Four Wheels, Many Injuries (continued)

Sassy, Spunky Caitlin Returns

Even though Caitlin had suffered massive trauma, she was healing remarkably fast.

She was breathing on her own. Her broken collarbone “took no time at all to heal,” Tina said, and a gash behind her ear had healed in just a day or two.

“Caitlin bounced back unbelievably fast,” Rosebrook said. “An adult with those injuries would be down for weeks. The healing capacity of kids is phenomenal.”

Part of the reason Caitlin healed so fast, Tina said, was because of Rosebrook.

“Heidi was so great,” Tina said. “She came in every day and saw us while we were there. She would sit down and talk to me. I wasn’t doing very good. I was tired and stressed out. I was worried about Caitlin. I couldn’t believe it happened. Never in a million years did I think I’d have to deal with something like that.” Caitlin’s spunky personality also had started to make a reappearance, Rosebrook said.  

“That’s what I loved about this little girl – when I first met her, she was grumpy and uncomfortable,” Rosebrook said. “But in a short time she was sassy and demanding, bossing her brothers around.”  

Greg and Tina were thrilled too.

“They told me ‘We have our kid back!’” Rosebrook said.

After Caitlin was stabilized and Dr. Karrer was sure she had no internal injuries, Mark Erickson, MD, put her in a spica cast – a cast that begins at the chest and comes to the knee on each leg. The cast held Caitlin’s legs apart so the pelvic injury could heal correctly – and also so Caitlin wouldn’t be able to walk while wearing it, possibly reinjuring her pelvis.

Once she was in the cast, members of Children’s occupational and physical therapy staff taught Caitlin range-of-motion exercises. The therapists even taught Greg and Tina how to do the exercises at home to help in Caitlin’s recovery. Jim Savage, the child passenger safety coordinator for Children’s Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Institute, visited the Harts and fitted Caitlin for a special car seat that could accommodate her cast.

On her fifth day on the third floor at Children’s, a nurse felt a pulse in Caitlin’s foot.

Two days later, Caitlin went home.

“She was in the hospital seven days, and after that severe of an injury, she went home all sassy,” Rosebrook said. “It’s what I love about kids.”

‘It Could Have Been a Lot Worse’

Doctors at Children’s sent Tina and Greg home with oxygen for Caitlin’s first night at home. Her lungs were healing quickly, but she still needed extra oxygen at night, Rosebrook said.

Physical therapists at Children’s also sent Caitlin home with a wheelchair, but most of the time, the little girl, who had just turned 4, rested on the couch. She didn’t like the wheelchair much, Tina said, instead insisting that mom carry her around. The hardest part of being in a cast, Greg said, was that Caitlin couldn’t take her beloved baths.

Six weeks later, the Harts went back to Children’s, where Dr. Erickson removed Caitlin’s cast. He was impressed with the way her fracture had healed – she had lost some muscle tone, he said, but luckily, she wouldn’t need any rehabilitation. He told Tina to take Caitlin swimming to strengthen her muscles.

The rest of Caitlin’s injuries had completely healed.

“It’s amazing,” Tina said. “I think the doctors were surprised that she wasn’t hurt more. They kept saying, ‘you don’t realize how lucky you are.’ Neither one was wearing a helmet. As bad as it was, it could have been a lot worse.”

Most kids who are put in casts want to keep them to play with later, Dr. Erickson said. A nurse in Dr. Erickson’s office sent Caitlin home with her cast after spending 45 minutes cleaning and lining it and fitting it with Velcro. 

Dr. Erickson told Greg and Tina that it might be a while before Caitlin was walking again.

“They didn’t want us to have false hopes,” Greg said.

But back at home in Berthoud that afternoon, Caitlin attempted to walk. It was hard for her at first, Greg said, but the next day, she was outside, ambling away.

“She can walk by herself, unless she’s in a hurry, and then she wants to hold my hand,” Tina said.

Just a month out of the cast, Caitlin still walks with a limp.

“Dr. Erickson told us that when he sees her in September, he wouldn’t be surprised if she was still limping,” Tina said.

Dr. Karrer said, “A limp is common after a pelvic injury.”

Although Caitlin likely will walk normally in just a few months, Dr. Erickson said, she will need follow-up care well into adulthood. Caitlin’s pelvic bones broke on her growth plate, which could affect how she grows in years to come.

She also could be prone to early arthritis, Greg said.

The kids are still allowed to ride the ATVs, Greg said – it’s just a part of living on a farm – but Cody won’t go anywhere near them. Cody was released after just a few hours at McKee Medical Center, Greg said, and still has a lump in his stomach from the accident that doctors say will go away eventually.

But Cody was most traumatized by Caitlin’s injuries, Greg said.

“He was so scared when it happened and when she was in the hospital,” Greg said. “He just flipped out. It was hard for him to deal with all that.”

Caitlin and Colton aren’t afraid of riding the family’s four-wheelers. The Harts sold the big four-wheeler that was involved in the accident, but still have two smaller ones. Tina and Greg make the kids wear helmets while riding, and don’t let them ride tandem. The Harts bought Caitlin a tiny, battery-operated ATV that can’t go faster than about 2 mph to keep her from getting hurt.

Caitlin doesn’t remember much about the accident, Tina said. She doesn’t remember hitting the throttle on the ATV while her big brother Cody was turning the wheel. She doesn’t remember the pain she felt when she was thrown from the four-wheeler.

But she does remember the helicopter ride, Tina said, and one of the nurses aboard – she even pointed her out to mom when she saw a picture of the flight crew in a local newspaper.

She also remembers her stay at The Children’s Hospital – and so do Greg and Tina.

“We were so happy with her care,”

Tina said. “Everyone there was so nice and helpful. Everyone did a wonderful job at making the experience the best it could possibly be for me. I just love everyone down there. It’s a wonderful hospital.”

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