When I showed up to volunteer for the last school swim class, Kerri showed me her middle finger on her right hand. It was swollen, and black and blue at the knuckle. She said it hurt a little, and that she could not bend her finger all that well. She told me that a ball hit her hand, and bent her finger all the way back during recess. But when she showed it to the teacher on duty, they said it was nothing. Kerri's teacher knew nothing about it.
When we got to the swim meet, I pulled Kerri's teacher aside and told her we would need ice, and explained what happened. She was shocked, and after taking one look at Kerri's hand, procured a blue rubber glove that had been filled with water and frozen. Kerri went to the pool holding this against her finger, and all the kids surrounded her, marvelling at her big blue turkey looking ice thing.
The last swim meet was a total success! Kerri had to be reminded she still needs swimming lessons, since my over confident little girl decided she could do flips into the deep end with no flotation assistance.
By the time we got home, Kerri's finger looked even more swollen, despite being on ice for over three hours. Nana tried to convince me it would be OK and was probably just sprained, but I decided to take Kerri to the doctor just in case. It turns out Kerri's finger was actually dislocated at the knuckle. The doctor popped her finger back into place and taped it up. Kerri did not flinch or cry. And then he decided Kerri needed the first of two flu shots. Kerri refused to look away and watched the needle going in. And my brave little girl tried to hold back the tears, but her eyes were overwhelmed. Her dislocated finger was no big deal, but the flu shot hurt.
Since I know Kerri does not process pain the same way normal kids do because of her sensory processing issues (hence why she is able to get dental work done with no numbing at all!), I figured there was more to the finger injury. But I was shocked she actually thought the shot was more painful. Even our doctor is astonished at how well she deals with pain.
Life with Kerri is on the mend, but not looking forward to the next flu shot in four weeks.