Tomorrow my 3 yoDD's cast for her broken elbow will be removed.
The problem is, she LIKES her cast. :/ when she got it, and was bothered by it, I told her that the doctor put it on to make her elbow feel better. I drew some pictures on it, and she colored on it too. (She is VERY proud of the giant scribble she claims is a whale. Lol.)
I tried testing the waters a few nights ago. I told her, "it's almost time to take your cast off! Are you excited?" She got very upset by the idea. I told her that she could KEEP the cast, but it wouldn't be on her arm any more. I also told her that it was put on to make her elbow feel better, and now its all better so now she doesn't need it any more. She was slightly mollified by that, and the more I talk about it the more used to the idea she has gotten... but she still isn't happy about it.
Then there is the taking off itself... I have had enough broken bones to know that she will most likely be freaked out by the removal.. The buzzing and everything can be pretty freaky when you don't understand what's going on! Especially after the fiasco with her pediatrician when she originally broke her arm. She is now terrified of doctors. We were grocery shopping, and a woman in scrubs was in front of us in checkout... Even that freaked my daughter out. I have tried playing doctor games with her at home, where I pretended to cut her cast off. I even used one of her toys, which buzzes and vibrates, to give her a bit more of a realistic idea what it will be like.. But she knows the difference between play and reality. I got permission from her orthopedic doctor and went into his office with her twice for a quick visit, to try to get her used to the idea that he isn't going to hurt her... But she just cried and tried to get away from him the entire time. I'm really not sure what to do at this point. It's looking like we will have to essentially get in there, and just hold her down through a meltdown while the cast is removed... Which I'm SURE will help her current opinion of doctors.
Sooo... Any ideas as to how to make this go as smoothly as possible?
Well, tuned out that my DD made it through with no problems at all. She got a little scared during the X-ray, but I held her hand and she was able to calm down. I think that set the tone that this would NOT be like the last time. I just sat with her and covered her ears through the cutting. The nurses showed her how the saw would work, then went to town. She just watched, more curious than scared.
Whew! I'm so relieved. :)
If she loves the cast so much have you considered telling her she must sit very still so the cast comes off perfectly, like least amount of damage to her art work. Pull the focus away from the body and fear, put it on the cast she loves.
As this is an unusual situation, I'd go full force with BRIBERY. Ice cream, McDonald's fries, go to the movie she's been dying to see....whatever will be the most effective motivator.
Focus her on keeping her cast nice, and that the doctor is really nice and knows how to get it off without ruining her "whale."
She'll be okay. A few well-visits without any invasive proceedures will also help her to get over her fears.
If she is freaked out I don't think there is much you are going to be able to do.
My son had a broken elbow at about 3 years old. When they removed his cast a nurse and I had to hold him down with all our might while the other nurse used the saw to cut it off. By the time we were done we were all a sweaty mess. I just don't see that there is a way to explain to a child that this saw that makes a horrible noise isn't going to hurt you.
Good Luck,
M.
I was going to suggest taking a cute photo of her with her cast so she could always remember it.
or buying new temp tattoo's to put on once her cast is off.
yes it might come down to just holding her and dealing with the trantrum. she's pretty little isn't she so redirection like getting icecream after should help.
My dd was given headphones to wear, you might call and ask if they do this and if it plays music or if there was a way she could wear earbuds under it and listen to her own music. so the saw isn't so loud,
you could also ask if there could be some sort of a curtain so she can't see the dr/nurse person, just put her arm under the curtain and have him go at it.
you could ask about laughing gas or tranquilier or something to help with her anxiety.
good luck!
I think you've done what you can, up to this point. My youngest had to go through some unpleasant medical procedures when she was 4 that left her terrified of doctors for quite some time afterwards. As in, when we went in to get her Kindergarten shots, she started screaming so loudly that people came running from other parts of the building to make sure someone wasn't killing this child. :-/ There was no reasoning with her. She was shaking and absolutely WAILING... and then she got her shots! :(
Anyway, after that debacle, for the next visit, I decided that I would bend my no-bribery rule. I told her before we went in that if she could demonstrate excellent behavior while we were in the doctor's office, I would take her for ice cream afterwards. She loves ice cream, and we rarely have it, so this was a big deal. She immediately started bargaining: "Well, what if I only cry a little bit, but nobody comes running? Do I still get ice cream?" I told her no, only the MOST excellent behavior would be rewarded. No crying, no pouting, no hiding under the table. Only polite, quiet behavior would earn ice cream.
