About 9 years ago, my now 10 year old daughter almost lost her thumb. She was a great sleeper, but one particular night she woke up on and off throughout the entire night. My husband and I would take turns going into her room, rocking her, singing to her, and trying to console her. We would get her to quiet down, put her back in her crib and leave the room hoping she would stay asleep! We both felt like something was wrong, but agreed that she was probably coming down with some sort of sickness.
Chloe would sleep with her “guys” as we called them. They were the sweet little musical animals that you pull the little string down and it’s musical. She had three…”pink guy”, “blue guy”, and “yellow guy”. These trouble-causing little fellas also had a ribbon tied around their necks. Obviously we thought nothing of this and allowed Chloe to sleep with all three of her “guys” night after night.
Chloe had gone to bed like normal on this April evening, and it wasn’t until 8 am the following morning that I noticed she had twisted one of the ribbons on her “blue guy” around her thumb, causing her circulation to be cut off. When Brandon and I had gone into her room repeatedly, we didn’t notice this, simply because it was very normal for her to be holding one of her guys super close.
When she woke the next morning I noticed what had happened. In a total panic, I grabbed scissors, cut the ribbon (which was difficult because of the swelling), and did my best to try and promote blood flow back to the tip of her finger that had literally turned black.
I called her doctor and told them what had happened, and they said “just watch it and as long as it doesn’t blister or swell it should be ok.” Chloe woke up for her afternoon nap and it looked completely different…very swollen and the entire thumb was blistered. I called again and they suggested I come in so they could take a look at it.
Within minutes of arriving to her pediatricians office, we were on our way to Maricopa County Hospital where they had a team of hand specialists waiting for us. After examining Chloe’s thumb, they told us she would more than likely lose it, as her body was beginning to reject it.
They did a little procedure where they removed her nail, and kept it medicated. She spent 3 days in the PICU, with one-on-one care. We called all of our friends and family asking for everyone to pray that Chloe’s thumb would be spared.
Day three came and I woke up to the sight of her doctor unwrapping her thumb with a huge grin on his face. “It’s going to be ok! Her thumb is going to be ok!” He had discovered fresh blood that had made it’s way to the tip. We rejoiced.
After this experience I have heard of this sort of thing happening to other children. It doesn’t have to be a ribbon from an animal, it can also be a knitted or crocheted blanket, or one of those little “tag blankets” that are fairly popular, or anything that has a loop or the possibility of causing the circulation to be cut off.
So please…go check your children’s toys, especially if they sleep with them. You don’t have to get rid of them, but I suggest you cut the ribbons so they can’t twist them around their finger or toes. If they do sleep with a crotched blanket, I would suggest trying to find a different blanket they could sleep with.
We are thankful for how our story ended and hope that I provided some useful information to you all today!
Have a great weekend!
