<<< If you found this via Google search because you are in a waiting room while your toddler’s broken femur is being set and a spica cast is being put on, please skip my wordiness and just scroll down to the big heading in the middle of the post or – even further – to the Q&As if you want. Also, you’ve got this! You’re a good mom, and your kid is going to be as good as new in no time! >>>
Friday will be two months since we took Nora to the ER thinking she had *maybe* sprained her leg and left in a “body cast.” That Sunday afternoon, I felt a million emotions – shock, guilt, worry, fear, dread, frustration, sadness – and, I honestly had NO idea how we’d survive this unexpected curve ball life had thrown. But, now, here we are…
Spoiler alert: We did it! Nora has been cast free for four weeks now and, looking at her, you’d never even know she had a broken femur. God, little bones, and modern medicine really are amazing!
I’ve obviously waited a while to share all the details; but, honestly, I just wanted to have it (mostly) behind me. As you can imagine, much of the time Nora was in the cast was spent in “survival mode,” and even after it came off, I needed time to process, breathe a little, and catch up in all the other areas of my life. I truly felt like this whole experience just kind-of happened, and Jeff and I just went through the motions doing the next thing. Now that we are on the other side, I can see how fortunate we have been, I can reflect/comment on all that we’ve experienced, and – hopefully – I can be helpful to someone else in a similar situation down the road.
With that in mind, here are three reasons I’m writing this post:
1.) You guys have been so supportive and encouraging here, on Instagram, etc. and many of you have asked questions. I figured you at least deserve to know what happened and what’s next if you want to.
2.) In the moments after we found out Nora had broken her femur and was going to be in a spica cast (mostly while we were sitting in the waiting room helplessly during surgery), Jeff and I were on our phones scouring Google for any and everything we could find. He, of course, preferred medical reports, studies, etc.; but, I REALLY wanted “mom experience” type things. I needed to know how this was going to affect our lives, how logistical things like diaper changes and carseats were going to work out, and that my girl was going to walk and be “normal” when it was all said and done. I intentionally gave this blog post a very wordy and not very creative title in hopes that it will one day be among the many that come up when another desperate parent Googles “toddler broken femur and spica cast.” If our experience can be helpful for anyone else, I want it to be. ALSO – and this is important – a lot of what we came across was super scary and negative, and our experience – honestly, all things considered – was pretty much the best case scenario. I REALLY hope my story will not just be helpful, but also encouraging to another momma.
And, finally…
3.) One day I will forget these details. Mostly, that’s a good thing, but it is a story Nora will likely want to hear when she is older, and I want to write it down for her. Also, I’m super proud of all of us (mainly Nora, of course, but her recovery was totally a team effort), and I want to remember this small (in the grand scheme of things) storm we weathered together.
There are also a couple of little disclaimers I need to get out of the way:
– This probably goes without saying, but just to be clear: I’m NOT a medical expert. If you think there’s a chance your child might have a broken femur, you need to go to the hospital. (Take it from me! You’ll feel terrible if you wait too long!) This is simply our experience and the few things I learned about bones/bodies along the way… If anything you read here contradicts something your doctors have told you, without question, believe them. 😉
– Of course a broken femur and a toddler in a huge cast IS a big deal, and it felt like a REALLY big deal; but, I do recognize that it barely even touches some of the health and other struggles families have to deal with all the time. While this did affect our lives quite a bit for a short time, this post is, in NO WAY, trying to say that what we experienced here was a “worst case scenario.” If anything, it had the exact opposite effect by reminding me, again, how much I truly have to be grateful for.
– And last but definitely not least, please know that we did NOT survive this without the help of an incredible village! From the minute we realized what we were dealing with, we had SO much help and support from the people closest to us!!! My mom actually happened to be in town when everything happened (she’d come in for Nora’s birthday party) and ended up staying for two full weeks to help us adjust, entertain Sam, etc. She did lots of practical things, but it also helped SO much just having my mom with me as I navigated the early days of everything. Jeff’s mom, too, jumped right in and learned all the ins and outs of cast life quickly – she even went out and bought so many “stationary” toys that Jeff’s dad asked her if she thought Nora would be in the cast forever. Lol. Both my work and Jeff’s were incredibly patient and flexible, and our regular sitter was AMAZING – she came to the hospital and was involved in every single step of recovery without ever missing a beat. Beyond that, we had friends provide meals, stop by with sticker books for Nora, offer to keep Sam, etc. I will forever be grateful for all the ways people jumped in and took care of us when we needed it, and I can’t imagine doing it alone.
Whew, ok. Here we go… The story you’ve all been waiting for… 😉
(My apologies in advance for my lack of brevity, though I know you’d expect nothing less…)
That time when Nora broke her femur and had to wear a “body cast” for five weeks:
What happened?
On Saturday, March 25th, we had Nora’s second birthday party at a cute little cupcake shop in a nearby neighborhood. The weather cooperated with us, and it was a beautiful day. After a yummy brunch and too much sugar with friends, we weren’t quite ready for the fun to end; so, we cleaned up from the party and headed to an elementary school playground down the road a bit with our best friends and their little boy. I was slightly worried that this was a bad idea since it was nearing naptime and Nora had been going hard all morning, but she was totally in “party mode,” and I figured it wouldn’t hurt anything to push her nap back an hour or so… At the park, while we watched the kids playing, I actually commented to my girlfriend how “wild” and “tough” Nora is. (Bless my little heart.)
Now, I hate to disappoint here, but there is no dramatic fall story. In fact, the whole thing was the opposite of dramatic… There was no ambulance or panic. Instead, one minute I was watching Nora play on a stand-up teeter-totter – still wearing the flamingo rash-guard she’d just gotten as a birthday present over her party dress and her face stained red from strawberry cupcakes – and the next, Jeff was scooping her up off the ground. She fell *maybe* two feet.
I didn’t even get up from my seat. It was no.big.deal. I figured she’d be playing again in a minute; and, when she didn’t seem to be able to pull it together and recover, I wrote it off as her being overtired, said our goodbyes, and loaded her in the van to head home… As I was buckling her in, she did complained that her leg hurt; but, honestly, I brushed it off. She’d been fighting the rear-facing carseat lately, and I assumed she just didn’t want to be buckled. (That was the only time she even mentioned her leg the rest of the day.) I gave her her pacifier and secretly planned to go through Starbucks drive-thru for an iced coffee when she inevitably fell asleep in a few minutes. When she didn’t, I thought it was odd; but, again, no big deal. I skipped Starbucks since she was still crying, took her straight home, changed her diaper and put long pants on her, and put her to bed.
Not surprisingly in hindsight, naptime was unsuccessful. Obviously exhausted by this point, she kept falling asleep and then waking herself up and crying out. Of course now I know that that’s because she was in terrible pain, but that never even crossed my mind that afternoon. At the time, I barely even remembered that she had fallen. Again, I chalked up her bad nap to being overtired and having too much sugar, and I spent the next two hours rocking her and trying to get her to calm down. I Googled “why is my toddler startling awake?” and took her temperature to check for a fever, but she didn’t have one, so I never even gave her Tylenol.
After awhile, my mom radar (finally) started kicking in, and I told Jeff something was wrong… Not only would she not calm down and go to sleep, but I also noticed that she wouldn’t let me put her down. When I would try to, she’d grip my shoulders hard like she was afraid. I was beginning to be a little worried, but a broken bone wasn’t even on my list of possible problems.
We had plans to go out to dinner with my family that night, so around 4:00, I texted my parents and sister telling them what was going on. I told them to come over and we’d see how Nora did with some “distraction,” so they did. She cheered up a bit around everyone, but it was my sister who actually first noticed that she seemed to cry when we tried to touch or move her. It was almost 5:00 (more than four hours since she’d fallen on the playground) before I took off her little leggings and noticed that her left leg was swollen. That was also when I first realized that she hadn’t had her feet on the ground since the fall.
