Remember back in August 08 when Rudy defied time and space but very much so complied with gravity? (If not, you can read all about in my post in that month. Sorry, I don't know how to link it to this text.) Well, he's been turning his tricks again, this time with Mutti. I feel so bad for her! I know how terrible it feels to know a baby you love was hurt and you could have prevented it, but (since it wasn't me) I can tell her things like this just happen, even to the best of us. (And believe me, Mutti, you're one of the best of us!) That said, I will continue on with the story, hopefully causing as little emotional trauma for Rudy's adoring Oma as possible. (Just skip it if you want, Mutti!)
While I was sick on Saturday, Mutti was graciously watching Rudy for me. She was changing him on the air mattress that was set up in the exercise room for me when Rudy defied time and space for the second time in his career and went from the middle of the bed to the floor in the milliseconds it took to turn and toss a diaper into the trash. A little wailing, a few tears, and a thorough check over seemed to close the episode. Not so.
Sunday morning, as I was nursing him, I noticed that a large spot on the right side of his head was squishy. Red lights were flashing all over the place and I summoned the resident nurse (Mutti) to investigate. We decided it must just be a doozie of a goose egg, and waited for it to do its thing (get all purple and green and then bow out). Well, by Tuesday, nothing had changed. Rudy still had a squishy bump on the side of his head, and there had been no color show. Curiouser and curiouser.
I brought him into the Dr.(The forth time in four weeks. ugg!) and was told my little guy has a skull fracture. A SKULL FRACTURE?! WHAT?! Aren't those things usually accompanied by emergency room visits and extremely pitiful looking bruises? Many questions and soothing reassurances later, I left the Dr.'s office feeling pretty ok about the whole thing. Rudy's fracture is pretty minor, and there was no internal bleeding (the thing that brings emergency rooms into the picture) His squishiness is NOT his brain (The conclusion my motherly hysterical mind of course jumped to the first time I felt the squish) It's just blood pooling between his skull and the membrane that's kinda Saran wrapped around it. (Hooray for anatomy class!) Anyway, the Dr. says it could stay squishy for about 2 months, after which it will calcify (his body will turn it into a bony patch) and ultimately reabsorb into his miraculously self healing little body. The whole thing will probably take about 6 months.
So. There you have it. Rudy actually "fell off and broke his head" just like the song says. Only his Dr. didn't wag his finger at him and say "NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!" Too bad. It would've have incredibly witty, though perhaps the kind and sensitive Dr. realized wit wasn't exactly what I was looking for at the moment. :)
You can kinda see his lopsidedness if you hold your breath and squint your eyes...it's on Rudy's right side.
I think you can see the bulge pretty well, here. It's just above his ear.
Anyway, Rudy's fine, I'm fine, Jason's fine, and we still trust you with our baby, Mutti!
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