The Stairs

Friday night was going along like any other nice evening. We ate dinner together, then I was heading to work, just another Friday the 13th. Jason's parents had gone to the state fair that day so they were going to stop by and visit.

I made it to work when I received a phone call from Jason. He told me that he fell down about four stairs while carrying Norah. He thought that he was able to cradle her and didn't think that she hit anything, she was just scared and cried for awhile. She took a bottle and was now falling asleep in his arms. I told him to call me back if she vomited or if anything else concerning was going on. An hour later, the 2nd phone call. Norah was awake again and fussy. Jason also noticed a bump on the right side of Norah's head, the non-shunt side. He felt like it just didn't feel right. His parents were thankfully still at our house, so they could stay with Grant as Jason packed up Norah and was off to Children's ER. Thank goodness I have such understanding coworkers, I was able to hand off the patients and head off to meet Jason and Norah.

Norah was checked in seen by the resident in the ER who said, after not even touching Norah, well it's just a bump and usually we just send kids home and tell their parents to watch them. She was going to talk to her attending and he would be in. The attending doctor quickly palpated the bump while Norah fussed and squirmed away. He told us he was concerned about making sure he shunt was intact, he had seen crazy things where a bump somewhere else had caused the shunt to break away or crack. He didn't think a CT or MRI were necessary and thought a shunt series would be suffice. Xrays complete, shunt intact, we were sent home, told to watch her and return if there are any further problems. Should be the end right? I should feel better, right?

Well this is what Norah's bump looked like yesterday.

Norah has been rubbing her eyes often. She has been eating around 1/2 to 3/4  of what she normally eats since this happened. Her sleep has been broken up. Her bump has not improved at all. It feels like there is a step off on her skull, instead of being smooth. Norah has a bumpy, wonky head, but this doesn't feel right. The bump is squishy. It looks like there is a 1/2 of a tennis ball sticking off the side of her head. So Monday I called the Neurosurgeon's office, waited by the phone, no return phone call. This morning, I made an appointment with our pediatrician. The neurosurgery office just called back. I felt like they weren't listening to me. I shared all of my concerns. The PA that I talked to told me he looked at the xrays of her shunt, and that was fine, she has a MRI in a month. I should continue to watch it and she should be fine.

I continue to have concerns, why wouldn't they just take a few minutes to take a look at her.

Jason is off to the pediatrician now with Norah, maybe he'll take the time to examine her and give us the reassurance we are looking for....