This part may sound crazy to you if you’ve never been in this situation, but even after seeing the swelling and realizing she wasn’t walking, I still didn’t think anything was seriously wrong with her leg. Yes, she’d been fussy, but – I don’t really know how to explain it – she wasn’t out of her mind. It just wasn’t what you imagine when you think of breaking a bone – especially the largest bone in your body. All the adults agreed that we should just give her some medicine and see how she did. We thought maybe she’d twisted her knee or “bruised the bone” or something.
Anyway, after I (finally) gave the poor girl some Motrin and an ice pack, she seemed OK. She still wasn’t walking, but we ended up going to dinner that night anyway, and she sat happily at the table, ate a grilled cheese sandwich, and went to bed with relative ease that night.
Late that night, I started Googling “toddler leg injuries” and decided – only then – that it was *possible* she had a minor break. I texted two friends that are Pediatric Physician’s Assistants and got conflicting advice from them, and I knew Nora really needed to sleep; so, I decided to wait until morning and take her to in then if the swelling still looked bad.
She slept all night that night – WITH A BROKEN FEMUR – but woke up pretty mad around 6AM. By that point – though the swelling wasn’t any worse and there was no obvious bruising or anything like that – I decided we’d waited long enough. Besides, it was my birthday, and we had brunch reservations for later that morning, so I figured we may as well get her to the doctor just to rule out something serious…
My sister came over to watch Sam, and Jeff and I headed to the ER around 8AM. At this point, I’ve got to tell you, I was feeling pretty silly. *I always overreact.* *The ER docs are probably going to laugh at me.* *I wonder how much an x-ray to tell me she’s fine is going to cost.* In fairness, Nora was grouchy; but, again, not hysterical. I figured in the very worst case scenario she’d have a small fracture, they’d wrap her leg, and we’d see an orthopedic doc on Monday morning. I assumed we’d be home by 10.
This was my first ER experience with either of my kids, and I was shocked at the quality of care we received there. Maybe we just got lucky, but they took us back to triage immediately (like, we never sat down), and we were in a room watching Frozen within 15 minutes of arrival. The doctor that came to check on us said she suspected a “toddler fracture” which – as I’d learned from Dr. Google the night before – is relatively common/mild and ordered an x-ray.
Apparently x-ray technology has improved quite a bit since I broke my hand back in 1998, because the techs just rolled in a little cart and stuck a board under Nora’s leg while she sat on my lap. Since I was sitting with Nora, I couldn’t see anything on the x-ray screen, but I didn’t need to because Jeff could, and his audible gasp when the image of her leg appeared was enough to tell me we weren’t going to make it to brunch…
Initial x-ray (3.26.17)
To fast forward a bit, the ER doctor came back in and opened with… “Well, it’s worse than we thought.” It turns out, Nora had a pretty severe spiral fracture of her femur — the largest and strongest bone in the body. I’m telling you, this girl goes big or goes home. 😉 Due to the type of break she had, we now suspect that it actually occurred in the process of the fall – basically, her left foot stayed planted on the tire while the rest of her body rotated and fell off – not in the fall itself. (FYI: I don’t think this particular type of teeter-totter is very common, but here’s the best picture I can find of one in case you need a visual.)
At this point, I was pretty much feeling like the worst mom ever — how could we not have known this immediately?!?! My poor girl must have been in SO much pain over the last 24 hours!!! I was already in tears as the doctor told us to “make arrangements” at home and work because Nora would be having surgery that afternoon, staying at least a night in the hospital, and wearing a cast covering both legs and most of her body for approximately 12 weeks. To say I was overwhelmed and heartbroken would be an understatement; but, right at that moment, my sweet, tough girl – totally calmly – turned to me and said “No, Momma. No sad. No cry” as she wiped my tears. I, eventually, pulled it together for her.
*Side note: I had NO idea at the time, but I’ve done a little research on femur breaks in toddlers, and it turns out that these are actually one of the most common child-abuse injuries. It absolutely KILLS me to imagine how someone could hurt their child this way; but, I’m incredibly grateful for the way the doctors and nurses treated us with kindness and never made us feel bad as parents. They did their due-diligence (as they should) by asking us a million questions and even checking to see if we had any “accident witnesses,” but Jeff and I were never made to feel blame or shame.
As it turns out, once we finally met with the pediatric orthopedic surgeon – there’s only one in our city and she happened to be in the hospital that afternoon – she said she thought she’d be able to fix Nora’s leg by only having to cast ONE leg instead of both (a HUGE blessing as this makes basic things like carseats MUCH more manageable) and predicted she’d be in it for 4 -6 weeks (instead of the 12 they had originally suggested). She also said we likely wouldn’t need to stay overnight.
She patiently answered all our questions, let us pick out a color for the cast (purple seemed “girly enough” without being overkill and would maybe hide some dirt/food/etc.), and wheeled our girl back to the operating room for what is called a closed reduction surgery. (It’s called “surgery,” but, really, it’s non-invasive. The anesthesiologist simply put her to sleep so that the orthopedic doctor could set her bone back in place while looking at it via x-ray and then create a very “fancy” cast from her armpits, around her waist, and down to the ankle of her left leg.)
Jeff and I were away from Nora for less than hour but, naturally, it felt like forever, and we both teared up with relief when we finally got to see her. Even though she looked TINY laying in the big hospital bed, and about 75% of her body was covered in purple, she was safe, and things had gone well. The surgeon even wrapped her little doll’s leg in an identical purple cast for her – precious.
Around 3:00 that afternoon – a Sunday and my 33rd birthday – we were released from the hospital and sent home. We had no idea what we were doing. Hospital policy requires you to leave in a wheel chair when you are discharged from surgery, but since Nora couldn’t sit, I had to hold her (baby-style) in my lap and be pushed to the car. As Jeff met us at the end of the walkway with the minivan, he reminded me that it was EXACTLY two years (almost to the minute) since I’d been wheeled out with newborn Nora to bring her home for the first time. Man has this girl ever us a WILD RIDE! 😉
Day One (3.26.17)
And, there you have it. Day 1 of this adventure. It feels like SO long ago and only yesterday.
Now, some answers to your FAQs:
Could she sit in a chair? Be carried? What did you do about a carseat? High chair?
The simple answer to these questions is that she could sit in some chairs. We were, again, extremely lucky that Nora’s cast only covered one leg completely. This made sitting much easier, but still not exactly *easy*. Since the cast went around her waist and up to her armpits, she could not bend at the waist. Therefore, chairs needed to be very reclined. Thankfully, we could buckle Nora into her normal Britax Marathon carseat once we flipped it forward-facing (ironic since the day before all this my biggest “parenting stress” was deciding whether or not I should turn her seat around) because it leaned bag; but she did NOT fit in the Graco Nautilus carseat we had in Jeff and our sitter’s cars. (From what I understand, kids that have the spica on both legs have to have custom carseats made that allow the child to lay down on the seat.)
It was difficult for her to sit in anything too hard – basically, she would just slide down/fall out of the chair – so must normal chairs and high chairs were out. For five weeks, she ate almost every meal on my lap (or someone else’s). I could hold her pretty comfortably (for her) on my hip once I got over my nerves about it and got used to it, but she was SUPER heavy and awkward.
At home, she sat in a big over-stuffed chair with lots of pillows or in a beanbag – we borrowed a beanbag after several people on the internet recommended it, and it was a LIFESAVER! These worked well with a TV tray over it (we’d gotten two as a wedding gift ten years ago and used maybe twice,so it was fun for Sam to have one too) for snacks, coloring, games, etc.
We also found that the fabric of an umbrella stroller (or one of those folding chairs like you take camping or to a sports game) was perfect. In addition to being used on walks etc., it was just the right size to pull up to a small table etc.
