Broken....not Broken....Now That's the Question

Two weeks ago Benjamin came home saying he hurt his toe/foot in p.e. that day. He had gone to go and kick the dodge ball, but missed. Instead, he hit the ground with all his weight.  I really didn't think too much of it.  He used the word "stubbed", so I figured it would be fine by the next day.  He really didn't say anything about it until the following Tuesday night after soccer practice.  Then he said he was in a LOT OF PAIN!

So, we iced it...handed out motrin...and made an appointment at the clinic. After all, it a "studded" toe is hurting four days later? It's not a stubbed toe...something else is going on.

The next day (Wednesday) we were able to get it xrayed rather quickly.  The doctor we saw said while it showed no broken bones there was something along the growth plate that looked odd. He did say that after a full MD (a radiologist not just a tech) read the xray, he would call me if there was anything of concern. 

While Ben was still in pain the next few days, I didn't think too much of it since I didn't hear back from the clinic.  But, late last Friday afternoon the doctor did call me back to say the radiology did think the growth plate looked broken - a possible type 2 break, but it just wasn't a clear picture.  He wanted Benjamin to take it easy - not walk it  - and return at the beginning of the week so it could be looked at again. 

Back when William was in 9th grade, he got run over by a goalie that was literally three times bigger than he was and so ended up on crutches.  Thankfully, we still had those, so we dug them out of the attic and gave them to Benjamin.  I think for a short period of time he enjoyed using them...until they started to rub under his arm and his arms got tired. But we (okay - more me!) made him use them until we were able to be seen at the clinic again on Tuesday.  He wasn't AT ALL happy about using them at school.  But his toe was still hurting, so I made him.  When he was asked at school what happened, he told them he had a fight with an alligator.

(Much better story than the truth.)

Ben said after awhile people stopped asking him.  (Gotta love his sense of humor!)

At this second appointment, we had another xray done (which took a sweet FOREVER!! since one machine was broken).  This doctor said that if he was pain-free he could lose the crutches, but still no running or kicking soccer balls. 

The clinic called by the next day to say the second set of xrays looked clear along the growth plate.  While I asked questions, the doctor that called really couldn't tell me if it was broken and just healed very fast or if it was bruised (is that even possible for a growth plate??)...  Either way Benjamin is still pain free (yea!!) and has clear xrays.

And went back to playing soccer last night.