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Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

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Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

General health

Hints, tips and ideas needed for an 11 year old with TWO broken wrists!

32 replies

AuntyQuated · 15/04/2007 10:22

Yesterday DD fell off her swing and has broken both wrists.

As well as the pain she is finding her loss of independence very hard to cope with.
All her normal activities have to stop; violin, cycling, swimming, trampolining, crafting etc etc.

Does anyone have any tips????

Thnak you

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SoupDragon · 15/04/2007 10:24

Oh blimey! No suggestions but my complete sympathy! Hope she heals quickly.

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goingfor3 · 15/04/2007 10:24

Poor girl. No help but hope she gets better soon.

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Greenleeves · 15/04/2007 10:25

Oh no your poor poor dd

Audio books? You can get most things on audio now. Any DVDs she fancies watching?

I haven't got any better ideas but I'll keep thinking. Can she use her hands at all? Enough to do jigsaw puzzles or anything?

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DumbledoresGirl · 15/04/2007 10:26

Oh no AQ, what a disaster! My 10 year old son has borken his arm three times, all in differnt ways, so I have some experience of this (and also broke my arm when I was 11).

How bad and where are the breaks exactly? Does she have her arm in a full cast yet or is she still in the temporary cast and sling still? I found (and ds1 too) that once the full cast was on, there wasn't much you can't do, except for the obvious like swimming and washing yourself. She will have to rely on you to give her a bath for the next few weeks, but she should be able to use a knife and fork and pen once she is used to it. What about SATs? Or is she Year 7?

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Janh · 15/04/2007 10:28

Oh AQ, poor DD - what an awful accident - no suggestions but lots of sympathy

Hope they're not bad breaks and that they will mend quickly.

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Greenleeves · 15/04/2007 10:28

Has she got siblings, or a parent at home? Would board games/quiz games/draughts/chess be any use? Sorry, clutching at straws here!!

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DumbledoresGirl · 15/04/2007 10:28

I know how you and she must be feeling right now. The shock contributes to that and I can remember also feeing devastated that ds1 was not able to go swimming or do other activities, etc. But that feeling soon wears off as you become accustomed to the situation. And the longest ds1 had his arm in plaster was 6 weeks (but that was a very severe break for which he needed an operation to re-set the bone)

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AuntyQuated · 15/04/2007 10:53

Hi

thnak you

DG - good to hear your experiences.
She still has temporary, half casts until Tuesday when we go back. It is good to hear that things should improve onec she has full cats on.
The braeks seem to be just above th wrist joint.

She is in year6 so SATS loom but i'm not sure of the exact date.

How long was your DS off school for? I suppose that with 2 broken limbs it will be up to the school if they will take responsiblity for her.

Thanks fot the suggestions...keep them coming.
We are going to put her slings back on now and try a game of draughts.

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AuntyQuated · 15/04/2007 12:18

we have found some old Where's WAlly books which are helping atm.

but there are lots of tears! she has jsut looked out of the window and saw DS on the trampoline ansd that set her off too.

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flightattendant · 15/04/2007 15:18

At some point you could maybe make a game out of tying the other kids' arms up in slings too, and seeing what they can and can't do! Might bring a bit of comic relief. Maybe she could set them challenges etc. Poor thing, hope she's feeling better soon.

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DumbledoresGirl · 15/04/2007 15:21

Poor thing. She sounds a bit traumatised by it. Her confidence has probably taken a knock too, and it is hardly surprising. Ds1 was absolutely gutted when he first broke his arm (that was the time he needed the op to repair it) as he went from one moment being a normal, healthy boy to the next being in hospital, starved of food, having an anaesthetic (which he had had before, so he knew how scary and painful it can be), in pain, scarred for life, and then unable to do much for 6 weeks. The next 2 breaks, although only minor in comparison, just added to his loss of confidence and he is now very reluctant to try new things eg scared to learn to dive as he fears he will dive badly and break his arm as he enters the water. You should expect a similar loss of confidence and short term depression in your dd (sounds like she has the depression already).

That said, I honestly do think she will quickly come round to her experience once she is in the full cast. She shouldn't be in any pain and she should have full mobility back. Even when my son broke his shoulder (yes he has had a depressingly full range of experiences!) and couldn't have a cast but had to wear a sling for however many weeks it took to recover, he still quickly learnt to do what look like impossible tasks by himself, eg dressing himself, showering, even eating with 2 hands.

The other thing to look out for is the attention she will receive once she is back outside the house. My son is very shy and does not like to be the centre of attention at all so he found it really hard to go to school and have people flocking round him, and as for complete strangers asking what he had done - well, it was hard for him. I find that less easy to understand as when I broke my arm as a child, I revelled in the attention, but if your dd is shy, bear that in mind.

Re school: when ds1 broke his arm badly and had the op to repair it, he was off school for a week and a half but that was more to do with recovering from the op. The other times, he went back to school as soon as the full cast was on, or, in the case of the broken shoulder, which he did last Easter,he went back to school when term restarted. I think schools are generally familiar with dealing with children in casts and as long as your dd is mobile and able to go to the toilet/feed herself (which of course she will be) then they will have her in school. I began by asking if my son could stay in at playtimes for fear of him injuring himself again, but that didn't last long as they want to go out and be with their friends. As she is in Year 6, I would say she should be in school as much as possible in the next few weeks, even if she can't write, as they will be doing a lot of revision for the SATs. By the way, I can help you with the question of when SATs week is as ds1 is also Year 6 and it is the same throughout the country: it is the week starting 14th May, so hopefully, your dd will be out of her casts by then.