And, finally, Nora just spent a lot of time laying on her belly on the floor. After the first week or so, she could hold the front part of her body up for a while to play with toys when she was like this, and by week three she was scooting herself pretty much wherever she wanted to go. To be honest, I wouldn’t have thought to put her on her stomach because it just looked so darn uncomfortable, but a friend that had been through this suggested it, and Nora really liked the little bit of freedom it gave her.
What could she wear with the cast?
The spica cast is BIG and bulky, so dressing was not particularly easy, but it was do-able. Honestly, dresses or just wearing a diaper only on the bottom was the best, but it was cool about half the time she was in the cast, so we also bought several pairs of sweatpants / “cozy pants” with an elastic waist from Walmart in two sizes too big and those worked well. She mostly wore her normal tops, and I just tucked them in to her cast instead of stretching them out by pulling them over. Her feet were free, so she wore normal shoes and socks – more for style and warmth since she wasn’t exactly using them. 🙂
What about changing diapers?
I never got a good picture of this, but the butt of the cast was actually open so that we could use diapers. We changed diapers pretty much as normal EXCEPT we used two – one went on the bottom and got tucked in to the cast itself, and a second one (in a size bigger than she normally wears) went over the whole thing including the cast and fastened. The nurses showed us how to do this before we left the hospital, and it felt pretty overwhelming, but I got the hang of it quickly, and it was fine. We were also VERY fortunate not to have any real accidents – but I read lots of horror stories about that on the internet!!
Baths?
The cast could not get wet, so we did sponge baths only for the entire time she was in it. Typically, I wrapped the bottom half of her body in a towel and tucked it in to the cast to keep it dry, then laid her on another towel (usually folded to be more comfortable) on the kitchen counter with her head hanging over the sink. I could wash her hair that way and used a wet rag with soap on the rest of her body. I’ll be honest though, she hated this, and it never really got easier.
Did I work? What about childcare?
In the very beginning, I did consider taking FMLA and staying home for the duration of Nora’s healing; but, in the end, our regular sitter was willing to take on the challenge and I knew Nora would be in VERY good hands with her. This was another one of those things that just reminded me how very blessed we are — I don’t know what we would have done if Nora had been in a normal daycare setting, I can’t imagine that they would have been able to accommodate her. Jennifer was AMAZING and never missed a beat.
How were nights? Did she sleep?
Not really. We, of course, had good nights and bad nights. Mostly she hated her bed and she woke up several times at night and wasn’t able to get comfortable or put herself back to sleep. I also think she got hot at night – temperature control can be a real problem with these things – which didn’t help.
Some times I put her in bed with Jeff and me, but she took up a lot of space. So, honestly, most nights she slept on the beanbag, and I slept right next to her on the sofa.
It was less than fun, and the rough nights did make getting up and going to work hard, but we survived.
(On a semi-related note: I just noticed this week that the sheet that was on her crib most of the time she was in the cast – which is muslin by Aden + Anais – is all torn up from the cast rubbing on it!)
How did she handle it? What did she do for five weeks without being able to sit or move?
Really, she did SO well. I admit that we spoiled her — she had a lot of snacks/sweets and a lot of screen time during those five weeks — and she did develop a bit of “diva syndrome,” but I was really so proud of her. For someone so little, she really seemed to understand what was going on and just calmly accepted it when I told her she couldn’t do something – like jump in the bounce house at our neighbor’s birthday party – because of her boo boo.
In addition to cartoons and movies, we liked reading books, coloring, putting stickers on everything, working puzzles, building with blocks/legos, and playing with small toys like Little People figurines and plastic animals. We had to avoid rainy or super hot days, but we also tried to get outside when we could for walks, wagon rides, a swing, etc.
While, in the beginning, we adapted our daily routine quite a bit and stayed home most of the time, by the end we were doing life pretty much as usual. I was even able to take the kids on a three-hour road trip for a few days over Spring Break to visit a friend, and Nora did great!
Of course, there were bad days. She got frustrated and acted up at times – like any toddler – and discipline was HARD. Jeff and I tried to walk a very fine line between not letting her get away with anything she wanted and also recognizing that we’d probably be pretty grouchy too if we were wearing the get-up she’d been trapped in for weeks. Thankfully, she really did seem to bounce back to her normal self (and our normal rules) once the cast was off – the iPad detox period wasn’t even too bad. 😉
(I also decided NOT to get rid of her pacifier, as I’d originally planned to, after her second birthday, and that – I think – brought her a lot comfort.)
How was Sam through all of this?
Amazing. He thought her cast was so cool, and he even got to take her x-ray to school for show and tell during “x” week. 🙂 I don’t know why I was surprised, but he was incredibly patient and helpful. This meant some sacrifices for him too, for sure – small things like not going to the playground in the afternoon because Nora got too upset just having to sit in her stroller, and big things like missing out on the beach trip we’d planned for spring break because giant casts + sand, water, and hot weather are not ideal – but he didn’t complain once. This was just further proof that he really is the best big brother ever.
Easter (4.16.17)
And finally, some “fun facts” and details about recovery…
– Probably the most interesting thing we learned in this process is just how amazing the human body is – especially super little bodies. In an adult, this kind of break would have a.) been absolutely unbearably painful and b.) taken 3-6 MONTHS to heal in a cast followed by rehab and physical therapy. Nora, on the other hand, at just barely two, wore her cast for not quite 5 WEEKS and was walking within days of having it removed. We have had no physical therapy at all, and she’s now walking without so much as a limp. In fact, just the other day I found myself hurrying her along and getting frustrated that she was walking too slowly… My how quickly we forget!
– Another pretty fascinating detail about little bones is that they often heal SO well that they actually grow TOO much because of the all blood pumping to the location of the break. To counter-act this overgrowth, Nora’s doctor actually set her leg slightly shorter than the other one — the bones overlap by about 2 centimeters. I showed a photo of her final x-ray to an EMT friend of mine (who isn’t experienced with pediatrics) and he thought it was before it had been set. Nope. The bones have grown back together and a tough callus (that you can actually feel under her skin if you try) has formed. Her left leg will be – unnoticeably – shorter for the next two to three years; but, as Nora grows, it will all even out. No problem. (Fingers crossed. I admit that this part of it is pretty nerve-wracking for me, but I’m trusting the process.)
– Taking the cast off was a little traumatic. They cut it off with a saw, which was scary for Nora and – oddly – she’d grown pretty attached to her “purple leg” as we called it. In fact, during the whole removal process, she was screaming and begging them not to take it off!! #weird Once it was off, the leg was very very stiff from being immobile for five weeks, but Nora’s first reaction – in her frustration – was to kick, which hurt. Truthfully, she cried more in the office when they took her cast off than she did the day they put it on. We were, obviously, thrilled to have that thing gone forever, but the first couple of days of life after the cast were hard. She was sore, it was hard to see her unable to walk still (though the doctor had warned us it would take a while), and Jeff and I were nervous. *Also, in case you’re wondering, she stayed surprisingly un-smelly and clean in her cast, which I felt pretty proud of. I think it helped that it wasn’t super tight, and it wasn’t super hot yet, but still…
– The orthopedic doc gave us a rhino brace for her to wear after the cast. She assured us that it was for COMFORT ONLY – meaning, she didn’t *need* to wear it, but could if she was hurting and wanted extra support – but that some kids needed it for up to six weeks. Nora wore hers home from the doctor and never again. (We’re the proud owners of it though, so if you ever need one…) By the second day, she was walking with help – holding on to something/someone or pushing something like a cart, by day three she was taking a couple of steps by herself, and by one-week post cast she was walking – with a limp. The limp went away gradually, and I can’t remember exactly when, but now – at 4 weeks since the cast came off – she walks, runs, jumps, etc. like a “normal” two year old. Amazing, I’m telling you! (We go back for our first follow up appointment on June 12th with an x-ray, so we’ll know more specifics about how her healing is going then. But, I’m anticipating a good report.)
