To not send DD13 to school - fractured collarbone

[Sunflower99963]

DD13 fractured her collarbone last Monday and returns to school this Monday; she is wearing and sling and given a referral to fracture clinic.

I am thinking to keep her at home one more week; she has to get a train and walk for 15min carrying her backpack, she has to change classrooms in a school with small corredores and 1400 girls. We can potentially drive her in the morning but will be tricky to pick up at 3pm due to work commitments

I would be grateful for advice from people with similar experience. I think another week will give her more time to heal and
it won’t be that sore anymore.

It's half term!

OP has stated it’s half term. I appreciate it isn’t everywhere but for OP it is, therefore she hasn’t got a week to catch up on already

She has not missed school yet as we are in half term in England.

I think another week before going to school will help her recovery. but happy to send to school when they make proper arrangements. Hopefully they can send homework while she is off school. I would rather she heals properly.

At the moment she needs help with dressing, shower, etc. We will have to drive her and pick her up for the next few weeks too.

This week is half term for many people.

What did the hospital say about returning to school?

Glad to hear; hopefully it will be similar for DD.

Agree

Sorry to hear that. I hope you can get some treatment/physiotherapy/ostheopathy to help your shoulders. It is hard when you are a parent as difficult to stop for 6 weeks.

Definitely speak to school for advice on what they can offer support wise then decided with DD. Is it her dominate hand that she has injured if so make it clear to school it must stay in sling and she can't write. The lack of plaster may encourage them to ask her too write.

My son fractured his collarbone at school when he was 7.
He had a week off he could barely move he was in so much pain.
He went back after a week but didnt do pe for 6 weeks and the teachers understood really well and let him out of class 4-5 mins early.
Mind you he loved his sling and having stickers on.
A year later he broke his finger he went back to school the next day but wanted a sling again to be sure he didnt bump it.
There really wasnt a need for a sling for his finger but it made him feel better.

Keep her off on Monday and sort out arrangements with the school. Hopefully she can then go back on Tuesday. How does she feel about going back?

It was half term

Yes. I didn't realise that when I posted but the OP clarified after. In any event there is no medical reason not to attend and fall behind this coming week.

Broken bones is definitely a medical reason.

She's broken a bone that can't be put in plaster so every movement will be agony.

My son broke his in the same place 3 times and each time had two weeks off school.

Broken bones are indeed a medical condition as is a fractured collarbone as in this case. But still not a reason to stay unnecessarily off school.

For all the reasons the OP listed, it is.

I think they could probably still attend with accommodations made, as I posted earlier on.

But the “she’ll fall behind” stuff is over the top. She’s not had one day off school yet and has broken bones, it would not be unreasonable to have a couple of days off before heading back to school.

She has a fractures collarbone.

For me its the travel arrangements that complicate things. Presumably school can make adjustments, bag can be left etc but if she has to take a train herself I'd keep her off for fear of her being in pain, tripping or being knocked into and worsening the injury. There's nothing she can't catch-up on and I wouldn't risk permeant physical problems for the sake of a week at school.

Attendance policies are ridiculous.

Nope.
She can get a friend to carry her bag/leave it at school. Drop off and she can go to late room/library until you can collect or go with a friend.

The thing with injuries and medical issues is that each person is different and the nature of a fracture can differ, as well as pain and healing time.

Technically, yes, I'd say your DD can return to school however I'd make it very much dependent upon adequate adjustments and provisions being put in place. She should absolutely NOT be carrying a backpack for starters and as others have said, provision for her to transition to classes without the hustle and bustle in the corridors, as well as getting there and back safely (in terms of people bumping her etc.)

I'd also, however, consider her pain - if someone is in a lot of pain they are unlikely to be particularly focused and productive.

If the school could send work home for her - or advise of what topics would be covered over the next week, then it may be a safer option for her to work at home in terms of allowing her to heal a bit more and for her pain to go down more. Even if she has to catch up a bit she can still do some work and read ahead etc so that any catching up is minimal.

I was raised to go to school unless I had limbs hanging off and was bleeding out my eyes (and even then I'd be expected to make an effort!) - and as an adult I am rarely off work sick. I do, however, think that where there is a fracture type injury one has to be sensible about not making it worse.

I keep her home! Dd13 broke her collarbone in sept (broke it at school). She had one month off. Her break was complicated by happening during the dr strikes and she was seen in the plaster room where they put on incorrect sling on her making it a lot worse. At worst, she was on codine. She still feels pain now and probably should have had physio, which I may still follow up. She didn’t carry her backpack for two months.

While her situation was made a lot worse by the medical staff (we couldnt move her at one point to even get her to A&E but it was a consultant and junior doctor anyway). We had to get codine prescribed by 111 (I think that’s the number!) just to move her. Without the complication, she would have needed two weeks at least off, she was in too much pain to walk to school and move, never mind writing.

Missing school isn’t ideal, but sending a child to school in significant pain is fairly negligent!

You do know fractured means broken? And that a collarbone is a bone? Therefore a broken bone? You seem to think a fractured collarbone is something else.

Ohh, sorry to hear that. Wishing your daughter a full recovery

Quick update.

School said they will give her additional support and she was feeling a bit better so I sent her on Tuesday; but everything is the same and she has been carrying her bag on her good shoulder everywhere. She told me yesterday it was hurting again so I am keeping her out school. They are very concerned reg attendance but realistically give no support.

I am confused reg advice, in Spain they told me to keep sling for 4 weeks and to sleep with it. Fracture clinic called me on Monday, said it was a clean cut, it will heal in 4 weeks, keep sling on for 2 weeks, encourage her to move/use her arm. They don’t want to see her unless it is still hurting after certain time which I can remember