That went wrong: ‘Her upper phalanges were crooked’

Every Monday a mother tells about the moment in motherhood when things went horribly wrong.

Sabine (34) is married to Bas (32) and mother of Esmée (8), Emma (6) and Esther (4).

“Our three daughters were playing sweetly in Esmée’s bedroom when we suddenly heard a dull thump followed by screams. We were shocked. Especially when Emma came down crying profusely as she supported her right hand with the left. Her sisters ran after her, busily telling what had happened. The girls had decided to move the – way too heavy – bed and Emma’s hand was caught between the foot of the bed and the wall.

First aid

Emma complained of severe pain and I noticed that her three upper phalanges were bent. Something that made her cry even louder when I noticed. My husband Bas called the GP and was immediately referred to the emergency room. Bas went to the hospital with Emma. Since it was already evening, I stayed at home with the other two girls. In the emergency room they clearly saw that her fingers were crooked and they took pictures of her hand.

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Curved

Waiting for the result, Bas took Emma’s other hand to see if it might be thicker too. To his surprise, he saw that the top phalanges of her left hand were exactly as crooked as that supposedly injured other hand. Emma could move them both equally well! Bas obviously felt terribly embarrassed about this unjustified claim of care, as if it wasn’t overloaded enough already. He decided to pretend his nose was bleeding and to wait for the doctor’s announcement that – as he expected – luckily nothing was broken and they could go home.

Once home we had a good laugh about our blunder. I still really have no idea why in six years I haven’t noticed once that all of my middle daughter’s fingers are bent.”

This article can be found in Kek Mama 02-2022.

Curious about more maternal blunders? Every Monday you can read a new ‘That went wrong’ story on Kekmama.nl.