My daughter’s broken again?

We’ve just been through my daughter’s third broken bone (or technically fractured) and she’s only four years old. Is it bad luck, genetics or that her bones aren’t strong enough? I don’t know and I’m not sure who’s going to give me an answer.

She did fall about six feet from a tree fort that her dad’s building for her and her sister, so some might say (and I thought too) that the fall was worthy of something being broken, but really – three breaks in three years, I think that’s a bit much.

So I started to question everything that she eats, or doesn’t (as I’m a nutritionist thru and thru).

My daughters and I get reactions to dairy, so we eat and drink alternatives; rice and almond milk, goat’s and sheep’s yogurt and cheese. We eat a diet which includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lots of calcium and vitamin D rich foods (Ca; green leafy vegetables, avocados, celery, seaweed, carrots, dried fruit, apricots, almonds, nuts and seeds, garlic, brown rice, dried herbs, raisins, amaranth, beans, shellfish, and even molasses. Vit D; salmon, cod-liver oil, egg yolks, oats, as well as supplements and sunshine!) so I think we’ve got it covered.

But I found myself, sitting in the back seat of the car with her on the way to the ER after she fell, wondering if I should abandon what I know to be true and start giving her cow’s milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and cheddar cheese like everyone else does.

My conversation with myself was a tough one. I immediately went to what has been drilled into us forever – milk makes strong bones. Well I know that not to be completely true, and after researching bone health for my book ‘Sprout Right’, I know that it’s not all about calcium.

But as I sat there, holding my daughters arm, trying to keep her calm for the hour-long drive, I felt guilty. Guilty for somehow failing her, which lead to her bones not being strong enough to withstand a fall like that. Or not crack when she fell two years earlier.

The doctors that I’ve asked don’t seem concerned. When her dad took her to Sick Kids for a follow up, they didn’t even re-x-ray her arm, or suggest a bone density scan (which is what I was hoping for!). In fact, he came back with no answers at all, which was frustrating for me. They just did a wiggle around of her wrist, gave her a new sling and said don’t do sports for two weeks.

So, with that said, I’m still looking for the answer to my original question, and not getting one. Although I’m still worried, she has healed and is back to doing her crazy cartwheels, jumping off the couch and climbing everything that she can, all the while telling me “I’m ok mom”!

My job now (other than to worry every time I hear a thud) is to do what I know best—feed her the food and nutrients that her body needs to be strong. And in the process, teach her about why I’m putting tahini in her smoothie every morning, and why she must eat all of her salmon for dinner – and hope that as her body heals itself, she learns a lesson or two about being safe and why mama puts all that food on her plate!

Have you had a similar experience? What did you do about healing the broken bone? Can you an swer my question??