Of Little Broken Arms

Bo, my five-year old daughter, held her left arm tightly to her chest, refusing to let me see it, while she wailed with pain. Assessment point one: guarding. When she calmed down enough for a gentle palpation, I found point tenderness just below the elbow, and that was assessment point two. And point three: there was a little swelling at the site. I took her to the hospital where an X-ray revealed fractures to both radius and ulna, and now she wears a bright pink cast immobilizing her arm from mid-humerus to fingers. Signed by her classmates in kindergarten, she bears it proudly, something like a pink badge of courage. The mechanism was landing on her outstretched arm while bouncing on a neighbor's trampoline, and she was added to a long list. During a recent six-year period, the number of children injured on trampolines has doubled. The number has reached to more than 60,000. For more trampoline stats, check out www.sciencedaily.com. Based on the stats, some experts are calling for a ban on the devices.