Broken Nose

Having a boy is a whole world of different. So different that I don't believe one can fully appreciate the difference unless they have the other side of the coin to compare with it. My girls were and still are girly girls. They each would try stuff--still do--but proceeded with caution. Not all girls are like this. My girls also were far more gentle in their play. And their play in general was just different.

Ryan from the start was all boy. Whatever that means. When he was barely mobile he already began pushing toys like they were a car. He was very curious and very active. At 15 months, he was riding on a little rider toy inside. My guess is it was still sub zero temps outside, plus we had all linoleum floor. Gotta love military housing. He was pushing along having a good old time when suddenly he flipped over. It made a sickening smack. He of course screamed. I looked at him, no blood, no bumps, nothing. Hmmm. Must have just been scary for him. I got him settled and he seemed fine. Later that day after a nap, I was changing him and that is when I noticed he now had a chipped tooth. And so it began.

Fast forward three months. The boys loves to climb. He climbs like it is ingrained into him some how. I told Rich that we needed to build him a cage. Rich said, "Well he IS a monkey!" After thinking about that, I decided if we did build him a cage, he might fling poo at us.

One typical Sunday afternoon, I was out of the room and Rich was at his computer. Ryan had climbed onto the table. This was a new game for him. We did just about everything we could think of to keep him off. Well on this particular Sunday, he climbed up again--unbeknown-st to us--and Rich heard a horrible crash, and I heard the scream. As usual Ryan had used the chair to climb up on the table, not wanting to get caught he quickly decided to go down the way he got up(I am guessing here) It made sense to the 18 month old mind to use that chair. The chair went crashing down and took him with it. He hit the bridge of his nose on the back of the chair. It swelled almost immediately and began to bruise. Rich wanted me to take him to the ER. Now he is the type that says, "It's fine" or "Well let's wait and see" So I am thinking horrible awful if he wants me to take him.

So I did. As we waited for however many hours it was, I watched his nose slowly turn purple. It was forever in that horrible place. I hate ER's with a passion. They are crowded and littered with every germ imaginable. Finally it was our turn. The so called doctor "examined" Ryan--basically she looked at him. Treated me like an idiot and proceeded to tell me there weren't any bones in his nose to break. Ummm then what is that piece that bridges across the nose between the eyes? I must have been absent that day. She told me not to give Ibuproferen(which I sooo wanted to!) but to give him Tylenol instead. The reasoning behind this, the Ibuproferen could cause bleeding. I just didn't think Tylenol was enough. Poor kid must have been hurting pretty bad.

Three days later, I took him to our regular doc for a follow up. She was a very sweet and enthusiastic lady. When I told her the whole ER nightmare she was livid upset. She asked if they had checked his ears and nose for spinal fluid. Nope. Did they check his eyes? Nope. She said an x-ray wouldn't work because the nose was too swollen. But she assured me he did in fact break his nose. And she also told me to go ahead and give him the Ibuproferen as it would cause bleeding and relieve the pressure and swelling. No, his nose didn't bleed--at all in fact--but after I gave him the Ibuproferen the swelling went away almost immediately.

That was one of many ER visits I am certain I will have with this child. You can see here and here for non ER visits to fully appreciate what I am up against. This post was inspired by Mama Kat's writing prompt.
Left to Right: 3 months prior to broken nose--can you see his nose looks nice and straight?--Age 3 look hard can you see the bump he now sports ? 3days following the incident. Awwww... he looks like a prize fighter. A neighbor called him "Rocky."