Veronica’s Story

Getting a call that your child has been hurt and needs to go to the hospital is scary.

It certainly was for Amanda Homeniuk, when she found out that her 10 year old daughter, Veronica, had badly hurt her toe at a backyard-birthday party.

Amanda knew that an urgent trip to the Emergency Department was next. But, she had no idea that 12 hours and multiple X-rays later, her daughter would be in surgery as doctors worked to save her toe.

“Because the toe is so small, with so many nerves, blood flow and nerve damage were big concerns,” said Amanda. “Veronica also had a lot of trauma to the skin between her toes, so they were worried about infection. They said they needed to monitor her closely and operate quickly.”

There was a possibility she could lose her toe.

As an active 10 year old who loves ringette and taekwondo, the idea that Veronica might be left with such a lasting injury was shocking and upsetting.

“We couldn’t believe it. Until she had an X-ray, and we could see the magnitude of the injury, it never occurred to us that she might lose a toe from running through a sprinkler in a backyard.”

Amanda started to wonder: How long would Veronica be in pain? How would this affect her balance and her ability to take part in the activities she loves? What kind of impact would this seemingly small injury have on her life?

“Veronica had her first X-ray as soon as we arrived in the emergency ward. She was in so much pain, so it was great that they could bring the portable X-ray machine right into our room.”

The X-ray showed that the fracture was all the way down in the foot bed and would require immediate surgery. Additional X-rays were done to monitor for swelling and infection before Veronica was taken to surgery, around midnight.

Luckily, the surgery went well and Veronica was home the next day. After three weeks on crutches, follow up X-rays showed everything had healed properly and she could start to get back to her favourite activities.

“We’re just so grateful. We received amazing care from everyone at the hospital - the doctors, x-ray techs, nurses, admin, everyone was so helpful.”

“Thanks to the care team, and to our ability to get the necessary X-rays, Veronica recovered really quickly. She was ready to go before ringette season even started!”