# Help....My 4 year old broke his leg!!!



## maureen73 (Jul 31, 2007)

I am still in shock. Last night my little ones, Adam turned 4 last week, Hannah 2 /12 and Jacob 1 1/2 were spinning around and around in the living room having a great time when Adam got dizzy and his right leg stayed stationary while his body turned. He fell and my DH and I heard a horrifying "Pop". His right tibia is fractured and he is now in a full leg cast for 3 weeks with another 3-4 weeks in a half cast after that. We are hoping to get him moving around with tiny little crutches. We weren't able to find any so DH is building some like on Home Improvement. I feel like such a horrible mother. I was encouraging their spinning game by saying "weee, faster and faster you go". I feel like it is my fault. I just can't believe it happened. He is home now and I am wondering if anyone has any ideas as to how to make his days of being more stationary interesting and fun things to do? He goes to our church co-op preschool two days a week for 3 hours and won't be able to return so I thought we could do some fun lessons. Has anyone else ever gone through this? Any advice would be great appreciated. I never thought motherhood could be this scary and challenging.


----------



## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

Do you do screen time at all? There are fun online games like starfall.com.

Did the Dr explain why his leg broke so easily?


----------



## maddymama (Jan 5, 2008)

Hi Mama,
My DD broke her leg when she was 18 months old and was in a cast for 8 weeks. Ummm... she was younger than your son, but the worst part was the first 48 hours or so. Within 24 hours of being casted, DD was crawling around, within 48 she was walking, and within 72 hours she was RUNNING and climbing around like normal.
Did the ortho put your son in a walking cast? I'm confused about the crutches bc our ortho said that until they were a bit older (I think 6 or 7 years old) then they weren't necessarily coordinated enough to use crutches without causing further injury. He also said to follow DD's lead on what she could or couldn't do... so we followed her lead and she was active as normal within a few days. What did your ortho tell you to expect, activity wise?
Also, we used Babylegs to cover the cast so it didn't scratch DD, us, or the furniture and floor. I'm not sure Babylegs would be big enough to cover your son's cast, but maybe regular legwarmers would be. We also made a "moonboot" out of duct tape, cling wrap, towels, etc. which allowed her to run around outside without getting the cast muddy or dirty. That was a lifesaver for us.
Activity-wise, we did tons of finger painting, playdough, videos, etc. for the first few days.....
Good luck, and I hope your LO feels better soon!
~maddymama


----------



## ecoteat (Mar 3, 2006)

Oh, how awful! I have no experience with this or advice, but I wanted to remind you this is NOT your fault. Accidents happen. We've all spun around for fun and toppled over; a bone breaking in that instance sounds like such a rare thing to happen. Kids are resiliant. He'll adapt to the cast and then recover just fine.


----------



## Evan&Anna's_Mom (Jun 12, 2003)

Why on earth wouldn't he be able to go back to preschool? During the years we had kids in preschool we saw all sorts of broken bones -- including my son's arm at one point. That seems really strange to me.


----------



## pitter_patter (Jan 16, 2007)

I hope he has a quick recovery, and don't beat yourself up, accidents happen. For activities, how about card games, or beginning needlepoint, maybe an I-spy bag from etsy?


----------



## mommyto3girls (May 3, 2005)

My almost 4 year old just broke her humerus right above her elbow, on monday she had 3 pins put in and is in a cast from fingers to shoulder. It was very scary waiting durring the surgery and when she was in recovery, but she has handled it like a trooper. Different than a full leg cast, but she is right handed, sucked her right thumb, and obviously was not used to being so heavy on one side of her body.

She broke it around noon sunday, had the surgery at ten Monday, was discharged at ten Tuesday, and was back to her "I can do it myself" attitude Tuesday night. She is still sleeping more often and a bit more whiney, but she has refused the codeine (except at bedtime when we bribe her with chocolate- she was crying in her sleep) saying "I rather have pain in my arm than that yucky stuff in my mouth"

she very quickly became adept at eating and coloring with her left hand also. Pulling up pants and sucking her right thumb seem to be the only things she can not do (and getting a shirt over the cast herself, but once its over the cast she does the rest)

I bet he will surprise you and adapt quickly as well. Little ones are amazing!