Mother’s Day (5.14.17) – First time back on a playground.
– While she’s mostly her normal self, I do thinks she’s a little more fearful these days than she was before the break. While she will climb all over a playground, she hasn’t braved going down the slide by herself yet, and she gets scared when she’s up high/there is potential to fall (like if I sit her on the kitchen counter for a second). This is unlike her, but not necessarily a terrible thing; and something that will likely fade with time. As for me… This whole experience, on the one hand, has made me more fearful and nervous. I’m typically pretty laid back when it comes to letting kids play and take risks, but this made me accept that accidents DO happen and my kids are not immune. I’m also terribly nervous about her re-injuring that leg, so I’ll stop any kind of play that looks to rough and we won’t be going near a trampoline (or a teeter-totter) for quite some time. At the same time though, this reminded me that our bodies are strong and we are resilient – both physically and emotionally. I’m not naive enough to think that we will never have another accident/injury, and I’ll feel better prepared to handle it when that time comes.
SO, there you go.
Time and time again, parenthood has taught me that I am capable of MUCH, much more than I think, and this was definitely proof of that. Also: I believe in the VILLAGE now more than ever before. I’m so grateful for my team in this game.
I know this post is LONG, and I’m sure most of my regular readers didn’t make it through it all. But, one more time, if you are a parent in the beginning of your own spica adventure, I hope you’re taking away a message that – though not exactly fun – this is DO-ABLE, and it WILL BE OVER before you know it. Hang in there!
If there are any questions I missed etc., leave them in the comments, and I’ll try to respond there. THANK YOU, again, for loving our family through this experience and praying for my girl!
E
You and your girl are so brave! Thank you so much for sharing your story. I’m just one of your regular readers, and I read every word. 🙂 Partly because I love your writing and partly because I am so amazed by this story of resilience in the face of this really tough challenge. I’m so glad she’s cast-free now, and I wish you and your family a wonderfully calm and uneventful summer break!
Oh gosh!! This is SO crazy (and interesting…and something to worry about in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep…hahaha)!! I think my favorite part is that they gave her doll a matching cast. 🙂 Oh and Sam taking the x-ray for X week. That is awesome. But seriously- wow. That is awesome that she only had to have one leg casted- my mind is boggled thinking of the logistics of having to get a custom carseat for double-casted legs. Like…surely that would take several days/weeks? How do you get her home from the hospital in the meantime!??! Glad you didn’t have to find out!! Thank you for sharing all this! Glad she healed so quickly and is back at it!
The hospitals are equipped with them and typically do not delay discharge.
That was amazing. Thank you so much for sharing — you guys are superhero parents.
I will admit that I choked up a bit when I saw the x-ray, I can’t imagine how you felt! And I love that you thought about which cast would show the least dirt, so smart!
I have so many friends with kids who have broken bones and the parents didn’t realize it. Kids are incredible.
xo
Thank you so much for sharing this story. I’m sure this post will help out tons of parents during a very stressful time. I also just want to let you know that your kids are amazing because you and your husband are amazing parents!
Also (in case you’re worrying about Nora’s shorter leg that will most likely fix itself over the next few years), one of my legs is a few centimeters shorter than the other and there are absolutely no issues with it! I was in track and field during high school and I have no pain whatsoever. Just thought this could help bring you more peace of mind. 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this. I am so thankful Nora is okay and back to her old self. I hope I never have to use this but I’m glad it is there just in case!
Thank you for this post we are in day three of a very similar story. Our daughters cast looks identical to yours. I do have some questions I’m hoping you could answer. Every time I move her it hurts how long till it doesn’t? Also did you have issues with irritated skin?
Thankyou so much for sharing this. I have a similar story with my 3 year 5 months old kid. Fortunately it was a stress fracture(hairline fracture) . I have been searching for this for the past 25 days or so regarding the prognosis. I am glad that I could find one . My kid’s spica is taken off 1 week back. He started walking but with a little limp in his fractured leg.
I’m so glad I found your blog!! My barely 2 year old son just fractured his right femur bone 4 days after Christmas. Our story wasn’t anything dramatic either. He was simply walking across our hardwood floor and slipped and fell onto a magnetic drawing toy. That was it!! I didn’t think anything of it until he clenched his leg and started crying in a way I had never heard before. When I picked him up his right leg seemed a little “squishy” and I could hear only what I can describe as a soft popping sound when I moved his leg so I immediately rushed him to the ER It’s pretty obvious girls can stand pain better than boys can. My son cried a lot that day!
My sons spica cast goes from his torso all down his right leg and to the knee on his left. It has only been a week today and he is still in quite a bit of pain. We had been tapering off of the tylenol/motrin routine and I felt like he was handling it well but last night seemed to be the worst one yet. He was obviously very uncomfortable and woke up every 90 minutes crying and could barely mutter the word “hurt”.
We had a post op check-up 2 days ago and the orthopedic surgeon assured us everything was looking great. We go back in 6 weeks for another x-ray to see how it is healing. If all is well we will get the cast off that day!
My little guy still seems to be in pain so it’s really making it hard for me to believe he is really okay. I guess I just need some reassurance from someone who has been there so I wanted to ask some questions if you don’t mind?
How did Nora tolerate being moved around the first week? Did she mainly lay on her back or were you able to sit her up? We got a bean bag the day after his surgery but we have yet to use it. My guy starts to panic if I ask if I can pick him up or move him around.
How long was she taking any kind of pain meds?
Did she get night sweats? My son’s hair and pillow is drenched when he wakes up. He has always ran hot at night so I’m sure the cast is not helping.
Did she still have an appetite? All my son wants is chocolate milk and soft foods. He won’t eat many solids and when he does I get so happy inside. It appears if I show him too much excitement he will stop because he is in the I’m doing what I want and not what you want stage.
I hope to hear from you! Thank you again for sharing your story. It has helped me feel a little better.
Hi Desorae, I came across your post and it sounds very similar to what we’re going through. If you see this message please email me I have a few questions. Thanks, Laura.
I may be able to answer some questions. Not a mom going through this experience but I am a mom who is a medical provider who has been involved with treating pediatric femur fractures some as young as 1 month.
We have a similar story. Sunday- the day before Memorial Day 2018. My 2 year old son fell playing at a splash pad at the park. We tried to get him to walk it off, but he just cried when we put him down. My husband thought he had a groin injury so we went home. His ankle was swollen so we wrapped his right anke and iced it and gave him Tylenol. The next day he was fine as long as we weren’t moving him and he didn’t want to walk, but I’ve had bad sprains that kept me off my feet so we didn’t worry. We had a normal day- ran errands went out to eat and there was no problem except when we picked him up. Then we put him down for his nap. He had no trouble sleeping (then or the day before for that matter). When he woke up I saw that his thigh was swollen and tender and diapering bothered him. I iced his things, but he wouldn’t let me wrap it. So fine. Maybe it was a torn muscle. I’ll take him to the pediatrician in the morning. It was Memorial Day and no one was in the office. He was acting fine just not walking.
Tuesday morning his thigh was still swollen so I called his doc first thing and got a quick appointment. He was totally fine when we weren’t moving him. Again! His doc said he was 90% sure it was a fractured femur and it was like getting slapped with a mackerel. He sent us to the emergency Dept for x-rays where everyone treated me like an idiot or a bad mom except one nurse whose son never showed signs of illness until it was time for hospitalization.
Long story short- Child Protection got involved and everyone that we came in contact with went over the story at least twice. I hate that some people hurt their babies on purpose. Just seeing my little guy hurt right after he fell made me feel like I was dying. But because of the type of fracture (even though you don’t get a spiral fracture from abuse says my X-ray tech aunt) most people treated me like a baby-beater until they spent real time with us to see that I love and cuddled my little baby.
