Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Friday, June 14, 2013

My Medical 'Break'through


Some of our blessings.
Caution: Lift with care.
I’ve been fairly active all my life.
And I have the scars to prove it.
I had all the usual bumps and bruises learning to walk as a baby.
Climbed and fell off of numerous fences, buildings, and assorted furniture.
Got trampled by an angry mama cow in the barnyard and got a flattened right boot.
Tried to fly using mom’s circular clothesline and almost bit my tongue right through.
Took a high-flier off my brother’s horse and landed on my face, resulting in impressive scratches and bruises.
Got a faceful of hoof from the same horse moments later.
Had an altercation with the arm of the armchair in my parents’ front room which resulted in one remarkable eyebrow.
Tore a twenty-two-inch groove in my leg from ankle to thigh, when I fell headfirst over the barbed-wire fence I was trying to cross.
Nearly lost my right hand in a cattle headgate.
Put all of my lower teeth through my lip when I got head-butted by an angry mama cow whose calf I was sitting on at the time.
And these were just injuries incurred in the course of growing up on a ranch.
I also sprained each ankle numerous times playing basketball, volleyball or baseball.
Sprained every single finger at least once – ditto.
Broke a wrist doing a celebratory leap.
Wrecked a knee running marathons.
Wrenched shoulders.
Sprained backs.
Twisted necks.
My purpose in telling you all of this is not so you will think I’m tough.
Or superwoman.
But because I don’t want you to think I give up easily.
That I can take pain and carry on.
But recently, I’ve developed a new injury.
Something I’ve never had before.
And I’m really struggling with it.
I went to the doctor complaining of pain in my elbow.
You heard me correctly.
My elbow.
She examined the offending joint. Worked it around. Hemmed and hawed. “You have tennis elbow,” she said decisively, moments later.
“Tennis elbow? How on earth did I get that?!” Since the knee injury, my sports participation has been strictly limited to laps of the pool.
And the occasional bike ride.
I’ve never even picked up a tennis racket.
“Well . . . golf elbow, then.”
Golf?! “Umm, that’s a game, right?”
She stared at me. “Well, what activities do you do?” she asked.
I frowned. “Swim. Bike. Play with my grandkids.”
Her eyes sharpened. “Grandkids?”
I nodded.
She smiled. “Do you lift said grandkids?”
I scratched my head. “Ye-es,” I said slowly.
“A lot?”
“Well, two of them live with me and one I babysit every day.”
She nodded, once more crisply confident. “That’s it, then.”
“What?” I was confused.
“I’m sure that the pain in your elbow can be directly attributed to the constant lifting of small bodies.” (Doctors talk like that . . .)
“I have . . . toddler elbow?”
She smiled. “In a word.”
Huh.
It’ll never be discussed in ‘Sports Illustrated’.
Never be the topic of concern for professional athletes.
But it’s real.
Toddler elbow.
To be found at a many grandparents’ houses near you.
You heard it here first.


22 comments:

  1. I feel your pain, Diane. I got De Quervain's syndrome in my thumb from holding my first born so much. Never heard of it before him. Would have sworn the doctor made it up. Wished I'd thought to call it "Baby thumb" or something more accurate! Hang in there my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's progressive. Toddlers keep growing and even at age 4, still like to be picked up and hugged. Eventually, the pain you feel in your elbow, moves to your back.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Toddler Elbow...I love it. Mine gave me a stiff neck.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just knew I could blame my future hip replacement on Boo! Toddler elbow, go figure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you concentrate really hard, you can blame almost anything on your kids!

      Delete
  5. Oh you made me wince with all the things that happened to you. You sure were a busy gal. lol
    I don't come close to any of your stuff but I can understand the toddler elbow.
    I used to carry all the kid bags and my son and one day my shoulder just got so much pain. Like it was ripping out of my shoulder.Took me 6 months of constant care and heat before it became normal again. It hung useless being unable to do next to nothing.
    I thought maybe with the bra strap adding to the weight it just didn't like it. Sign of the times I guess lol Get better.:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I had "tennis elbow" a few years ago from schlepping too many bags of groceries to/from the store/car/house - I had to learn to carry less at a time. It's definitely a pain in the ... elbow :) I never realized you could get it from picking up grandkids too! Will you need physio exercises? Hope you heal quickly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the word 'Schlepping'! That's my new word of the day! Schlepping. That definitely sounds like something that would end up giving you pain!

      Delete
  7. The back is the next thing to go, so heads up! The last time I picked up my 7 yr old gr-daughter, I hobbled for a week!

    Wonderful photo! You are so blessed!

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  9. OUCH! OUCH! and OUCH! After reading a list like that.......

    Well......I am just glad that I've been only hit by a truck. ; )

    Seriously......amazing you are still here. How many lives is that? HA Ha.

    Sorry about the elbow. That's not an easy fix when you still have grandbabies to pick up and cuddle, now is it? Hope you get some relief soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Getting hit by a truck definitely tops anything I've ever done, Lynn! I think you used up all of your pain on one accident! I hope you're healing! I definitely am!

      Delete
  10. I've never had tennis elbow, but I've had toddler shoulder and shopping shoulder along with sprained backs and an occasional bout of housemaid's knee, caused by kneeling down so often for the kids to climb into my lap when I couldn't lift them. Now all of those points have arthritis. But at least I don't have to lift any kids anymore. The youngest grandchild is 9.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Toddler shoulder and shopping-bag shoulder. Definitely maladies to watch out for . . .
      Housemaid's knee? Oh, dear.

      Delete
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