Another complication…

It’s amazing to me how Stalen has such a high threshold to pain and his reaction to it. It is also very scary. We have become regulars in the Emergency Room because of it-but sometimes you just need that peace of mind.

At first his reaction to pain didn’t stand out to me. When he got his baby vaccinations he didn’t cry but he had quite chubby baby legs so I just assumed that he had some cushioning and didn’t feel it.

In April of last year, Stalen ran into the corner of a wall and split his forehead. He cried at first, there was a lot of blood, but the crying didn’t last long. He didn’t cry at the hospital nor when they glued his forehead together. I was quite impressed!

In June 2018, he was hospitalized twice and needed bloodwork. He didn’t even flinch. He cried when they touched him with gauze afterwards but not during the process of collecting the blood.

When he was admitted to the hospital the second time in June he needed an IV. He was extremely dehydrated and the nurses had a really hard time finding a vein. They were expecting quite a fight from him. They tried 5 times and were finally successful on the 6th. He again did not cry.

It slowly got harder and harder to ignore.

One day when I was mopping. He touched the steam mop with his foot and it burned the side of his foot. He did not make a sound. It was as if it didn’t happen. The burn resulted in a blister but no reaction from him.

The most profound experience was in September 2018. I put a pair of socks on Stalen and when I turned my back to grab my purse he bolted and fell on the hardwood floor. It seemed like a typical fall, his feet had gone out from underneath him. He cried quite a bit. He doesn’t cry a lot so the fact that he cried was an indication that he was injured. He favored his arm and cried for about 30 minutes-this is substantial for him. I quickly packed up and headed to the emergency room.

After we went through the registration process we sat in the busy waiting area right near the entrance. The automatic doors were opening and closing a lot. I glanced at S and he was having a nap. I couldn’t believe it. We are lucky if he sleeps 4-6 hours a night at home. His room must be complete darkness. I’m not even kidding-I have black garbage bags taped to his windows and black out curtains. There cannot be a dot of light and it must be complete silence. He slept for 15 mins. My Mom alarm was beeping like crazy-this was not like him. He woke up, was still favoring his arm but otherwise seemed fine. They finally called his name and took us to some chairs in the hallway out back. We were in the center of the action in the back of the ER. S was loving every minute of it! He was singing, he was laughing, he was enjoying snacks. You would think he was at a party. Eventually the nurse came over. She could see his big smile and how much he was enjoying himself. She asked me if I thought his arm was still bothering him. I told her that I wasn’t leaving that I need to have him checked for peace of mind. She was sweet and understood. Visually, he looked as if he was having the time of his life but I just couldn’t leave. The crying and napping didn’t settle well with me.

The doctor came and sent us off to Xray. We came back to our familiar chair in the hallway and waited for the Xray to come back. It didn’t take long. The doctor came and told me the Xray showed a fracture near his elbow. They had called the orthopedic surgeon to come consult because he was so young and has lots of growing left to do. The orthopedic surgeon came and wrapped his arm. We later received a cast and he is all healed up.

It’s amazing to me that besides a short nap and some initial tears there was no other real indication that he had sustained the injury.

Now, because he doesn’t really react to pain and because he is non-verbal if I suspect an injury then I have to take him to the hospital to be checked. We are usually in the ER every month or every other month.

My boy is so brave and strong all the time. I’m hoping as time passes he will get injured less and I will get better at reading his reactions or lack thereof. His high pain threshold is just another complication in our world. He keeps life interesting!