I said”long story short,” right? Sorry- I lied.
I basically cried from the time I heard it was a “very serious fracture,” until I was able to get him home. I had moments of sobriety, but mostly I was a tearful snotty puddle. My little guy did fine. I was offered the opportunity to watch the procedure and had to turn it down because I would not be able to handle it. Not even a little.
So we got home today. And even though it’s early days . . . it’s easier than I feared. Diapering is hard for him because he’s still tender, but they left a really nice space for me to work with and I can easily tuck the diaper into the cast. *phew* I ordered a rocking chair from Amazon that looks like it could work for him to sit comfortably & if not I’m looking in to an Ivy Rose chair. The rocking chair will be there when he’s healed.
Thank you for your story. I very much needed it tonight. I know we’ll overcome because there is no other option. Im lucky enough to be a stay at home mom and my husband who is a trucker was planning on staying local this week anyway. Yay. Things will work out because they have to and life will go on because that’s what life does. All you can do is get the job done. That’s how I get myself through tough times.
Bless all little babies; sick and we’ll. Bless the ones who heal the sick; young and old.
Your aunt gave you incorrect information. I think what she was referring to as an abuse fracture is the classic metaphyseal (CML) fracture which is almost always indicative of abuse. These fractures occur when a child is forcibly shaken and rarely is caused by anything else (I have never seen an accidental CML). With this said, spiral fractures can be inflicted or accidental. Spiral fractures of the tibia are often sports related while spiral femur fractures are much more suspicious for abuse especially in children <2 (in children under 15 months spiral fractures are the most common type of abusive femur fracture). Please know that I am not implying that you or any other mother on this blog abused their child. I just wanted you to know why the hospital personnel was so skeptical however, it did not give them the right to treat you badly. I am sorry that you were treated so badly during a time that you and your child really needed support. I am so happy to hear that everything turned out ok.
This was really encouraging to read! Our son (just turned 3) broke his femur last Wednesday, so we aren’t even a week in to him having on his spica cast. We also have a 21-month-old and a 4-month-old. We aren’t able to get him in a carseat, so he has a harness that straps him to a seat, but he has to be laying down, so he takes up the entire back seat of our van. Needless to say, with 2 car seats in the other spots in our van, this mama will not be venturing out on her own with all 3 unless absolutely necessary! Thanks for your honesty and encouragement!
Dang! You can do it! Just look forward to the future when the cast will be off and you can congratulate yourself for keeping your cool and rocking the house. It might be hard to think that way now, but you’ll get there.
My 2year old son is at week 3 in the cast and we’re killing our backs to help him learn to walk in the cast. But he loves it so we do what we can.
Week one was pretty miserable. Week 2 he got back to crawling. Now he’s dragging himself up to stand and asking for help walking. 3 weeks to go and I can’t flipping wait!
So look forward. Find the light at the end of the tunnel and don’t look away! You’ll be put of the dark before you know it.
Can I just say, all you moms and dads are rockstars!!! We have had a very similar story. Mother’s day 2018 is when it all started for us. My husband, mil, and son came back home after a week at the beach (a working trip for me, vacation for them)(I had to stay and work) on a Saturday. I was already very upset I wouldn’t be spending Mother’s day with my little guy (2 years 7months) when I got a phone call Sunday morning, Happy birthday Mother’s day he said, we chatted for a bit and hung up. About 30 minutes later, another phone call, this time not so happy. “We are headed to the ER, Kaiden fell riding his bike and we think he’s dislocated his knee, I heard something pop.” About 30-45 minutes later, I get a text, broken femur. My husband can’t talk because Kaiden is still screaming and crying in pain. Needless to say, I rented a car and drove the 6 hours home. Once I got to the hospital, my poor poor baby looked helpless. They didn’t put on a spica cast until the next day around noon. His spica cast was from his ribcage down his right leg, and to the knee on his left leg. Kaiden wanted a brown cast. Well, they don’t make a brown cast where we were, so 2nd color option was green. We went home about 3-4 hours after his cast was on. And now starts the fun… NOT!!!!
First- the harness contraption they give you to use for a seatbelt/car seat is a joke!!! I thought we were pretty intelligent people but we could not figure that thing out. My husband’s an engineer, I own 2 businesses, both college educated human beings.. Nope, good luck with figuring that thing out. We managed to get home. Needless to say, we didn’t go anywhere except to his follow up appointments.
Second- Kaiden was fully potty trained with the exception of night time, when he would wear a pullup. This was our hardest struggle. He didn’t want to wear a diaper, and let’s be honest, I didn’t want him to revert back to using one. The hospital gave us a portable urinal, we used that for urinating. And well, #2 was trial and error.. Here’s what worked best for us; we took one of our kitchen chairs (no arms) and put it in front of the toilet. Put pillows on it, and laid him feet around the tank, on the toilet seat. We had to put a cup in front to catch any urine. It worked, it wasnt pretty, but it was comfortable enough so he could do his business.
Night time, we used a poise pad (not a maxi pad, I didn’t know the difference) to insert into the opening of the cast with a very large diaper to keep it in place. It worked ok, we didn’t master night time. He still woke up wet some nights.
We got a bean bag chair for him to “sit” in. They work very well!
Kaiden never tried to walk in his cast, and we didn’t ask him to. He would scoot around on his belly. We read a lot of books, sorted a lot of sorting bears, played nerf guns and cars. We have a large red wagon that we put pillows in and walked the neighborhood just about every night. Sleeping at first was a challenge, but then he could roll over onto his stomach, and he was fine.
4 weeks and 2 days later the cast came off, it was very scary for him. He asked them to put it back on even. Surprisingly, it was pretty clean. I thought there’d be food, pet hair, dirt, all kinds of stuff in it, but there wasn’t. Only because he was insistent on feeding himself laying down, we have 2 cats and a dog, and let’s be honest, it’s hard to really clean a kid only using water when you can’t get over half of his body wet.
We are 5 days out of the cast now, and he’s still not walking on his own. He will walk with assistance, but his legs are still too weak to support his little body. Thankfully, my parents have a hot tub for him to get in and exercise his legs a little.
I was terrified seeing my little guy in so much pain, and not being able to move. Not being able to hold him, because it hurt too much. My heart breaks for you all too, knowing the feeling I felt. My heart breaks even more for these babies that this is a regular occurrence for them, I can’t imagine what sickening people are thinking when they do this to babies on purpose.
I wish I would have found this blog 5 weeks ago :/
Prayers for all that have went through this and are going through it.. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!!!
Thank you for sharing your story!! It had helped and encouraged us so much! We are on day 3 of our 2.5 year old son having a Spica cast.
Thank you and blessings to yall!
Thank you so much for sharing this story. My 2 year old son just had a spiral break on his left femur while playing with a soccer ball when we were camping. It really can happen so easily. He has a spica cast as well (except blue) and I can’t wait to get that stinky thing off. It is very hot where we live and he has been sweating and stinks like pee. Which makes him upset because he had just successfully potty trained and gotten into training underwear and out of pull ups. Only 2 more weeks to go with the stinky thing. I was really unsure of what to expect time wise with him being able to start walking again. Your story has made me feel more at ease. Thank you thank you!
What happens when cast is removed ? By when the child can return to daycare or regular activities
My son was 2 when he broke his femur and was casted for 6 weeks. The last 2 weeks he was trying to walk and the last 3 days really walking fine in the cast.