Gosh, I have gone on a bit! But anything else you want to know, don't hesitate to ask me. I am sadly all too experienced in this way (oh, ds2 broke his leg when he was little and was in a full leg cast so I have even more experience than I had declared!)

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hunkermunker · 15/04/2007 15:26

Oh, poor thing Will see if I can think of anything. Hope the proper casts help things and she can have more use of her hands then.

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AuntyQuated · 15/04/2007 17:09

thanks

She is a bit happier this afternoon; has managed to rwad a mag a friend brought round and has fed herself a crushed up ice lolly
but she was upset when ds went off with friends for a walk. she says she just wants to be normal.

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DumbledoresGirl · 15/04/2007 17:36

She will be again, very soon. Poor thing.

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CarGirl · 15/04/2007 21:59

found your new thread - CAT me or leave your addy if you'd like to borrow the waterproof thing - we have kept it as insurance to not need it again ourselves but you're welcome to borrow it as I think it was about £15 but you can go swimming with them on???????? dd1 broke her arm badly 1st day of school hols in the heatwave summer when I was heavily pregnant with dd3 born end of Aug and had spd - it was NOT a fun summer. She was very tearful etc for the first week and they say in total it takes 6 weeks after the cast is removed before they heal completely and stop feeling tired etc!

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Wotzsaname · 15/04/2007 22:11

I would check with the school about the SATs ours are from May 8th for 2 weeks. A full cast will give her more support.

So sorry its both arms in plaster at the same time. She must be very fed up.

You can get these great pens called Blow pens (like airbrush effects) if you can help her that could be fun. blo pens craft sets Argos and other places sell them too.

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roisin · 15/04/2007 22:22

Oh now, that sounds like really hard work.

Ds2 broke one wrist half term last May/June, and it healed remarkably quickly: cast for about 4 weeks then fine. But he had an elbow injury which took longer to sort out.

Also the break from swimming did dent his confidence and took him ages to get back into that properly.

He broke his left wrist, so writing wasn't a problem. But he could still play the piano fine after a couple of days and continued to do most things.

Make sure when she goes back to school she has clear instructions about what she can/can't do.

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RustyBear · 15/04/2007 22:38

KS2 SATs are definitely 14th - 18th May - if she's still in plaster by then, she may be able to have someone to write for her - the school will be able to sort it out
This is from the QCA site (they administer the tests)
"10.6 Unforeseen injuries
Every year a few pupils break an arm or are injured in some other way that affects their ability to take the tests. When this happens, schools should use access arrangements such as 25 per cent additional time and/or an amanuensis to help the pupil access the tests, see section 12.6 for more information. Schools do not need to make an application for this arrangement. If there is time before the tests, a pupil who needs to use an amanuensis unexpectedly should be given the chance to practise under test conditions.
Schools should contact the NAA national curriculum tests helpline on 08700 60 60 40, not their local authority, if they feel a pupil needs more than 25 per cent additional time due to an unforeseen injury.
Schools must notify their LA (in the case of LA maintained schools) or the NAA (in the case of independent schools) of any arrangements involving additional time that are made at short notice because of unforeseen injuries.
Schools must not open the tests early because of unforeseen injuries.

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Wotzsaname · 16/04/2007 09:00

thanks rusty for the right dates for the tests.

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AuntyQuated · 16/04/2007 09:19

thank you all

cargirl - can you email me please? thanks auntyquated at yahoo dot co uk

Thnaks for the info about the SATS --she has 4 weeks then. hmmm. Her taecher is pretty on the ball so hopefully she too will be looking into it; espec as DD is expecetd to get all level 5s - they will want her to do them so that she helps their overall success rate. humph - SATS - nothjing to do with children really. but that is another thread

The Where's Wally book is still hitting the mark in small bursts as is the came Tip Over. But I am sure we will soon need soemthing else.

Blowpens ---good idea - we have some somewhere...off to search.

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AuntyQuated · 17/04/2007 21:16

Thnak you cargirl - i ahve emailefd you.

Just to update you all

we returned to the fracture clinic today. the right arm has a clean break and they decided to leave the half cast on until next week when they will do the full one.

the left one is a little more compliacted but it was border line as to whether it needs resetting or not. but they decided to leave the decision unitl next week but have put the full cast on.

so one is a lot more comfortable but i wish they had done both today. she hurt her right one tonight by moving something that was really really lightweight.

she is going back to school tomorrow - school are keen for this to happen and have alredy talked to the LEA about an amanuensis (scribe??). I'm not at work tomorrow so can go for her if necessary, but hopefully it won't be.

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popsycal · 17/04/2007 21:25

poor dd
contatc school about sats
she will be allowed to have a scribe
not read all posts but sats are week beginning 14/5

ring school asap and they can put stuff in place

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AuntyQuated · 17/04/2007 21:33

thanks popsycal.
school havce alraedy looked into it and need to ring the authority cos of circumstnaces.
tbh i don't care if she does them or not BUT school want her to do them as she will likely get level 5s all round.
do you know - could she do the long and short writing on a laptop??

ta

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chatee · 17/04/2007 21:47

what a shame for your dd auntyquated- hope she is better sooner for you all...
was going to suggest blo pens but someone has beat me to it!!
maybe some computer games might be easy to do with just a finger(??) might occupy some time for her
sorry i'm not much good am i?? i'm used to the bed rest stuff but at least able to use hands....

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popsycal · 17/04/2007 21:52

theoreically, all school have to do is fill out a form in the sats 'bible' with the details. She won't need any more official stuff than that.

The writing tests - yes she will be allowed to have a scribe but she will have to dictate punctuation, new paragraphs, etc. Insist that chool let her have some practice at doing this. The scribe can only do EXACTLY as she tells him/her.