What if you break your arm on Mull?

[User050105]

Ds15 is going to the Camas centre on Mull in a couple of weeks. We're in East Lothian.

He's got this worry in his head that he'll fall and break his arm. I have no idea why. He's never broken anything so far.

I assume if you break your arm on Mull you go to the community hospital in Craignure and they fix you up. Your parent then has to drive up to collect you, unless you feel like going back to Camas.

Ds has decided that he might get put on a helicopter to Edinburgh or Glasgow and going on a helicopter by himself would be his absolute worst nightmare. Although it would take us less time to get to him.

He has all sorts of anxiety spirals all the time but this helicopter business is a big one.

Please can someone who has broken their arm on Mull reassure him that it can be fixed without a helicopter trip?

I will show him your replies (assuming they're helpful 😀) and hopefully he'll feel better.

We'll also phone the Camas centre in advance and see I'd they've ever had to deal with a broken arm before. Hopefully they'll have reassuring answers.

Thank you, I know this is ridiculous.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It's completely unpredictable. Some things are quite factual and like "there is an a&e on Mull and it has an x-ray department and it is very used to treating broken bones and you have good shoes to stop you slipping" seems to be reassuring to him. He's written it down in his diary.

He has had cbt but it didn't massively help. He has to be reminded to use the techniques and be talked through them. He doesn't seem able to get there on his own.

He hasn't been offered medication yet, but I think that will be the next step. They were hinting about it last time. His next appointment is mid September.

Although actually he's doing much better. He would have been a nervous wreck about this sort of holiday a year ago, he probably wouldn't have even signed up.

The air ambulance is launched several times a week to Mull. A new helipad has just been built at the hospital and there are frequent fundraisers for the air ambulance charity.

Dont forget to tell him how far he has come in managing his anxiety since last year. Sometimes anxious kids forget about their progress and just feel down about still being anxious