The Ocotillo Wells Curse

This weekend we decided to take another camping trip out to Ocotillo Wells with the Brown family. Zane took Friday off and we headed out there for a weekend of fun. We had not been out there since Zane's accident, but now that he's fully healed and good to go, he couldn't wait to get back out there! Not only that, he just bought a sand buggy so we could all ride together and he was eager to try it out. We spent the day riding around in the buggy,  playing in the sand, riding quads and dirt bikes, and having a great time. Evening came too quickly and soon we were all huddled by a fire keeping warm, making burgers, and enjoying each other's company. The kids were having a blast playing, making s'mores and  looking for glow in the dark scorpions.

Everything was going great until Cally got hurt. She was standing near the Brown's toy hauler's door where Gunner, one of their dogs was sitting tied up to a long rope. Sunny, their other dog who is pretty well behaved was off the leash but when she bolted into the darkness because she saw a critter, it made Gunner want to do the same thing. However, since he was tied up, he took off forgetting about his leash. The leash eventually came taunt causing Cally, who happened to be standing there, to fall back by pulling her feet from under here. She fell straight back on her back hitting her head. She immediately began to cry and I knew she was hurt, I could hear it in her cry. When she did not stop crying after a minute or two I knew something was really wrong. Usually if she does get hurt, she cries but can quickly be redirected and distracted thus stop crying. This time, it didn't happen. At first I thought it was her head but she kept pointing to the side of her neck and saying her neck was hurting. That led me to think she may have strained it. We went to bed right away trying to console her. That night she woke up several times and any movement or shift in position would wake her from the pain. By 3am I was ready to take her to the hospital. Zane and I got dressed but realized she had fallen back asleep so we decided to let her rest and we'd take her next time she woke up if there was no improvement. She slept in until late the following morning but when she woke, she wasn't feeling any better. After debating back and forth, we decided we needed to take her thinking she may have broken something.

So we headed back to the ER where I took Zane the last time we camped out in Ocotillo Wells. Luckily the wait was minimal and we went back almost right away. They put her in a cervical collar right away and she was a trooper throughout the whole thing! She never cried and followed the nurse's instructions without hesitation. Finally they took her to get xrays and while Zane stood inside the xray room with Cally,  I sat behind the lead wall and watched as the image came in on the computer. When I saw it I knew right away that her collar bone was broken! I couldn't believe it. I felt so bad for our little girl. Shortly after the doctor confirmed it and we were sent home with pain medication and a sling. There is no cast applied with collar bone fractures and the treatment is simply rest and minimal use.

We headed back to the campsite and ended up spending another night there. The pain medication helped Cally and she was very careful not to use her arm. She never really complained and still wanted to play and have fun. She insisted on  going on sand buggy rides and although I did not think it was the best idea, I couldn't deny her of a little fun so we went several times. The following day we packed up and headed home.

Now we are home and she continues to guard her arm but is doing great. We have a follow up appointment next week with a pediatric orthopedic doctor to see what she has to say about the break. Meanwhile, we are taking it easy watching lots of princess moving and cuddling on the couch. Hoping my little girl heals quickly!