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Mary K
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| Posted: Feb 22 2011 at 8:57pm | IP Logged
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hi,
my friend's very active 3yo boy broke his leg. he's in a cast from mid chest to foot on the broken side and to his knee on the other. he'll be in it for 6 weeks. any ideas to keep him occupied? prayers are very much appreciated.
mary-ny
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mom2mpr
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| Posted: Feb 22 2011 at 10:12pm | IP Logged
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Ooooh..spica cast. Not fun for a 3 year old!
A wagon with sides that go down or come off so he can be wheeled around the house-or maybe even outside if they live in warmer climes. They might need a few pillows to prop legs. Changing scenery is so helpful.
If he's not potty trained it's important to keep the cast dry and sticking the diapers under the cast helps with that. Even if he is potty trained he might regress so be prepared.
I can't come up with activities except the usual-reading, videos, crafts(just make sure he doesn't stick things in the cast, like playdoh or whatever), sticker books, batting a balloon with someone, throwing balls at targets-(or a nerf hoop), games, dress up, video games, matchbox cars, food!
It isn't easy and I will keep them in my prayers.
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hylabrook1
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| Posted: Feb 23 2011 at 8:29am | IP Logged
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Coloring books, paper and crayons/markers; simple card games; tangrams; stringing beads (largish ones). I don't what these are called, but there are some brightly colored small plastic animals that you can sort by which animal they are, by color, by large/small - my little ones would typically get immersed in these. A cookie sheet and magnetic alphabet letters. You could also make other magnetized things to play on the cookie sheet - cut out things from magazines, glue them to cardboard, stick magnet tape on the back.
This little guy is in a rough position for now! Praying!
Peace,
Nancy
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misswallo
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| Posted: Feb 23 2011 at 11:34am | IP Logged
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My daughter broke her femur and was in a spica cast when she was three too!! She was in it for 9weeks..all summer. She actually learned to move her self around in it..she'd just scoot on her bottom pushed herself with her arms. She colored, looked at books, and we'd go for walks with her in our wagon. This is a good time for the rest of your friends' family to have plenty of opportunities to serve and also good redemptive suffering  . Good luck to your friend.
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Servant2theKing
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| Posted: Feb 23 2011 at 4:03pm | IP Logged
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Several of our dc have had full leg casts related to corrective surgeries...but never a spica. We did meet families whose children had them, when we went for cast changes or removal. One mom said she used pads (similar to Poise brand), stuffed in the diaper region, since it was nearly impossible to use regular diapers. A urinal is very helpful, if this little guy is already toilet trained. To keep casts clean we used to line the edges, even the fiberglass ones, with adhesive tape (any kind that was waterproof)...I would round the edges (similar to the shape of Band-Aids), then tuck half inside the cast (making sure with my fingers that the adhesive didn't stick to skin, but was well attached to the lining of the cast), the other half went over the outer edge, overlapping strips of tape until all cast areas that were likely to get soiled had a waterproof edge. Waterproof Band-Aids might actually work better; they weren't being made yet when we were doing this. It seems a little involved, but it helps keep the cast somewhat clean, especially to help prevent urine or other waste from penetrating the cast or lining in between cast changes, which helps keep tender young skin from getting irritated from constant contact with soiled lining or rough cast edges. Corn starch was helpful for keeping skin dry and decreasing the itching the longer the cast was on. A hair dryer set on the cool setting can bring relief for itching or irritated skin. We used to wash hair by laying the child on our kitchen counter and using the sprayer from the kitchen sink. Bath times consisted of sponge baths. Nice smelling soap and a bath puppet washcloth might make getting cleaned up a little more pleasant.
Paint pens could make it fun for family members or visitors to decorate his cast (markers can be challenging to use with newer fiberglass casts.
Lap trays or a TV tray can be helpful if he can't sit at a table. Books on tape might be nice for him to listen to, especially the kind libraries often have, where the children's book and tape or CD are in a set. Our 3yo grandson has a Nerf gun that shoots six rounds...he really loves it (just make sure he knows not to shoot it at people, especially in the head...ask me how his grandmother knows)! Retrieving the Nerf ammo might get tedious, but as Missy mentioned, it's a blessed opportunity for acts of service.
I second the idea of a wagon without sides...a child with a cast gets very heavy, even at only three years of age. Another option might be a computer chair, or any other chair on wheels, which could be modified by removing the seat back and/or arms, for rolling the little guy about. Goodwill or thrift shops might be good sources for something like that.
Please tell your friend that she and her ds have our sympathies and our prayers! This could also be a good time for your dear friend and her son to pray together. When dc were young we used to sing many of our favorite prayers, putting some to familiar tunes (the Angel of God prayer fits well with the tune of Rock-a-Bye Baby)...it brings back fond memories when we occasionally revisit those singing prayertimes.
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kristinannie
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I am so sorry for that poor little boy. I will definitely keep him in my prayers. My son has a Thomas the Train computer that he spends a lot of time using when we are in the car. It teaches letters, numbers, etc. Maybe something new like that will be exciting for him.
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Pilgrim
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| Posted: Feb 24 2011 at 2:20pm | IP Logged
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One thought to add, so Mommy can be prepared. When he gets out of the cast his skin nerves may be rather sensitive from being "untouched" for weeks. It may be hard to adjust again to touch at first. It always kinda hurt our skin to be touched after getting our casts off, we kinda walked like a little child first exoeriencing bare feet on grass  .
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VanessaVH
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Sincere sympathy!! Lots of great ideas. I didn't see mentioned using a dry wading pool. It was July when my oldest (now 5) broke his femur and was in a hip spica cast just before his 2nd birthday (for 6 weeks while I was overdue for #2, then recoving from C/S) and we would put him on his tummy in it and the side was the perfect size to prop him up while he played with cars etc. outside.
Also we had terrible problems with sores on the inside. (it was so hard to keep completely dry because he wasn't potty trained yet and it was a hot summer) It took a few weeks before we learned to use a blow dryer on very low to dry the inside a few times a day. Then I used a gel with tea tree oil on the sores and tucked gauze over them.
It was an extremely difficult experience at the time, but looking back it seems like such a small blip. I am still amazed at how he learned to crawl, then walk with the cast on though!
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: need suggestions for boy w/ broken leg
