there's no update!

People are being mean. I don't blame her for not rushing back to update.

TheShellBeach · 30/06/2023 19:14

JeminaSunshine · 30/06/2023 19:13

People are being mean. I don't blame her for not rushing back to update.

Show quote history

Maybe she's still in A and E?

HenrysLastWife · 30/06/2023 19:32

Paediatric A&E (assuming you have one) is generally quicker. I was there the other week and it took about 2 hours from start to finish.

I wasn't going to bother but the nasty bruise from a fall turned out to be a broken bone 🤦🏻‍♀️.

They were lovely and not at all "you shouldn't have come" even though I was sure it would be nothing.

Songbird74 · 30/06/2023 21:07

@JeminaSunshine i don’t think people are being mean. I think we are all just genuinely surprised / curious as to why the OP thinks that having her child cry in pain for hours and be unable to weight bear following a nasty fall is better than a trip to A&E. No one is being malicious, just expressing our thoughts that OP should’ve taken her obviously distressed child to hospital to be properly checked over by medics.

Original poster
LawyeredUp · 30/06/2023 21:57

I was in two minds about updating. It’s not the update many of you were hoping for as I haven’t been reported to social services on account of being a neglectful mother and had DS taken away from me. Sorry to disappoint so many of you.

Took DS early this morning and we were there all day because it took ages to get a scan done. They wouldn’t let me be in the room during the X-ray, but also said they can’t provide someone to hold him (which is absurd as how can they not provide support for a small child during an X-ray). As there was no way he would lie still on a narrow bed on his own, it took a while for someone to join me, and even then he was terrified and wouldn’t lie still. Took several hours and attempts but we got there in the end.

He has a hairline fracture in his leg. A toddler fracture to be exact. It doesn’t need any specialist treatment fortunately apart from a splint and he doesn’t seem to be in any pain, to the point when at the hospital, they even questioned if he does actually need calpol. So he’s doing ok. He’s been happy and content all day, apart from when we tried to do the X-ray, so he’s ok. I’m not sure how long the splint needs to stay on for - I should find out when I get a call from the fracture clinic.

Yes, I misjudged his inability to stand up and assumed it was just soft tissue damage but I still don’t think my misjudgment made me this terrible and neglectful mother so many of you have accused me of. He calmed down within about half an hour of me getting home, and was happy and playing and giggling all night. Apart from being unable to stand, he was not unhappy or distressed and didn’t seem to be suffering in any way so I thought it was just badly bruised. This thread showed me fractures in toddlers can present differently - thank you so much for those who helped without judging.

I know I’m not a lazy and neglectful mother. I stayed awake most of last night to keep an eye on him (set my alarm for every half hour in case I fell asleep, and it’s what I also do when he has a viral wheeze), so it wasn’t a case of me being too lazy for a late night visit. We’ve also had plenty of late night visits when needed. He also has never slept through so it’s not like I get a good nights sleep anyway. I misjudged the situation and this parenting forum guided me in the right direction - it’s just a shame many of you saw that as an opportunity to attack a mother who made a mistake.

As Pp pointed out, my experience with managing his viral wheeze probably paid a huge part. I know the NHS website says to go to A&E if he can’t hold his weight, but it also tells us to go to A&E when he has signs of his viral wheeze, which isn’t actually necessary. I also don’t find 111 reliable. Whenever I’ve used them, they’ve either blue lighted an ambulance to me when it isn’t needed, or called me back 6 hours or so later. So I listened to my instincts and judged the situation on how he was after I got home, but this time I got it wrong.

OP posts:
LostThePot · 30/06/2023 22:04

You’ve done your best OP, please don’t be hard on yourself 💐

Hope your little one is feeling better soon xx

Kingsparkle · 30/06/2023 22:05

Sorry you’ve had such a hard time here OP, thank you for updating, I am so pleased it’s not more serious for your DS and he will be on the mend again in no time. I hope you have some support and can get some rest tonight.

coolpineapple1 · 30/06/2023 22:07

So glad he's ok, hope you are too. It's so stressful when they're little and sounds like a nightmare with the x-ray!! I didn't take my daughter straight away to a & E as she was chatting away, had a nap and some fish fingers!! Even the nurses were shocked when the x-ray came back and she had a fracture. Be kind to yourself, parenting is a tough job xx

CC4712 · 30/06/2023 22:19

Thank you so much for the update OP. Regarding him having the Xray and wriggling about, they have wide bands with velcro on the ends to hold people in place for certain scans/xrays, so likely they used those to help secure him for the few seconds of the xray. I'm sorry that he did have a fracture all along.

I assume having a conversation with the nanny will be a whole other thread. Best of luck OP x

WiddlinDiddlin · 30/06/2023 22:28

I thought some folk unecessarily harsh - if a kid seems happy enough but wont stand on the leg, could easily be soft tissue. A night in his own bed and a check up in the morning makes perfect sense, he may have bounced out of bed having forgotten it all this morning, perfectly fine...

You've used your judgement, he's fine, he hasn't missed out on any vital treatment, his leg will heal, nothing has been made worse. Might you judge differently in future - maybe - we learn and grow all the time.

If it makes you feel better though... I broke my collar bone as a kid. Playing at a friends house aged 4 ish, I tripped and fell.

I cried a bit, cheered up, the supervising adults felt everything was ok so just wait and see... I went home, was a bit more whingey as I got more tired, slept badly, more whingey the next day...

Parents checked with the adults I had been with, who said it was a minor fall, they weren't concerned but if I was still grumpy, pop to A&E for xray.

Yup, broken collar bone.

The adults in question who witnessed the accident... my family GP and his wife, an experienced nurse. Plus my own parents who also assumed all was fine for another 36 hours.