A few days after the car accident, I noticed something strange on Kodi. Near her collarbone, I noticed a protruding bump. I couldn't tell what it was so I asked her to come to me so I could look at it. It was sharp to the touch and the best way to describe it was like a large BB stuck under her skin. I had the chiropractor look at it when I went for myself and he said that the clavicle had been popped out from the accident. I called my sister and she recommended I see a pediatric orthopedic. I called, but they wouldn't see me without a referral and told me I needed to go to the Instacare or her primary doctor. Because I couldn't get into her pediatrician for a week, I decided to go to Instacare.
That evening I went to the Instacare, but they said they can't third party bill for accidents. So, unless I wanted to pay for this myself, I would have to go to the emergency room. I didn't want to do that, but didn't know what else I could do, so off I went. I was waiting in the waiting room for over two hours before they called me back, and the doctor looked at her and said, "This was here before, and you're just noticing it now because you were in a car accident." This angered me, so they did x-rays. I didn't need an x-ray to tell my her collarbone wasn't broken - she would have been in a lot of pain if it was broken. Basically, I sat there until 1 am to be told I'm "looking for things." I was pretty mad.
I kept the appointment with her pediatrician, but he said that he didn't know what to do with it. he recommended either a chiropractor or physical therapist. There was a physical therapist's office just across the waiting room, so before I left the building I spoke with them. They were about to close and the director was there, but he took a few minutes to talk to me, and I'm grateful. Just looking at her, he could tell that the bone protruding from her neck was from the accident. It was from her car seat as I suspected. He said that the ligament holding the bone in place was either torn or stretched which is causing her clavicle to stick out. Because she was so young and her bones are still flexible, that is what saved her from breaking her clavicle. He said that he didn't know if anything could be done and suggested I meet with the orthopedic to see what options there are, and if anything were to happen later, at least it's been recorded. So I set up an appointment with the orthopedic.
I met with a highly recommended orthopedic surgeon, who was very nice. Apparently, the physical therapist was the closest of everyone that I spoke to. Not only was the ligament damaged, but the bone separated from her growth plate. The bad news is, there is nothing that can be done. If they put in a screw to hold the bone down, it will leave a scar, and then we're stuck with the same problem she has now - cosmetic. He said that it might go back with time. That is my hope at this point. It's not terrible, but in certain lights, it's pretty apparent.
Fortunately, it's not very easy to notice in pictures, but you can see the dark spot on the left side of her throat.
All summer we talked about trying to get down to Vernal to see Kris's grandma. Then we talked about trying to go in October over UEA, but things get so busy so fast, and then next thing you know, you can't make it. I had a day off and we thought it would be a good day to break in the new car and see how it did on a long trip. Besides, if we didn't get out there now, we wouldn't make it before the winter hit.
Grandma Zufelt made some wonderful food and we got to share the company of Grandma, Sharon, and Perry. The kids had their moments of difficulty, but overall I think they did a pretty good job. It's always nice to see them, and when we live only a few hours away, it's important for us to take advantage of the opportunity when we have one. My grandma is across the country and we don't have that luxury.
Well, after having a rental for a week, and waiting on news from my car, I got word that my car has been totalled. I found out on a Friday, and was given until Tuesday to buy a new one before I have to return the rental. I was really stressed out with this news. I'll admit, I anticipated the car being totalled, but I didn't think that I'd only have 4 days to buy a new car - that's a large purchase to do so quickly. It was happening the same weekend that it was the end of the quarter at both of my schools, and I had to teach a lesson a church. It was a little too much for me and I finally cracked - I had a long cry and felt sorry for myself. After that, I was ready to jump back in the game.
