My 3 Year Old Hit Her Head Behind Her Ear: I Almost Died

My 3 year old, in the midst of a balancing act on my thigh, slipped and hit the side of her head (right behind her ear) on the side of a metal end table yesterday. The sound, the sight... I nearly fainted. I took her in my arms and looked at the damage. Her head was literally caved in with the impression of the table. The back of her ear! I hear that is one of the most dangerous places. We put ice and did the traditional dance of "hey look out the window", "watch the cat", "who is that in the back yard" to distract her. She cried and cried and still ate the walnut she was working on during the fall.

Well when the silence kicked in, I went online to look at what I should be looking for. Good info. Scary info. Terrifying info! I stopped myself and decided to evaluate the damage myself. Made her follow my finger, whispered things in her ear to make sure nothing happened to her ear, made her walk on her tippy toes. By the end of the night, my husband and I still in limbo about taking her to emergency, we caught her playing ring around the rosie on her own. I guess that is a good sign. OR IS IT???

I wrote Dr. Bill from Capital Area Pediatrics in Sterling. He is a wonderful pediatrician. He is so wonderful, I cannot imagine not having him in my life. He calms me down. Never freaks me out. Never over prescribes, never under prescribes. He is preventative and overall, he knows how to deal with a freaked out mom like me.

I stayed up all night and watched my little one. Tapped her, woke her up, asked her how she felt, what my name was, how old she was. Ok, I thought; as soon as we wake up I am going to get help... for ME!

I read Dr. Bill's answer to me in the morning (I didn't check back last night as he promptly answered and could have saved me my night's sleep). Here is what he said and I think you should all know this in case you are about to die due to a head injury on your little ones.

"Things to look for are constant vomiting, excessive irritability, or excessive lethargy. Usually if she's not having problems after 24 hrs you should be ok. Check on her for a couple of things during the night. She should act tired since you are waking her up. If she's acting differently, let me know. I'm on call this weekend so you can call me on the cell phone if you need to, #####. Keep a cool compress on the bump for today. Tomorrow you can use a warm compress. Tylenol is ok to give for headache and bump pain."

Being a mother has to be the hardest job on earth! Having a good ped, has to be a life saving one! Literally.