Right after the cast came off my son wanted to walk around. He made it from the bed they put him on to remove the cast to the door before his leg gave out. He was so MAD! Then we had a long drive home and I *IMEDIATELY* put him in the shower to clean that leg and he stood in there for a good 5 minutes before his leg gave out again. The next day he was wandering around really well by himself just a little awkward because he was used to the tip-toe position from being in the cast. I have a balance ball chair he first used that to walk in the cast and went right back to it when the cast came off. I made it a bit of a game so he’d have to use it and be supported whether he wanted help or not. To be safe I kept him out of school for a week post-cast because I didn’t know what to expect. I was afraid he’d fall at school or something. It’s now 2 months post cast and he has fill permission from his Doc to run, jump, slide and roughhouse.
Thank you, my son has now spica cast with femur bone broken. An oblique, displaced fracture of the femur shaft
There was no surgery but only cast was put as displacement was around 2 cm
The doctor told us cast will be there will cast for 6 weeks. Its been 2 weeks now and he is managing pain well
We are worried and dont know how complex is his case with displacement of 2 cm ?
Next week we appointment of xray and hoping for best.
My son cast would be removed after 3 weeks. This is for femur bone fracture for my 2 year old
1) How often we to visit doctor post cast removal?
2) How would be healing will be monitored ?
Regards
Shivi
OH MY GOSH THANK YOU!!! My 3 YO was just put in a spica for a femur break this weekend. This is the best blog for a femur break spica cast I have seen. So helpful. So encouraging. Thank you thank you!
Did the hospital call Department of Children’s Services due to the break of the femur?
Oh, yeah CPS came and talked to me. My husband wasn’t there so he had to call to follow up. Sadly the CPS worker had kids who actually needed her help so the only other time I heard from her was a phone call to say the case was closed & she apologized for not following up, but she had kids who needed help. I knew CPS would be involved because I happened to read it in a Stephen King novel of all places. It’s still a shock when you’re sobbing over your injured child and someone is asking detailed questions that seem to have nothing to do with a broken leg. I did my best to answer her questions because after all it’s her job to keep kids safe.
My son was in spica cast for 6 week following femure fracture. What all precaution is needed at this time -after cast removal ?
My son was holding his fractured leg after cast removal , is that normal ?
When does difference in leg length (approx 2 cm) goes away ?
My son is recovering from a femur fracture too, his cast came off one month ago and j am terribly worried about the unevenness of his legs. Please tell me how it went for you son. Hope he is doing well. Thank you
My son (16 months old) broke his femur three days ago. We finally got him home and settled in is spica cast. I needed to hear someone else’s story that compared to ours. I have to say that your story was similar to ours in so many ways and is very encouraging! I know we will make it through the time in the cast, I am mostly worried about the days right after cast removal and the long term recovery. Thank you for sharing!
I just want to say thank you for writing this. We are going threw a spiral fracture on the femer, with my 19 month old. (He slipped in water on the bathroom floor from big brother taking a bath, fell backwards with his leg twisted behind him.) I too didnt understand what was wrong for about 4 hours after it happened. I only knew he freaked if I moved him at all. After they told me what was wrong i felt horrible for waiting so long. We are on day 4….. if you have any tips please let me know. He is only in a splint until next Wednesday then we decide if he needs a hard cast or not.
Thank you so much for this post! We just got home with our 4 year old son from the hospital and I came across this article which had provided so much comfort to me in a really stressful time. He broke his femur last night in a very un spectacular fall, and like you I also didn’t think much of it at first. He’s in a spica cast now (green) and I’m trying to wrap my head around the next 6 weeks + of life logistically. Specifically you mentioned the Britax Marathon car seat working for you, do you think it would work for a 4 year old of average height? I don’t have a 3rd row in my car and i have an older son…that harness car system the hospital gave us is not gonna work well
Omg this post was just amazing , my
Son just got his cast off this Wednesday and o was worried about his limp and inability to walk yet! The spica cast is quite a cast and it’s definitely makes you love the mess they create when they can walk and move! I’ve never been happier to see toys all over my
Living room it has been such a good and reflective experience ! Xoxo amazing post
Sitting in the hospital, night one with our almost 3 yr old daughter, spiral femur break. Spica cast is on and she’s finally awoken from the anesthesia… she’s not happy to be in a cast or a diaper as she’s potty trained. The internet took me down a black negative hole… but this blog brought me back. Thank you. And now our journey begins.
Hi Starr,
My son is 4 and is going on week 3 of 6 with the hip spica cast. The new lifestyle change has been crazy, but we have been managing it well. Our son Weston has been doing wonderful. The first few days after we were discharged from the hospital were difficult, but he has been doing much better than we initially thought.Things will start looking up! I promise. 🙂 This has taught us a lot of patience! If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
this blog is god sent. My 3yo broke his femur yesterday from a freak accident doing yoga. He’s in a spica cast right now resting at the hospital. This blog has been so encouraging. Thank you all for the tips. We’re thinking we may get discharged today bc he’s not in pain. But we’ll see. Bless all of you!
Thank you for writing this. Our 2 yr old goes in on Friday to hopefully get her spica cast off. We were also lucky that it is only one leg fully in a cast. I was searching for information on how well 2yr olds did while having such a large cast removed.
My mom sent me a link to this page because my three and a half year old son broke his femur this past Saturday. I would love your advice. Right now, he hates being picked up and moved and he screams and cries. I think mostly, he’s afraid. What are the best ways to pick him up and carry him?
We picked our son with the bad leg out, one arm under his shoulders and the other between his legs with both hands on the cast around his back. If he fussed in that position we’d take a moment to *very gently* bounce and rock him. Then once he calmed down we’d wander where we needed to go. Just be calm and gentle telling him that you’ve got him & he’s safe. You know, all the things we tell them when they get hurt.
After the first two days or so my son wasn’t bothered by being picked up so hopefully your little one will get better with it. It got easier to sit him up once the bone got the callus (?) and really started healing which was the week after I believe.
Then he started to crawl and was walking a few days before the cast came off. So he’ll get there.
Great article. My 4 year old is in the second week of a spica – one and half legs cast. She fell 5m from a tree so we are so grateful she didn’t have head or spinal injuries instead or as well. It’s going well so far. She is able to use the toilet still (with a plastic hiking/festival device called a shewee – best invention ever!) and it’s late winter here so not too hot.
I really liked your explanation of what happens when it comes off. Her broken leg is bent at the knee so I’m sure it’s going to be very sore.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Wow you’re so stupid for not realizing your daughter had a broken bone, I bet you yelled at her to shut up while she cried and were too busy using your phone to notice how much pain she was in.
Beth you are a wretch! You don’t know what any of us thought or felt when our kids got hurt. Unless you know any of us personally you need to butt out. Not all of our kids were curled up and crying. Not all of the injuries were immediately apparent.
You are a fool, a wretch and a jerk for trying to shame anyone here. Shame on you. You’re a disgrace.
Guessing you have not had a situation like this. Hopefully you never will. Casting stones at people is usually something someone who is ignorant of a. The facts, b. Sensitivity c. Common sense d. Compassion e. A kind bone in their body or f. All of the above.
Glad to know there are more people that are there to give support, and those willing to share their stories, so that others can learn from their experiences.
Thank you so much for this post. I’m currently in the second week of my spica adventure – my son is a few weeks shy of turning two and this has been literally everything you described. It’s just so nice not to feel alone in this because it is big and scary and life-changing while you’re in it. Thank you for showing me what it will look like on the other side. I needed to know that it’s going to be okay.
Does anyone have any advice in changing positions whats the best ways to position them so dont get pressure sores my little one is 2 and weve just cone home from hospital im worried im not doing it right
We used a bean bag on top of her bed mostly. Could put a pillow under a side to tilt her through the night. Or pull the pillow out.
Once she settled, we waited about 3-4 hours then moved her eg Tilted sideways before we went to bed eg push pillows in to tilt. Then set alarm for 4 hours (unless they wake earlier uncomfortable) and pull pillow out or move to other side.
