Spica Cast - FAQ

I've been wanting to do this post for awhile.

As my long time readers know and remember, our Brian broke his femur when he was jumping off the back of the couch (and landed on his sister) just two days after his third birthday in March of 2008.  I was blogging at that time, and chronicled our journey as part of my daily ramblings.  

Why am I bringing this up again now?

What my longtime readers might not know is that I get emails at least twice a week from parents who have found those posts and have questions.  You see - while I was blogging during that time, it never occurred to me that even while I was Googling, anxious for more information and hope, that soon other parents would be Googling and coming across my blog.

I say that, had I had my wits about me and realized, I would have been more detailed, taken more photos, but the truth is - I was running on autopilot, tired and doing all I could to just get from day to day. 

So I answer the emails, and I don't mind, and I answer the questions.  But more and more, I don't get to them the same day, and then I feel badly.  And I'm not always here.  Denver, y'all.  Two weeks! 

So I thought I'd put here a bit of an FAQ and add to it over time.  This post will then become part of our Spica Cast page and hopefully help someone when they are Googling at 2am.  I remember that. Hang in there!

FAQ 

Also - please keep in mind that my answers are based solely on our experience.  Our Brian was three at the time, and we learned as we went.  My first bit of advice for all little boys in casts - the one thing that I do wish they told both my husband and I is - point it up before you put the diaper on.  You know what I'm sayin'.  Trust me. 

And don't ask me why my questions are all in different colors - typepad is not liking me tonight.

• How is Brian doing now? Does he have a limp, or any other complications?
• Brian is doing wonderfully.  Five weeks after his cast was removed, we decided to take him to physical therapy because we were seeing a limp.  In just five weekly sessions, he was walking perfectly normal.  As his mother, I find myself constantly watching his running, his jumping, his crouching - and while I sometimes imagine that his leg does get tired/weaker after a long walk at the zoo or a long day of play,  it really is healthy and normal.
  
• After he had the cast put on, how long was it that he'd startle awake (screaming/shaking/night terrors) just after falling asleep
• I'm remembering that that lasted about seven or eight days.
  
• How long after the cast was removed before Brian started walking
• It took Brian ten days before he stood up and took steps on his own.
• What did you do about the cast smelling?
• That was the worst.  We used baking soda, a hair dryer, an ozonator - everything we could think of and some of the information we definitely got too late.  The advice I was given by another experienced parent is to get up into the cast as far as you can reach with wipes each time you change them (Brian - being just potty-trained, went back to the diaper for the duration of the cast - he wasn't digging the whole urinal business) and take time to blow up into the cast with a blow dryer (be careful of not getting too hot, we used the warm  or cool setting) to keep it dry.
• Do you worry about it happening again?
• Yes and No.  My kids (we have four) groan and roll their eyes because I don't just say, "quit horsing around"  I say, "quit horsing around because we don't need another broken femur"   Mostly, I don't ever want to hear the sound of a break again, and I never want to feel so helpless as a parent during that whole wait to get to the hospital/surgery portion of it all.  But I don't worry about Brian specifically, that he's somehow weaker for it - in fact, they say generally they are stronger in the way that the bone heals creating a thicker bone
• Does Brian now have one leg shorter than another?
• No, he does not.  My understanding is that this comes to be strictly because of where the break is in relation to the growth plate.  It's something that was doublechecked at Brian's six week follow-up and found to be okay.  I do know of several friends who broke the same bone and do have one leg now shorter than the other, and with the help of a simple lift in their shoe, they've gone on to play many sports, live normally and have no long-lasting issues. 
• Did you find therapy to be helpful?
• Extremely.  If you check back to this post, I'll edit to add some of the easy/can be done at home exercises that we/they did with Brian.  These will not be shared in an attempt to replace a real live therapist which we found completely invaluable, but as some things that you can try at home if you are hovering the should we/should we not border or your insurance doesn't cover it.  Check back - this post - within the week.  

I'll add to this post as I remember other questions - and I'm always open to answering emails, I'm just not always as quick to respond as I'd like to be.  It's a busy life.  A good life, but a busy one. 