Well, her eyes did fill with tears when the doctor came in, but she didn't cry. I took her for ice cream after, and she was thrilled. Of course, now every time we go to the doctor, she wants ice cream! So there's that. Anyway. If all else fails, try ice cream. Good luck!
My doc took the saw and put it on his own hand a few times just to show me it couldn't cut skin. Then he let me touch the saw tool to feel the vibrations.
If it comes right down to it all you have to do is hold her down and let them do it. She'll get over it and be fine. If she freaks out she freaks out.
The doc has little to do with how a child responds to new stuff, that usually falls to how new stuff is introduced at home. If it's a big deal then each new stimulus is going to be traumatic to a kiddo. So if you go over what's going to happen beforehand and show her stuff that vibrates when it's on then she'll be better prepared.
Turn on the blender, let her feel the vibrating, the washing machine, dryer, any tool that you have handy like an electric drill or screwdriver. Then she'll feel better about that.
See if the doctor knows of any Child Life Specialists in the area. They usually work out of hospitals. These are trained people who haw a background in child development as well as medical procedures. Their job is to explain procedures to children on their developmental level. They can also assist with anxiety over a procedure and provide coping strategies to get through the procedure. Often their work is done through play. They do NOT actually do the procedures so they are considered safe people. Sometimes people don't know about them or think they are necessary but it could really help your daughter with her anxiety. You said she is only 3, so even being Rey bright, she still understands things differently due to her age. Sometimes adults (not saying you, just in general) don't comprehend the seriousness of little ones feelings and thoughts on the matter. Sometimes they (children) just don't understand until something is explained in terms they do understand.
Hope that helps and makes sense. Just trying to help as it sounds like she has some trauma to overcome and there are people who can help make it easier on her.
Best of luck!
I would ask about laughing gas or a tranquilizer. Not sure they'd give it, but try. My son had a cast removed at a young age, and he didn't take it well. He DID survive and is fine and wonderful, but it's worth pushing hard for something like a tranquilizer here.
You have done most of the things I was going to suggest. Tell her that she can probably keep her cast and ask the doctor or the nurse before hand so they know you want it back. My daughter kept hers for a while but it did smell and then she finally threw it out. We did take a picture of her with her cast on before they cut it off so we could save the picture. She was very proud of it because so many people had signed it. What has she been wanting to do that she hasn't been able to do because of the cast??? Go swimming in a pool or go to the beach?? You could promise something special to celebrate getting the cast off. You could also ask the doctor's office for some suggestions on how to keep her calm. Or something that would occupy her mind while the cast is being cut off. (a favorite video to watch with earphones??) It will be a lot more difficult if she is uncooperative or wiggly. Sorry this whole incident has been so traumatic for both of you.
One of my kids was terribly difficult when it came to any medical procedures, including shots. He never broke anything, but he had stitches twice and came apart both times, screaming his head off. The first was when he was 3, and they had to put him out in order to stitch him up because they couldn't prevent him from moving his lip (his lip had to be stitched up.) He screamed so much when they took out the stitches that it actually kind of pulled the wound open a little (and yes, he has a bit more of a scar than he would have.) The second was as a first grader and had to have stitches in his leg. One of the residents who was 6 ft 5 inches and 240 pounds had to hold him down so they could even numb the area. Even numbed, he fought and screamed. Then we had to deal with the tetannus shot.
The way I looked at it was that he had to learn that he did NOT get to choose when it came to this kind of stuff. Knowing my child as I did, talking him through wasn't going to help. He was not going to be logical about it no matter what, and the best thing to do was to just get it over with. The longer we allowed him to fight about it, the worse he got.
He was like this until he was 11 years old. We had to have a series of vaccines for going overseas and I pulled out some pictures of places we wanted to vacation. He liked those pictures. I told him that the shots we were all going to get would allow us to have vacations in these places without getting sick. I DID tell him that he had no choice but to get the shots, and I'd be right there with him getting the shots too, but if he would try to be brave, it would make it so much easier. To my delight, he stepped up and was brave. Ever since then, he's done fine, even when he crushed his finger and had to have a surgery done on it at the ER.
Did he like going to the doctor? Well, no, but there was no choice in the matter. I didn't put up with him telling me no. He was the child and I was the parent.
I promise you that the doctor's office has seen this before. They know how to deal with it. She needs to learn that she can't have her way when it comes to medical issues. It doesn't matter what her opinion of doctors is. It's like an opinion of anything else - children have to grow up and get through things.
