Taking a four-year-old abroad with a full leg cast?

[Gba]

Hi looking for some advice , we’re due to go away abroad on the 11th , my daughter broke her ankle last night she’s in a full leg cast , honestly so devastating for her, she’s just turned 4, the dr said I could take her away still but obviously she will need extra support ect has anyone else ever took there toddler away still , with a cast on? It’s swimming that she will be missing out on but I’ve seen online you can get waterproof protectors but not sure how reliable they’d be protecting the cast from being wet .. and also worried with the airport as she won’t be able to walk properly..

— feeling emotional.

Your poor dd.

Have you asked your travel insurance? They may not cover her to go away so soon.

Ime the Limbo branded cast covers are excellent, though I’m not sure if I’d trust it 100% just in case of a leak and not being able to get the cast replaced easily overseas.

Has she got a wheelchair that you can use to get about?

The plane will be an issue as she probably won’t fit in a single seat with her leg out straight.

In your position I think I’d try to rearrange the holiday once she’s out of the cast.

Your poor dd. I think at her age I would cancel/rearrange the holiday because it isn’t going to be fun for anyone especially her. You can definitely get covers for the cast but she’ll need supporting in the water and it won’t be splashing and swimming around.

I think it will be pretty miserable for her and you.

Flying?

the cast will need to be split because her body will swell with the aeroplane. I had a “boot” style thing which came off.

the waterproof protectors are good for bath/shower but I’m not sure I’d trust them fir swimming pool.

I would use travel insurance and cancel/postpone

I took dc with arm casts on holidays and that was hard. It’s not easy to keep the cast dry, and in heat with a waterproof cover, they get hot and sweaty. Sand is an itchy nightmare.

Can you reschedule?

http://myorthoclinic.com/faqs/flying-with-a-cast/

need to check with your airline -
may need up to 3 seats for her ….

Ankle fractures are hard to heal due to poor blood supply. I was told to spend as much time with my leg up and my foot at the same level as my heart. She won’t be able to walk at all surely? Never mind not be able to walk properly. When you say full leg cast do you mean up to her groin? Is she not in a wheelchair?

DS fractured his femur abroad at age just 3 and was in a full leg cast. We needed 6 seats laid flat for him to travel home on. It was a nightmare.

At 4 she should still fit into a pushchair rather than a wheelchair.

I would cancel the holiday, it will be no fun for anyone. I’d imagine it will be covered on your travel insurance.

I would postpone. I’m sure your travel insurance would cover it. I flew last year with a cast on my arm 3 days after a break. I had to get it split to allow for swelling. I don’t think it would be much fun for her not being able to run around and get in the pool.

A pushchair wouldn’t offer any support for a heavy, full lengthy leg cast.

Please cancel. She will heal more quickly being a child but will still need to keep her foot elevated - it starts to feel fuzzy when you don't is my experience. Have a holiday in September once she's fully mobile again.

And I don’t know if kids have a lower risk of a blood clot but I’d be never out about flying and a cast for a blood clot risk as both things raise the risk. Lots of hospitals now do prophylactic blood thinners if lower leg is in a cast. Is she on blood thinners?

At age 4 I would cancel the holiday. It’s not going to be fun for her, what’s she going to do? Kids will just want to splash around in the pool and sea. At 4 there’s no way she’s going to keep it dry and clean whilst playing.

My two year old fractured her tibia in March. She was fine on a flight, we did use the pushchair in the airport. It might be worth looking for a big pushchair for your four year old.
The cast cover we had did protect the cast in the pool/ bath. However they only recommend using them for half an hour at a time.
We put one of my husband’s socks over the cast on the beach. it went all the way up her thigh over the cast to stop sand getting in at the top.
The one thing I will mention and I’m sure a four year old is easier to reason with than two year old but mine screamed all night for the first week after her accident.
She was in such a state it was impossible to get paracetamol into her.
If your daughter has that level of pain at night it might not be worth it as she will be grumpy by day with the tiredness.

Please cancel/rearrange. This would be torture for her.

Unfortunately you’ll need to cancel. My daughter broke her ankle while in the states - ‘luckily’ at the start of our time away so she was cleared to fly but it was awful for all of us. She couldn’t fly for a week or so after. She broke her wrist on another trip and we tried a waterproof cast and it leaked and we had to go back for a new cast. Both times were pretty rough and if we’d have been home it would have been so much better for everyone.

Sorry to hear about the accident, and wishing your daughter a speedy recovery.

i’m in the cancel and rearrange camp. It’ll be better for everyone.

I know you’ll be disappointed, but can you do a couple of fun days here? Wheel her around a zoo, go to the cinema etc. ie. Have a staycation.

I’d cancel the holiday in these circumstances.

Also to add I didn’t fly with my dd until three weeks after the break- we had a family wedding in England.
We live in south of France so all the beach and pool was at home so we could easily go back to the hospital if there was a problem (luckily there wasn’t).
But the flight was fine. They split the cast as standard here is that not the same in the UK?

Definitely cancel. She’ll be happy at home but miserable watching the other kids splashing about in the pool.
Surely your insurance will cover this?

I would postpone. It will be miserable 😔

@Gba have you got insurance for this holiday?