We found this ok overnight and after a week or so she wriggled round herself a lot. Change position 1-2 hourly in the day time. Check skin often. We only had one red area on inner thigh which was caused from a ridge in the tape on the edge of the cast. We just took off some tape and replaced it to make it smoother. Depends how they finish the edges on your cast.
All the best. We had 8 weeks due to a difficult high break but it was a year ago and feels like another lifetime.
Hi …how is your daughter now… her leg size improved…we r in same situation now. Your post helping us a lot…how is she now…
My daughter broke hers a year ago and it was a high ‘difficult’ break – needed 8 weeks in full hip spica left leg and to knee on right. She was crawling and walking leaning on walls etc in the spica for the last 2-3 weeks. It hurt a bit for the first 2-3 days out but lots of baths helped. Now a year later she is jumping, climbing, running and biking and you wouldn’t know at all. She was 4 when it broke and 5 this week. All the best! It’s awful but kids are so resilient and it will be ok. Xxxx
Can anyone please tell us how to take care after cast removal and how long it will take to become normal (pre fracture condition) after femur fracture…my kid is 6th week of casting now.
Expect a big step backwards as they get very fragile overall again. But not for long. Take very loose clothing or just small blankets etc as she may not tolerate getting dressed well initially. Baths are amazing. We did a couple a day initially associated good for the skin and pain relief (stretching the leg out again). Olive, coconut or emu oil is great for the skin. My girl at 4.5 was running and jumping within 6 months and it’s a year today actually and you wouldn’t know at all. Hers was a horrible high fracture from bouncing off a tree branch when falling from a tree. She’s climbing trees again now – years off my life but she is just born to climb. All the best.
Thank you stephanie. Is there any growth difference between the legs… I am worrying a lot… your reply is really helping for us…waiting to see my son’s active naughtiness again. Thank you again.
When they checked and discharged her from othopedics at the 6 month check they said there was about 1-2 cm (half an inch) difference. They said it would even out with natural remodelling of the fracture. We would always bear it in mind if she had hip or back pain I guess later in life but they really said nothing to worry about. The younger they are the quicker it fixes itself (due to more growth hormones). Age 2-3 is fastest. She had just turned 4 when hers occurred so still very fast. It slows down after puberty growth spurts apparently. The body is amazing at sorting itself out. He will be great. They start crawling again first and pulling up on things – it’s just like learning to walk again but in the space of a few days! Mine had 8 weeks in the cast as they said too fragile as such a high complete fracture so she got going really fast. Can take a couple of weeks but they honestly improve everyday. You will be amazed.
Thank you for the reply.
Hi stephanie..did your daughter had any noticible length discrepancy once the cast removed after 8 weeks. My son’s injured leg is looking small than the other one. We can see the very much difference between both the legs. When they will measure the length…you said your daughter had 2cm difference after 6 months… how about the discrepancy over the year now….are both the legs in same length now
Found this in my searching as my 2 year old is spending the night in the hospital waiting for his spica cast after a break we have no idea how it happened. This is so much our story and made me feel so much more at ease. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for writing this. My baby boy (14 months) slipped three days ago on a card and fractured his femur. Below is my story (so far). But if you’re short on time, I’d just really appreciate your answer to the following questions:
1 after the cast, how long was she in pain for when switching positions.
2 did the nights/naps get easier with time
3 when did you start placing her on her stomach and did you put anything underneath (like a pillow) or just lay her on the floor? Did she resist this at first.
4 other than fear of playground and high surfaces, did she seem just as spirited as before? My son used to be so happy most of the time and now he looks miserable. I fear that some of that sadness and anger could stick with him or make him trust us and the world less in the future.
Again thank you so much for sharing this. Knowing that you went through something similar to what we’re going through and that your precious little girl is doing well now has been extremely encouraging during this difficult time.
Story: Now he’s in a spica cast and I’m incapable of holding my tears as I write this. I could very much relate to your post as I was going to work when he slipped and assumed he was crying because I was leaving (which he often does). Never did it cross my mind that my sweet baby boy could fracture a bone with such a seemingly simple fall from his own height. It took us several hours to figure it out and it breaks my heart to think about the pain he endured during those hours. To make things worse I put a snow suit on and took him for a walk all with a broken femur! He’s been so strong and patient. I wouldn’t be half as graceful in his situation. He’s having a hard time falling asleep for naps and keeps waking up throughout the night crying. I sleep beside him and try to help him switch positions, give him Motrin, breastfeed, but he keeps waking up.
How is he doing? I hope you found a way to manage his pain better. Most children feel better almost immediately after the cast is applied. When I say better I mean a lot less pain however, their behavior may not change due to the cast and all the things it creates and impedes. Most children significantly improve within 3 days of cast application. Here are some things you can do for pain management (this is a little late for you but maybe another parent will benefit): alternate tylenol and motrin, consider asking the pediatrician for a prescription pain medication, medicate around the clock for the first few days rather than waiting for the child to be showing pain behaviors, and try nonpharmacological pain treatments (use what works and disregard the rest).
I wouldn’t stress about long term emotional effects because most children do not experience significant long term emotional disturbances when their parents ensure that they receive proper care. The long term effects typically stem from how the injury occurred (if inflicted or from severe trauma i.e. car accident) and if their care is not adequate (this can be on the medical or parental side). If you notice changes then I would encourage you to get counseling for your little one. Play therapy is an option for younger children. In my experience the parents usually are affected more emotionally than the child. Children are incredibly tough and resilient. Remember children mirror what they see so remember to give yourself grace and resist the feelings of guilt. You don’t know what you don’t know. Not to mention, it seems like your little one is super tough and didn’t give you any inclination that he had a severe fracture. He went on a walk for goodness sake. Take care.
In the case of my son who was 2 when he slipped at the splash pad at our local park;
1) he was sad and in pain for about 3 days then things seemed to improve.
2) bed/nap time was pretty easy because he couldn’t move or get distracted by rolling around like a pill-bug.
3) we kept him on his back for around 2 weeks because he was more comfortable that way. When he was ready he flipped himself over and tried to crawl.
He did crawl really well and even began walking in the spica cast. 2 days before the cast came off he was walking unsupported all on his own. After the cast came off the got down off the table and blew his doctor away by walking 3 steps before his leg gave out. My son used a computer chair when he wanted to start walking. So if you have one *absolutely* encourage walking well AFTER the callous has formed. Any questions- ask your child’s doctor.
4) my son didn’t have any fear of the place he got hurt. He asked to go to that park every time we drove by it. Luckily it was a park with several saucer swings he could lay down on in his cast and enjoy.
That being said; my little dude broke his collar bone when our dog took off. The leash was ripped out of my hand, but not my son’s who fell with his arm out. Poor baby. He’s a little weird about going out with the dog now even though he’s now allowed to hold the leash anymore. He’s almost 5 now. He talks about the injury in an abstract way. I wonder if he’s gonna hold on to it for a long time or if it will fade like the bump on his collar bone where the ends fused together. And just for reference I didn’t know he broke his collar bone for a day and a half because he kept telling me it didn’t hurt. He just didn’t want to use his arm so I thought it might be dislocated. Then he told the ER doctor that his elbow hurt. Thank heavens for X-rays! He didn’t tell us his leg hurt when he broke his leg either. He just didn’t want to walk on it so I thought maybe he sprained something until the second day when his little thigh swole up. THEN I knew something was wrong.
I feel like a crap mom because my kid broke 2 bones and both times I didn’t know immediately that something was wrong. I’m familiar with falling. I did it a million times as a kid. It always hurt and I avoided using the injured area because I was afraid of pain. I thought nothing of his behavior after his falls. I never wanted to be one of those moms who takes her kids to the hospital for every little thing. I listen to a toddler more than my own darn sense and I hope someone learns from my mistakes.
May all your babies make full recoveries. It’s hard and at times you’ll feel miserable for your darling, but it doesn’t last forever and the sadness and pain will end.
