ER, Neuro, and Elbow

Tuesday afternoon Autumn was trying to climb into an outdoor chair when they both tumbled over.  She hurt her elbow in the process.  The after hours nurse told us to take her to the ER.  They said it was Nurse Maid’s Elbow (where the bones in the elbow are pulled out of place).  They tried to put it back in place and sent her home.

Yesterday was the appointment with Autumn’s neurologist that is here in town.  The EKG & EEG from last week were normal.  It was only a 30 minute test, so the doctor said that if Autumn had any more seizures, we would do a more in depth test.  She’s also scheduling Autumn for several follow-up appointments with a dietician, and eye doctor, etc.  With Mito, things can sometimes show up in the eyes, so they check every year or two.

I was telling the Neuro about how much the extra protein (that the doctors in Atlanta had recommended) was helping Autumn.  She’s happier, not eating her hair any more, her nails are stronger, and she’s suddenly gained THREE POUNDS in just a few months.  That is big for her.  She can go an entire year and gain just a pound or two.  I was discussing Autumn’s diet just a bit and asking if she knew of any hypoallergenic protein drinks that might help.  Besides needing to avoid gluten, corn, and milk, Autumn is VERY picky.  I told her that just this week, Autumn suddenly decided she doesn’t like eggs any more and now refuses to eat them.  The neuro commented, “Well, don’t let her.”  It’s obvious she doesn’t live with a child with a sensory processing disorder.  I’ve learned there are certain things you can’t make a child do.  Eating is one of them.  Sure, you can try many different things, but if they don’t want to eat, they’re not going to – especially if they have sensory processing issues. 

The Neuro also said that we may want to try her back on gluten again.  I’m not sure what that will help.  She’s getting plenty of carbs from millet and rice based products.  The biggest problem is the intolerance to corn – which is literally in nearly ALL processed food in one form or another.

We are also going to add back in a couple of the medications/supplements.  Atlanta had Autumn try Leukovorin – which made her go crazy and tear apart everything in the house.  We are going to try it again – but at a much smaller dose and then try to work up from there.  We are also adding back CoQ10.  The Leukovorin is to correct the Cerebral Folate Deficiency, and the CoQ10 is used for mito.

At this point, Autumn still did not want to use her arm, and you couldn’t touch it without her screaming, so after we finished with the neuro, I set up an appointment with the pediatrician (who I still really like).  She then sent us to an orthopedic doctor who looked at the very same x-rays that the ER looked at and said that it IS fractured.  Autumn fractured the proximal radius in the elbow.  She now has a long cast the starts just below her shoulder and runs the full length of her arm.

So, yesterday, we left for the doctor around 9, ended up seeing three different doctors, and made it back home around 5.  What a day!  The one positive is that is the cast is waterproof and only has to stay on two weeks.

Janel