Hang in there -

11/15 - eta:  I'm still trying to find a moment to add the physical therapy tricks we learned.

Comments

[Judy]

How nice Sharyn...When our son Dan broke his Talus bone I did a lot of research. That was way before I even knew much about the computer world. I would love to have stumbled upon a blog like yours that talked about it...Everyday life stuff to just help us through it.

[Janell]

Hi Sharyn! You haven't said why you're coming to Denver. Hope you enjoy our beautiful city!! I can't guarantee what the weather will be. Last week, schools and business were shut down for 2 days because of a huge snow storm. This week, we were in the 70's!! So, pack for the extremes! :)

[Lisa A.]

When our two-year-old son broke his femur, they were giving him the maximum amount of painkillers from the moment he got into the hospital. He jerked all night long and could never fall asleep-the first night, the nurses claimed it was because of muscle spasms. This continued for three days. After getting the cast on, he was getting Tylenol with codeine (I don't know if he was getting morphine at first or not). Anyway, I finally realized that he was able to fall asleep right before his next dose of painkiller was due. Then I would give him more painkiller and he would doze, jerk awake, and cry...over and over. Poor kid - he wasn't getting any sleep at all. He had black circles under his eyes because of it, and I was thinking "This can NOT be good for him." Finally on the evening of the third day, I decided to not give him the Tylenol with codeine. Right after that, he had a seizure as he was lying in his crib - eyes wide open and hands gripping the bars while he was lying on his back. It was very scary, but I felt that it was because he was so exhausted. I decided not to take him to the hospital, because they would just keep him awake all night again and I felt he needed sleep more than anything. I slept on the floor next to his crib, and he slept peacefully all night after that one seizure incident. He also didn't need any painkillers, at all, after that. I think his constant jerking awake was, in large part, due to the codeine and not his leg. I wrote a letter to the hospital about this experience and suggested they keep it in mind for subsequent patients. I really don't think that they were paying close attention to whether he was having a negative reaction to the painkiller.

[Rita Bee]

I was starting to worry because my Anthony is still refusing to walk after 5 days of taking off his spica cast (He broke his femur by just slipping on a wet floor). The Dr said the best therapy is swimming since at this early age they do not need a therapist, but I'm thinking that he needs a boost, so don't you think I need to push if my insurance covers it??

With your blog, You are extremely helpful and I can relate for every bit of information that you added. Thanks a lot for people like you.

[Casey]

I found this site to be extremely helpful to me! My almost 3 year old son broke his right femur March 7, 201l after a fall from playground equipment at daycare. We are now six days until his cast comes off. I have spent the last few weeks trying to get as much information as possible about what to expect after his cast comes off. It seems most sites never mention recovery and what to expect. I am so thankful you covered that aspect!

[caron]

My 2 1/2 year old little boy just got out of a spica cast. Story is similar to yours from what I'm told as this did not happen when my children were at home. It happened at a family members house. My seven year old had jumped off the couch onto little brother and broke the femur bone in 2 year old. We were immediately contacted and took him to hospital where the.questions were overwhelming. My baby was hurt and there wasn't anything I could do. The ER Dr came in and asked us what happened again as he was smiling and mocking us. They told us they had to report to the police when an injury so sever happens to a child so young. We did not worry because we didn't do this to our son. Anyhow we went thru the same thing with the smell and him just being in discomfort. We had to take him back to the hospital a week after he had the cast put on because he was getting a sore above his but where we could not get to as the cast was to close to the skin. They cut some off so that helped alot and he was more comfortable. So here we are after a month of being in cast we got it removed yesterday. And we didn't expect him to just get up and walk. But the Dr did say he should be trying by the end of the day. He just acts like he is still in pain. He is moving his.foot. I felt a little better by reading your story as this has been very emotional for me. I am expecting another baby in October so I'm sure that don't help with the emotions. My husband freaks out more than I do and when I told him your story he kinda changed his mood about the whole thing. Thank you for telling people about your journey with this. As it has helped me alot. I just hope my lil man does try n walk in a few days!!