Broken?! - A guide to surviving your (little) kid’s broken leg
We were at my folks house having dinner one late summer weekday evening while I was in the other room washing my hands when I heard it. A thud; The cry of my child in pain. Not I stepped on lego or my brother pulled my hair pain, real pain. The kind of cry that kicks your natural motherly instincts into high gear, that makes your heart pound, your stomach drop, and you brain say “Oh Sh*t”.
I ran around the corner to see hubs & my dad around E while he rocked side to side, laying on his back, holding his left shin shrieking and shaking in pain. He had missed one, of two, steps and took a tumble. I scooped him up & laid him on the countertop and did all we could to calm him down, assuring him he would be ok and to let us put an ice pack on the area of concern. We got him in a armchair with ice on it and he was out for the night.
Fast forward to next morning; No swelling, no bruising but E will not even attempt to bear weight on his left leg and nearly took my head off with instinctive kick when I tried to touch that leg. A call to the pediatrician, & we’re off to the ER (definitely not where I wanted to be with my little during the covid-19 pandemic, but we felt safe as the hospital staff was extremely diligent in taking extra precaution to minimize any risk of exposure).We are quickly taken back for an x-ray & after answering several questions about his “big machine” from E, the x-ray tech gave him a handful of stickers.
This is when the very nice, nurse practitioner comes bouncing in…”He got a broken leg, mama”. E had pretty good fracture to his left tibia. They wrapped his leg to stabilize it and we were off to home. (But not before making a trip to the very top of the parking garage to take look out over the city, per E’s request. It’s saying yes to these little requests even when you’re busy or tired, even when you think you have other things you should be doing, that make all the difference to the little people in your life, because one day they will have a big memory of a mom who listened and didn’t dismiss their curiosity, wonder, or wants.
The next morning I make a call to the recommended local orthopedic group and got an appoint that same day. They cast his leg and send us off to return 3 weeks later. Oh, did I mention this was a full leg cast? A full leg cast before we even make it to kindergarten.
So now I will give you the list of products & services that we would not have survived this time without. Well, maybe we would have survived but my hair would have some gray mixed in with the scarlet! (I mean I love the Buckeyes as much as the next girl but…) While I do make a small commission off any sales through the links to the below products I wouldn’t be recommending them if I didn’t fully believe that they were high quality & didn’t make my life a heck of a whole lot easier during a rather stressful time.
By the way, we received FREE Next Day or 2 Day Shipping on every product listed below with Amazon Prime. If you have somehow managed to survive 2020 up to this point without an Amazon Prime subscription, first off you’re stronger than me, and secondly what are you waiting for? Sign up for your 30-Day Free Trial and I promise you will not be disappointed.
#1. Pediatric Walker
E’s ortho wrote us a prescription for a pediatric walker to help him get around. This is great, right? Well it would have been if we could actually find a durable medical equipment provider that carried them or that could get one in a timely manner. After about one and half hours of calling around to avail, I resorted to the ol’ tried and true, hasn’t let me down yet, go to for, well anything…Amazon. Yes, we ended up paying out of pocket but it was a totally affordable little piece of freedom for our little man.
HEALTHLINE Junior Folding Walker
My favorite features: Affordable, Lightweight, Foldable, Non Marking, & Adjustable
#2. Cast Cover
When E broke his foot before he was even 2 years old, yes this is our second go around with a cast for him, we were referred to a pediatric orthopedic specialist at The Cleveland Clinic because of his age and the proximity of the fracture to a growth plate. One thing I really missed from our experience there was the water-safe under wrap for the cast. Oh, the convenience! Caught in a rainstorm? No worries! Want to take a bath? No Problem, just get right in. Swimming? It’s a go! That stuff was amazing. It dried in NO TIME, and made it soooo nice to be able to actually wash the cast thoroughly. (Any other boy mom’s with experience in this will tell you those things get GROSS.) So we were disappointed, to say the least, when the local ortho did not offer this super cool option especially since this break happened in summer, but the doctor did recommend a fantastic solution that is readily available on….you guessed it, Amazon.
DryPro Waterproof Vacuum Seal Cast Cover
Insider Tip: Read the sizing measurements and see what works best for your child. We decided on a SMALL HALF LEG, which fit perfect around E’s skinny thigh to seal well & was long enough to cover his entire cast.
#3 Tabletop Activities
E, by nature, is an extremely physically active child, but he also craves activities that challenge him mentally. He loves to problem solve and to express himself creatively. We needed to find something to help fill the extra time he would have off his feet, as he wouldn’t be playing “super hero jail” (an outdoor game he & his brother made up with Hubs that involves running, crouching, and jumping) or riding his new bike for a few weeks. Here are a couple purchases that were a huge hit!
Rubik's Cube Jr. Bear
Affordable fun that has a number of combinations to challenge your child & is great intro into the vast world of rubik’s cubes.
Helps teach:
Colors
Shapes
Fine Motor Skills
Basic Geometry, Area, & Symmetry Concepts
E & A, both, enjoyed playing and learning with this classic activity. And I really enjoyed the moments of E talking to A about shapes and colors as they worked. Soak these moments in….the kung fu battles will soon resume.
#4. Kid Friendly Screen Time Content
While E already had a few favorites in this area, PBS Kids App, Netflix, & YouTube (Don’t freak out. We have a system. It’s well monitored and limited to weekends only. & he only is given to permission to if he has earned the privilege by making good choices all week, making effort to continue progressing on his journey to being totally pull-up free, & helping take care of the family dog when asked.) we decided to explore other options to keep things fresh and hopefully keep him engaged.
When we found out he was going to be laid up, well at least slowed down, for a few weeks we decided that it was the perfect time to test out Amazon Freetime Unlimited. And let me tell you…it was a blessing. It’s chocked full of kid friendly content including over 10,000 books, movies, and and TV shows filled with trusted brands like Disney, Nickelodeon & more in addition to tons of Amazon Originals made just for kids.
Having access to brands such as Nickelodeon through Amazon Prime & Amazon Freetime Unlimited is an especially nice feature in our house as we cut the cord a couple years ago and have never looked back to our traditional TV watching ways. Our boys really took a liking to the featured Twitch content. Twitch is world’s leading social video platform for gamers. E & A LOVE to watch the recorded streams of real life players talking through the levels of the latest Mario, Sonic & Spyro games. While we haven’t dug to deep into the world of Twitch if you or your child is interested in the world of gaming you should definitely check it out.
Let’s talk about your digital video library. Amazon Freetime Unlimited gives you the ability to hand select which movies from your library your children can access. Scroll through your list checking movies along the way, and bam! there they are on your child’s profile.
With the ability to create separate customizable accounts for each child, and to set a code to exit the app or switch profiles, it’s a great way to ensure your child is being exposed to engaging, appropriate content. Start your 30 Day Free Trial now. You’ll ask yourself why you didn’t do it sooner.
Well we survived & honestly, had a lot of fun along the way. Everyday gifts us an opportunity to learn something new. And now we’re off to our next adventure….in a walking boot of course.
