your best tips for coping with being in cast all summer long

[showmethemummy]

hello....
am really exhausted after ridiculous day at paed xray, a&e blargh blarg but to sum up my poor dc1 (aged 7) has today had an ankle fracture diagnosed, and cast duly been applied.

fracture had been missed for 4+ weeks despite doctor visits etc... anyhoo.

please help me, help child - what are your best tips for dealing with day to day logistics /practical care?

is it one of the types you can get wet?

Hire wheel chair for days out.

When my DS broke his leg (spiral fracture of tib and fib, op - nuts and bolts to hold it all together) he was very quickly out of plaster and into an air boot. He got used to crutches very quickly and it didn't seem to stop him doing much ( he was even on the trampoline with friends - I couldn't watch).

The big problem was bathing but I got him a waterproof cover for his leg and he bathed with it hanging over the side

He even went on a 3 day geography field trip to Wales with it.

minmooch Sympathies to your ds - I've just had similar, although my recovery (am very old though) is seeming to take an age (6 months so far). Am wincing at the very thought of a trampoline! I didn't have plaster or an airboot though, just a bit of bandage until the stitches came out.

showmethemummy I bet your ds makes a speedy recovery. At that age they do, and if he's had it 4 weeks already without realising, maybe it's a relatively minor break. That was part of my problem - having seen kids at school nipping about within days of breaking a limb, I thought my recovery would be as quick.

thanks for replies.

will take heart... yes maybe it will be speedy.

i'll look into that cover; we're supposed to be heading off abroad for two week summer hols soon...

clam hope yours is better soon too! six months is a long time!

Waterproof cast covers - www.limboproducts.co.uk/products

You need the cast covered on the beach too - sand under the cast is a nightmare.

Limbos are fantastic - I was in plaster from the beginning of August to mid October, then May to July, then 3 weeks of September, and the limbo let me have baths and showers with no water leakage.

thanks for that recommendation - I just bought one.
although (have posted about it elsewhere) ... not sure she'll be in a cast for long; but we're off on holiday soon and just want to be safe!