Kids cast tips

[bears]

I need some suggestions for how to deal with all of this:

I went to pick my 5 yo son up from school this afternoon and he had (just) fallen off a slide and broken his wrist. After a trip to the Ortho, he's currently at the children's ER with my husband where they will reset his bones and put a cast on.

Has anyone dealt with this? Any tips or tricks for dealing with the cast and a kid that is grumpy because he can't use his dominant arm?

Also, how do I deal with sibling jealously when he's getting attention for his arm? His jealousy when her can't do soccer and functions but his sister does? And how do I make up having to cancel the family to Great Wolf Lodge?

[dorkus]

Lurker chiming in.

Depending on the type of break, ask if they can do a waterproof cast. My son broke his thumb at camp but with the waterproof cast, he was still able to participate in swim lessons, shower, etc. we had to lay about $25 out of pocket since insurance didn’t cover it but it was money well spent!

[outnumbered]

Feb 25, 2020 21:13:12 GMT -5 bears said:

I need some suggestions for how to deal with all of this:

I went to pick my 5 yo son up from school this afternoon and he had (just) fallen off a slide and broken his wrist. After a trip to the Ortho, he's currently at the children's ER with my husband where they will reset his bones and put a cast on.

Has anyone dealt with this? Any tips or tricks for dealing with the cast and a kid that is grumpy because he can't use his dominant arm?

Also, how do I deal with sibling jealously when he's getting attention for his arm? His jealousy when her can't do soccer and functions but his sister does? And how do I make up having to cancel the family to Great Wolf Lodge?

My son broke his wrist at the age of 5 (and then again at 13).  We opted for the waterproof cast, which is really just a waterproof liner.  It was $25 extra, but well worth the money.  When he was 5 it was his dominant arm and did not limit his abilities at all.  He was still able to run, play, write, and bathe.  He can possibly still play soccer, he is more likely to injure another player with the cast than hurt himself. 

His siblings were not jealous, because he did not really get any extra attention.  Maybe a few people noticed and commented, but since it did not impact his physical ability in any way so he needed no extra attention.  After spending a few appointments at a huge ortho center I realized his injury was extremely common.

I would just reschedule the GWL trip if possible.

Good luck and wishing for a swift recovery. 

[lilac05]

I’m so sorry about your son’s wrist.

My 6 year old broke his dominant arm 2/2, so we’ve been dealing with much of the same. I’ve been SHOCKED at how resilient he’s been and how quickly he has healed! He had to have surgery, and is in a cast above his elbow, but is already scheduled to have the cast off this week! He has also learned VERY quickly how to do almost everything himself with his left hand, including getting his car seat buckled/unbuckled. His handwriting with his left hand is better than many of his classmates’ dominant hand. The only thing he really cannot do is pour milk. He also can’t really shoot a basketball, but he’s happy dribbling around. We do help him in the bathtub, but he could definitely be showering independently right now if we let him. We bought a cast cover for the shower. www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Protector-Showering-Watertight-Protection/dp/B07K8BW5DJ/ref=sr_1_9?crid=HS4C9TR6MGOW&keywords=cast+covers+for+shower+arm&qid=1582683661&sprefix=Cast+cover%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-9 There has never even been a hint of moisture under it! I didn’t trust it at first, and by the time I did, we already had a routine that worked. I was going to let him use it while playing in the water (just not submerging it), but we didn’t get to go.

I think what helped most was empowering him to learn how to do things on his own. He has a couple of long sleeve shirts that don’t have cuffs that he can still wear comfortably. After the first couple of days, he was able to dress himself without any trouble. I showed him right away how he could use his broken arm to stabilize things so he could open something. He LOVED learning that he could still do pretty much everything, even if it IS a little different. He’s never really been upset about not being able to use his arm. He HAS used it to try to get himself out of doing things, but found that we didn’t have much sympathy about that after the first 4-5 days. LOL

Check with the doctors about your vacation. I know a friend’s daughter had a broken arm, and they were able to come up with a solution for her to still swim. It’s been awhile, so I don’t remember what it was. Unless it’s this weekend, you may still be able to go and have a fantastic time! He’ll be using that cast as a weapon in no time! Last weekend (so 3 weeks after injury), my son was running at the park and having a blast. They finally had to leave because he was getting too brave for my parents’ comfort. LOL.

As far as jealousy, we just reminded them that life isn’t always equal. It’s a trade-off...one gets special attention and some balloons while the other gets to play sports. It’s hopefully just a short time, and the odds are pretty good that one day, they’ll trade places. It was definitely hard, though. My H took our older son out to run errands or just made a special effort to give him 1:1 time, too.

