toddlers in cast / dealing with broken bones in small children

my unfortunate expieirience was this:

in june my 2.5 year old son jumped off the back of a chair in my living room. he fell only about 2.5 feet, and was a couple of feet from me when it happened. after he fell i knew his arm looked "off ". i check his wrist, his forearm, his elbow, his shoulder. i did not however, check his arm immiediatly above the elbow, and that was where the break was. his break shifted completely, and ended up having to be re-aligned and pinned.

make sure when your're checking for broken bones you do not move the arm at all! sling it, support it if you can, and go to the hosptial! be adamant that the docs also use a very light touch to check for breaks. i read and KNEW these things before it happened, but i panicked. i worry to this day i worsened the break.

he ended up in a shoulder to wrist cast. his upper arm was broken with two pins, and his forearm was fractured in both bones, but stable. from a fall from a chair in my living room.

we were in the hosptial for about 3 days after surgery, and he had the cast on for about 3.5 weeks only. the pediatric sling they gave him was horribly ill-fitting. we had to modify it with straps. it only stayed on when anchored by the wrist, middle of the forearm, and elbow.

in the cast

1st week: in bed ALL THE TIME. we had him propped in a pillow nest on the couch or on the bed. the doctors told us he could be "pretty mobile". i found between the tylenol with codeine, and the disorientation/trauma from surgery, and the weight of the cast upsetting his balance that in bed was the only thing we could do.

we used lots of ice packs to keep the swelling down, and lots of movies/books to keep him entertained and calm. we were able to keep up our nap schedule. he slept ALOT. alot fo kids first aid maunauls suggest using peas/corn. this is not a good idea. they tend to sweat stinky juice. clear blue ice packs and bags of plain ice in a towel work best. i found that i had to have 4 cold, and a fifth in use at all times.

we used the tylenol with codeine very very regulary. the max dosage. stuffed animals and small pillows worked great to prop his arm 24/7. if we forgot to prop it, or it came unpropped during the night his shoulder/fingers would swell.

2nd week: i took him out for walks every day in the stroller, he enjoyed that. being cooped up for over a week was hard for the both of us. mostly we walked short distances, and came home after about an hour or so. some days we'd walk twice. the hard part was finding a stroller that can hold a large toddler and have room for his cast without pinching/squeezing/pushing it in weird directions.

still used lots of ice, mostly at night. we were also still propping the arm all the time. we were able to cut down the tylenol w/ codeine to only at night.

3rd week: we did lots of stroller rides, and i took him to the park and let him play a bit on the grassy areas. NO SAND or WOODCHIPS!! he was frighteningly mobile, and had very little regard for his cast or limitations. the docs refused me a refill on his medication. the said he was in no pain, and i was babying him. i still feel that this was wrong. he would wake up with night terrors screaming his arm hurt, and be inconsolable. we gave him regular tylenol.

4th week: after the cast was removed we used a light ace bandage and let him wear his sling as much as he wanted. he would cry when we tried to take it away. i would give him ice when he asked, maybe once a day after he played or walked alot.

5th week: totally fine & normal

removal
i was very concerned about pin removal/cast removal. everything was fine. he was a bit scared of the cast cutter, and i insisted that they show me for sure what it was/how it worked. it works by vibration, so there is no chance of slipping and cutting your child. *whew* the pins were removed with pliers, and slid out with minimal bleeding. my son hardly noticed them at all. that surprised me, because they had to yank to get them to dislodge. they cleaned the pins and we took them home with us.

the cast has been off for over a month now, and he still babies his arm a teeny bit. i have to remind him he can eat with it (he broke his dominant arm). when he runs he holds it in the "cast" position. but as far as pain, he seems to be fine. at the playground, he hangs/climbs/uses it like normal.