Advice desperately needed please; broken leg and managing young children

[sukieinthegraveyard]

I have just been discharged from hospital after having surgery for a broken leg. Have a 5 year old and a 15 month old toddling about. My husband is off work this week but usually works lates permanently and we have no relatives living close by. We have a lot of very supportive friends but really don't want to impose on people!! Has anyone on here been in this situation before? Wondering how the hell we are going to cope so any tips gratefully received....

Your 5 to needs training up quick!!
Do they know how to get more baby clothes /items from upstairs? Pack a bag to keep downstairs.
Picnic meals will be fine for a bit!!. Ask dh to fill a flask of coffee for you.
TV is your friend during these desperate times!!

Oh heck that's a pain in the ass!

Lean on your friends for support, it's really okay to do so. Can they come on a sort of rota to help you do bedtimes?

Find a bag that balances on your crutch handles well, and/or a rucksack, these things are invaluable! You can then move a flask of drink and a tupperware of food easily. A stool or chair at either end of the stairs helps you get back up again if you go up/down on your bum - and I would recommend that rather than hopping if you're in the house alone!

Keep your mobile phone on you. Maybe give a neighbor a key and heads up. Plan your day ahead so that you have to do minimal trips up and down the stairs. Use that rucksack. Pad your crutches, your hands will get sore easily but they'll harden up quickly. Do your physio and obey your doctor's orders! The website "my broken leg" has a forum which is great for advice.

Get a,teenager or student in to help entertain the kids and pay them. Agree an hourly or daily rate. Lots of students home for the holidays. You could try local chikdren centre or church to advertise.

Ok, I broke my leg in Oz when dds were 3 and not quite 2.
Dh was working ft.”, I was home with dds.
I broke my leg and had surgery, I had 2 plates and 19 screws added.
We enrolled dds to nursery, and had a friend have dds one day a week.
Good luck 🍀

I had one of those trollies on wheels- can lean on it instead of crutches and use it to move stuff around.
Poor you. Good luck.

Thank you so much, this advice is very helpful. Also knowing other people have been there and survived with children and sanity intact!!

I broke my ankle badly last year. You can hire a wheelchair to whizz around a bit from the Red Cross. I had a litter pick stick. Also a cross body bag in which I carried everything everywhere. Also paid a local teenager to play with kids while I was there. I also bought a limbo for showering which was brilliant.

Does DH have any more time off available? Can he work from home or come home early for a couple of weeks?

I'd see if a local childminder has any availability. It will be exhausting dealing with 15m old's nappy changes etc. so I think you may have to draft in help if at all possible.

Camp out downstairs, get inflatable mattresses, hire a comode, hire a wheelchair. Kids grab sticks are a great size for picking things up. Treat it as an adventure for your 5 yr old and you'll be amazed at the simple things he can do to help. You say you don't want to rely on friends but I bet they'd jump at the chance to help if you let them know how desperate you are.

I broke my elbow when my younger son was 9 months and my older son was 2. I couldn't lift the baby, change nappies etc or drive. My husband also works very long hours. I second getting a student to help out. I was lucky. It was during the summer holidays so was able to get a local 16 year old to come up and be a "pair of hands" during the day, The big advantage is that you are around yourself all the time so it doesn't matter whether they are experienced or not.
Good luck. It's not fun but we did all just about survive!

These are great tips, thank you so much you have all made me feel a bit more optimistic about things!