The bonus: Their play has gotten so much quieter! They actually talk and play now rather than running and wrestling and yelling non-stop! I’ve got my fingers crossed that some of that will last after the cast comes off!

A big surprise for us was that he did NOT want anyone to sign his cast. At first, it hurt (they had to put pins in it during surgery). After that, he said he didn’t want someone to write something that he didn’t like on it and it would have to stay on there until the cast came off. I’m curious if he will let people sign it the day it comes off. His doctor suggested he take it easy at recess, and since it’s winter, we just decided to have him stay in from recess. He has loved that! He gets to choose a friend (he’s trying to make it through the whole class) and then they take iPads down to the office and can play while their friends are at recess. He sits out PE, too...but he hasn’t mentioned a word about it either way. I try not to draw attention to the things he cannot do, and he hasn’t really seemed bothered by it.

[Que?]

Poor kiddo
My kid broke her hand on the first day of summer break. We had to rearrange a lot of shit; swim club, we changed vacation plans to not include so much water lol. That said, we had a cast cover and just let her be a kid. We opted against the water proof cast because she has excema and apparently she would need a round of antibiotics to ward off skin issues which was a no go for me. We had her cast changed once due to moisture etc.
We spoiled her rotten for being such a trooper, because she was pretty chill about missing out on so much, like watching her brand new bike just sit there while her friends rode around the street. I will say this is when she developed a serious addiction to the iPad that we later had to deal with lol.
Good luck.

[alleinesein]

I broke my arm in 2nd grade and it was my dominant arm. Aside from having to learn to write with my left hand, it didn't have any major effect on me. My break was just above my elbow so my cast went from my hand to just below my armpit.

My one major tip is to take a quick peek at his wardrobe and see what will work with a cast on his wrist. You may have to get some new clothes that will fit over the cast especially if you are still having winter weather.

[puppylove64]

My kid just broke his right hand at New Years. He was doing everything within a few days, except tying his shoe. It also healed very quickly. Our problem was his cast basically fell apart within less than a week and we had to go with the removable kind and I didn’t feel it was sturdy enough for how “back to normal” he wanted to play. He healed great though and dr said in a few years, you won’t be able to tell he ever broke it. Kids are tough

How far away is your GW trip and how long will he be in the cast?

[lilac05]

Stock up on hand sanitizer! It’s next to impossible to properly wash hands with a cast that partially covers the hand. My son had 6/18 kids out with influenza in his class one week. I was so sure he’d get it because he couldn’t wash his hands, but so far, so good! We have sanitizer in his backpack, they have it at school, and we have it in a few places in the house. I’m usually not a fan of sanitizer, but in this situation, it was necessary.

[NewGirlNic]

Sorry to hear about your son. Can you reschedule the GWL trip for after his cast comes off? Or do something else during that time that doesn't involve water?

My son broke 6 bones in his foot last spring and was on crutches for 6 weeks and a walking boot for another 2. I remember thinking "how the F are we going to get through this?" But he was a pro on crutches and adapted super quickly. Kids are so resilient.

[tennisgal]

See if getting an Exos brace is an option.

www.djoglobal.com/products/exos/wrist-brace-boa

[andi]

I agree, kids are resilient and will adjust so quickly. My 5 year old wore a full (bent at the elbow) arm cast for 2 months and actually just got it off a couple of days ago. The biggest issue we had was winter wardrobe and buying a bigger coat so her arm could fit. We changed casts halfway through because too much moisture got inside, so a waterproof liner wouldn't be a bad idea just for bathtime/hand washing. She absolutely hated the cast at first but got used to it so quickly, hopefully your son will too! Good luck!

[mich1]

Feb 25, 2020 21:33:05 GMT -5 dorkus said:

Lurker chiming in.

Depending on the type of break, ask if they can do a waterproof cast. My son broke his thumb at camp but with the waterproof cast, he was still able to participate in swim lessons, shower, etc. we had to lay about $25 out of pocket since insurance didn’t cover it but it was money well spent!

I was going to suggest this too.  I had to pay a surcharge for my waterproof cast, but it was a total deal changer.  You can still shower and get it wet, which does help a lot.  I think that the surcharge was $30 for me a few years ago.  I couldn't get my credit card out fast enough for that!

Also, check his coats!  I had my hand surgery in Feb. and I had one coat that I could wear where I could still get my arm through the sleeve.  

[mockingbird]

My kid has sensory issues and could.not. cope with the itching. I ended up buying him a can of compressed air to blow down the cast, it relieved the itching without me worrying about him breaking the skin. I didn't let him have it, the school nurse had one and I had one he could come to us to use.

[Shreddingbetty]

bears, not sure if this is available anywhere near you but it would be worth checking into
activarmor.com/about-activarmor-for-patients/