Great blog! Thank you for sharing your experience. It seems like it was needed and has given so many scared parents reassurance and a little peace. I come to find this in a different way than most. I work for the Child Protection Team and wanted to hear a parents point of view. In the medical community we are taught that femur’s are extremely difficult to break and this information sticks with us. However, after 6 years of stories just like your own I have learned that although femur’s are difficult to break children are very capable of sustaining severe fractures from falls that appear minor and insignificant. Children also don’t react the way we (adults) expect them to which is why parents often delay care for a while and why medical providers are so skeptical of parents who report a delay in care due to the child not appearing to be in major distress. Your story and the parental responses have truly helped me become a better CPT medical provider. I will keep every one of these stories in my mind the next time I receive a case for a “suspicious fracture”. My worst fear is missing abuse but right behind that my fear is diagnosing abuse when it is truly an accident. Thank you for helping me find the right diagnosis and for helping me protect children and families.
Thanks for the comments…my daughter is 4 she just took the spicca out today and the bone is not well healed and she’s still swollen cries alot ,just can’t even touch her because it seems like its very painful ..please mommies help me with some ideas ,the doctors did nothing they said it will heal on its own
Sorry to hear that! With all due respect, is there another doctor you could seek a second opinion from?
Other than that I have found that distractions work. If she’s feeling miserable disrupt in the middle of a complaint or cry and kind of loudly ask a question or start singing. It works on my son. The loudly part kind of startles them out of what’s going on. My son *hates* it when I sing so he’ll stop to tell me to stop singing.
Teach her to smack-talk her leg. When it hurts teach her to tell it to get it’s act together. Say something like “stinky leg! Stop being so stinky!” Or “I don’t need your sass today stinky leg!” It makes him laugh and he’s usually more willing to work through the pain if he can run his mouth.
We found baths to be extremely soothing. She got a lot of use back in there and easier to stretch out both legs. She was having 3-4 baths a day initially.
My granddaughter is just getting used to her cast as she’s had it about one week. It has been a huge adjustment for everyone, especially her single mother. Very overwhelming. The accident itself happened while she was in the care of her daycare provider and getting the story of what happened has not been an easy task. Regardless, we are focused on the fact that the odds are in her favor that everything will heal and hopefully she can easily move on after that time period. Thanks for the encouragement in your article! It definitely feels good to know others have gone through this process and come out the other end successful!
I am praying for your child to heal completely withouth any harm.i think now your child is walking correctly.this is the year 2021.
Thank you so much for writing this! I literally found this post while I was sitting in the hospital waiting room while my two year old got casted for a femur fracture. He tripped into the tent within the first hour of our camping trip. Also a no big deal fall. We never even considered a fracture until he remained in terrible pain more than a day later. We felt so bad. So helpful to read everyone else’s stories!
This post truly helped me. Our 16 month old fell while playing next to our couch, and in the process, he pulled a heavy toy on top of him, and broke his right femur. Our experience was very similar to yours; wasn’t a very dramatic event, but ended up with a serious injury and a spica cast for 5 weeks (hopefully only 5). It was all very overwhelming but we have adapted fairly well to our new normal- 2 weeks in, 3 more to go. It’s difficult for a toddler boy to be still but he’s honestly taking it all in stride. Lots of cartoons and snacks help. Your story helped me feel like less of an awful mom and that we aren’t the only ones to go through an accidental spiral femur fracture. We also had to go through an evaluation with a social worker per hospital policy, which sucked, but I get it. And I agree, the idea that someone could intentionally do this to their child is gut wrenching. Thank you for your post and for helping ease a mama’s mind a bit.
Thank you so much for writing this post.
My little guy (2 years & 4 months) has this afternoon sustained a spiral fracture to his left femur. I’m actually still in the ER waiting to be transferred to a hospital ward and my brother googled and found your post. You have already answered so many questions for me and I appreciate so much that you have written about this in so much detail. It’ll be cast on for my little guy tomorrow morning and I’m so scared about what’s to come but hopefully one day we can look back on this as just a memory
Xxx
Just wanted to say THANK YOU!!!!! My 2.5 year old broke her femur 5 weeks ago and your attention to detail was and still is so helpful! I found your page while running on fumes in the hospital waiting for my daughters surgery to finish. We are now 5 days post cast and I am still finding myself coming back and rereading this. Such a traumatic experience as there is so much unknown and SO VERY LITTLE SLEEP!!!! Again I can’t thank you enough for choosing to share your experience, it really has been an amazing tool for us!
The Hickerson’s
All the best to you. My daughter was 4 and is now nearly 7. It is horrific at the time, but the memories do fade. Children are super resilient. A bean bag is great for positioning (with pillows tucked underneath to change position easily in the night). She was walking around in the cast by the end of the time! When the cast comes off – we did about 3-5 baths a day. It was painful for a day or 2 again. We just built up the stamina and she was back to running, jumping and tree climbing quicker than we ever thought possible. Absolutely no lasting effects now. Take care and take it day by day. Steph.
All the best to you. My daughter was 4 and is now nearly 7. It is horrific at the time, but the memories do fade. Children are super resilient. A bean bag is great for positioning (with pillows tucked underneath to change position easily in the night). She was walking around in the cast by the end of the time! When the cast comes off – we did about 3-5 baths a day. It was painful for a day or 2 again. We just built up the stamina and she was back to running, jumping and tree climbing quicker than we ever thought possible. Absolutely no lasting effects now. Take care and take it day by day. Steph.
Thank you for writing this. I’m currently in hospital with my 2 year old and I have been crying on and off for hours about what’s ahead of us and all the things he can’t do for the next 6 weeks and worrying how I’m going to make him understand it all and if his little personality is going to change being so immobile for so long and a million and one other things. Reading this helped. Thank you.
Wow, I thank you so much for this. My daughter turned 2 9/9 and on 9/14 we were in the hospital for a fractured femur. As I was reading your article it literally was all my feelings in the different situations. It does seem tough but hopefully we can figure out some good routines as well. Thanks for this article. Greatly appreciated!
I can’t thank you enough for this read !! Our son (who’s 2 as well) just had the same exact break this past weekend with the same cast ! The only thing different is we had a HORRIBLE ER doc who made me feel like the worst mom in the world (he was at grandma’s and tried to climb up on the washing machine and fell off) He is kicking recoveries butt so far and daddy and i are learning as we go!!
You made my mind at ease so thank you again 🙂
Your post is very encouraging for parents who are currently going through a femur break. My son turned 3 last week and the afternoon before broke his left femur (spiral fracture) jumping from his scooter. We had our first follow up today and the doctor noticed a slight shift in the alignment of the bones. Did your daughter have a shift at all? Did your doctor recommend or not recommend any position to avoid more shifting? Our doctor said because the spica cast he has on (around the waist and down one leg only) it’s hard to prevent the hips from moving completely so shifting may happen. My son doesn’t seem to be in any pain especially when he moves around but it’s also hard to make him stay still.
I didn’t write the article but my daughters fracture was very high and difficult. They thought they would have to rod or plate it. Luckily it was just a spica, but they did make her keep it on 8 weeks. I think if they don’t need to redo the spica yet, then fingers and toes crossed it will be ok. Each time we got ours checked they said ‘it’s ok, still not brilliant’ but by 8 weeks they were very happy and she went from strength to strength. My daughter was also 4 and they said 2-3 year old heal fastest and every year after that a bit slower (and much slower after puberty – a friend broke hers as a 13 year old and was in hospital for nearly 4 months with one thing and another.). Try not to worry. It will heal as fast as possible and the drs know what to do every step of the way. We are nearly 4 years down the track and no lasting effects whatsoever. Sometimes I wish she remembered more so that she was more cautious – she’s a gymnast and does scary things for a parent to watch! Best wishes, Steph