Ds broken arm - what to expect?

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

12yo ds1 tripped over in the street yesterday and broke his arm rather badly (compound fracture on both bones). Hospital kept him in overnight and he is waiting to go in for an operation to screw it together again. Dh is with him, I am at home because we only have one car and 2 other dcs.

This is new territory for me as I have never broken anything and neither have dh or the other two kids.

Has anyone been through this and can give me some tips about what to expect re recovery time, pain, practicalities of him managing with only one working arm? And anything else?

Thank you so much x

[greenelephantscarf]

recovery time should be quick at that age. about 5-6 weeks in a cast.
painkillers often only needed for a few days, paracetamol is quite safe & effective.

order a limbo cover (amazon) so he can shower/bath without getting the cast wet.

physio as soon as cast is off. really consider private - much much better/more timely.

expect quite a few fracture clinic appointments, sometimes at weird times (we had one at 5pm on a sunday)

good luck

[PurpleThistles]

My DD at the same age broke her arm, compound fracture both bones. She did a backflip on a trampoline. She had surgery, a rod down one bone and a plate with screws on the other. On morphine for 3 days. Once home i had to keeo a close eye on her arm, keep it elevated to prevent swelling and settle her at night with her arm raised so it wouldnt swell over night. Extra pillows are a must. I also had to keep checking her feeling in her hand.

Although it was her dominant arm, she managed fairly well. I made a sling out of black bags to use in shower. She had three cast changes and after 3 months, a quick op to remove the rod. She chose to keep the plate and screws because she had keyloid scarring and didnt want to make it worse.

Nearly a year on, she is as active as ever and has full use of her arm and hand.

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

Thank you.

[Random18]

Mine was younger although she’s done it a couple of times 😢

Not as serious as a compound fracture but eventually got a wire 1st time and closed reduction 2nd time.

3 months ish in cast 1st time & 8 weeks 2nd time.

It actually is not as bad as I expected.
Pain relief was only needed for a few days both times. She refused to wear the Limbo so we clingfilmed.
Both times were over summer months so that made clothing easier for us- we just bought bigger sizes. Probably easier with a girl though due to styles.

She couldn’t go back to school until she had a more permanent cast after her op 1st time. I would also agree about physio. We did it 1st time and it did help. DD’s issue was her elbow and there were concerns full movement may not come back. It did thankfully although did take a few months.

2nd time it was both bones in forearm broke. She got back to normal pretty quickly and did not need physio.

Fracture clinics are a living hell i’m afraid. At least in our hospital. Prepare to be there for 3 + hours so take lots of food for DS and tablet / phone

Any scars he may have are scary at 1st but I look at DD’s elbow and I love her scar. It’s part of her and actually isn’t that noticeable.

Good luck and hope he makes a quick recovery.

[123Holly]

DD broke her arm ages 18 months. Compound fracture in both bones. We were called in for surgery the next morning but because she was so young they decided to apply a new cast in a straight position and a wait and watch approach.
It was a nightmare. Cast slipped off every few days and she ended up with a bad bend in her arm.
She’s 4 now though and can’t tell at all!
She had paracetamol and brufen for a few days but was fine after that.
Cast was on for a total of 5 weeks.