Apparently the consensus on L's soccer team is that I'm a Bad Mother without actually being called a Bad Mother.  Because of this I'm forced to take my daughter to the doctor, spend the $30 on the co-pay in addition to whatever else the insurance ends up not covering, so I can be told that her ankle is sprained.  I can tell you right now without going to the doctor that her ankle is sprained.  I can also tell you that it's not broken.  No, I'm not a doctor or a nurse, but I've seen enough sprained wrists and ankles in addition to K's broken wrist two years ago to know the fucking difference.  I'm not one of those parents who will rush their child inside to the couch with a glass of juice and a cold compress because they tripped over their own feet.  I'll see my kid fall, I'll check out their scrape when they come inside, I'll wash it off - maybe put a bandage on it if necessary - and send them back outside. 

Me: "Oh, you fell?" 
Child: nods
Me: "Can you move it?"
Child: nods and moves body part
Me: "You'll live."

L rolled her ankle at soccer practice on Thursday.  Her ankle was pretty swollen Thursday night, but no bruising and she could move it as well as put weight on it.  Friday the swelling was starting to go down.  Friday night her ankle started to bruise along the bottom of the swelling.  Saturday the swelling had gone down even more.  Does anyone see a pattern here people?  It's.  Getting.  Better.  However, because I sent her to her soccer game on Sunday to sit on the bench with her team and show her support for the team even though I asked that they not play her, I'm labeled a Bad Mother.  Because I didn't take her to the ER Thursday night or to the doctor on Friday.  Her Coach was floored apparently that I didn't immediately rush her to the doctor.  He told her that if I'm not going to take her to the doctor then she needs to go see the Sports Trainer at school and they "can at least tape it up for you."  It makes it sound like I refused to let her ice it, wrap it in an ace bandage, or take any Tylenol.  (For the record, she has been doing all three.)

When K broke her wrist two years ago she broke it in two places.  I believed she was being the Hypochondriac that my children have a tendency to be.  Her wrist swelled in the two places where it was broken, and was bruised immediately, but only in those two spots.  I will admit that was an instance in which I should have taken her to the doctor but I was sure that it was just a bump and we didn't go to the doctor until the next morning.  Part of that was due to the fact that K wanted to attend the Kids Night In (a D.A.R.E. event held at the local bowling alley where the kids from her school were fed massive amounts of pizza and sugary sodas, and then let loose in the bowling alley for an all night Lock In.) and knew she wouldn't be allowed to go if she went to the doctor.  When her friends mom brought her home the next morning she laid in bed for 20 minutes just sobbing into her pillow because her arm hurt so badly.  I finally decided that a trip to the doctor was in order.  When the doctor said it was broken in two places I felt terrible.  To this day K won't let me forget that.

L's ankle is nothing like K's wrist.  I'm positive that it's only sprained, but guess what?  I'm taking her to the doctor tomorrow morning so that I can spend money I don't have for a doctor to tell me what I already know.  All because I can't stand the fact that people think I should run to the doctor every time my child falls.  There are times when a doctor visit is warranted and times when it's not.  This is not one of those times.  Why am I going again?