----------



## mommyto3girls (May 3, 2005)

Oh, we kept Sage out of Pre-school/Day Care all this week just to minimize the chance that her arm would be bumped hard and because she needed the extra TLC. She starts back full time on Monday. We also stopped in on Wednesday afternoon just to visit her teachers and get the Big show off part overwith so Monday can start just like normal


----------



## Murihiku (Oct 2, 2008)

What an awful freak accident! You must both feel dreadful.

But I have to address this:

Quote:


Originally Posted by *maureen73* 
I feel like such a horrible mother. I was encouraging their spinning game by saying "weee, faster and faster you go". I feel like it is my fault.

Okay, let's imagine Adam 15 years in the future sitting having a drink with his friends at university and the subject turning to broken limbs.

In scenario one, Adam says "I was four and spinning around the room with my sister and brother, I remember my mother saying "Weee, faster and faster you go," and I fell and my leg broke."

In scenario two, Adam says "I've never broken a bone, but oh my God my mother used to freak out about the possibility. My earliest memory is when I was four and spinning around the room with my sister and brother and she rushed at me and grabbed my shoulders and started shouting about how I would fall and break my leg and she said 'Moving is dangerous! Stop and sit down!' Then she turned the tv on. She'd never let any of us do sports or even learn to ride a bike in case we broke our legs."

In which scenario do you think Adam's friends would think "What a horrible mother!"?


----------



## maureen73 (Jul 31, 2007)

Thank for you for replies ladies....great words of advice. Adam is not returning to pre-k by my choice and not necessarily his schools. At 4 it is very difficult to convince him to try and crutches while his leg "stings really really bad". Therefore he does not have any mobility. He would have to be carried around the class and his co-op is unable to accomodate. If he had a way to get around then it would be a different story. Unfortunately, he has a hard cast but it is not a "walking" cast like I had read about because there is a bend at the knee part. This is so frustrating. At least today he is letting us move him a little bit.







:


----------



## SimonMom (May 19, 2004)

My son broke his leg last spring. He had just turned 5. He had a full leg cast, that was not a walking cast, for 4 weeks, then a half cast for 2 more. We actually got a wheelchair that he used for a couple weeks until he was more mobile. The first week or so were the hardest because he was in a lot of pain. His foot actually got run over by a car and he needed 15 stitches on his foot in addition to his broken leg. Anyway, we used a combination of wheelchair, wagon, crutches, and scooting on the floor to get around. Actually, I'm amazed at how well he could get around just by scooting on the floor. I would encourage you to let him go to preschool. I'm sure there are plenty of toys he could play with by sitting on the floor or in a chair, and then if he need to change rooms they could use a wagon or stroller, or even a computer chair.

Anyway, after about three weeks, he was using his crutches everywhere. I think it really helped to keep our routine the same. We would go to the park, and he would sit on a blanket or play in the sand. It really helped just ot get out and about. He got lots of books from the library. We definitely watched movies, even though he had previously seen a total of maybe 5 in his life. We played board games. We had relatives and friends come visit. Some people sent packages. It was hard, but he was such a trooper and didn't complain.

So I would suggest a combination of keeping your schedule the same, having visitors, having some movies, suprise him with a new toy or activity every few days. I had a 2 1/2 yr old and 4 month old at the time, and my 5 year old is/was extremely active, so I can commiserate. I was so glad when it was over. Also, one thing that suprised be after his cast was taken off was that it was painful for him to move his foot. I don't know if it was because he had trauma to his foot, or because his tendons had tightened up, but he could not walk or run normally for a few weeks after. I was really scared that something else was wrong, but not he's completely fine. So don't be shocked if there's still some recovery time after the casts are off. Sorry for the book. HTH!


----------



## SimonMom (May 19, 2004)

Also, they do make crutches for his height. I highly suggest you procure some.I found this websiteby googling child crutches.


----------



## maureen73 (Jul 31, 2007)

Thank you ladies...my DH insisted on making crutches for Adam and since I was worn out I took a nap yesterday while Adam was sitting in the garage with daddy. I was completely SHOCKED when I got up because Adam was able to hop half way across the room with help on his new crutches. I was so happy but terrified he would fall. DH said to stop treating him like a baby. I think Adam could sense my fear because he started crying and my DH got frustrated. By today, Adam was scooting everywhere and playing with his little brother and sister. I can't believe what a difference a few days makes. Thank you for all the great ideas. I have decided that Adam will definately not be returning for school the last 3 weeks but we are going to "visit" on Thursday so that he can see his friends and his teacher prepared a care package of activities for him.


----------

