First off, thank you ladies SO MUCH for all the kind words and suggestions on my worlds worst mom post... I still feel pretty bad, you you ladies definitely made me feel a LOT better than I felt this morning!! You mean the world to me, all of you :)
He goes to get his cast Monday at 7:30am (ouch!)... since the ortho guy hasn't actually seen him yet, he won't give me any suggestions as to how to keep him immobile :( I called the pediatrician and left a message. I called the hospital and left a message.
Here's the question: He can't walk, THAT obviously hurts like the dickens... but my son is kind of crawling around, sort of dragging the left in the splint with the broken knee. I know that's probably not great, since it's the actual knee cap (patella) that's broken, but it's so obviously not bothering him to crawl like it does to walk.
So, mommy gut instinct, do you think this is okay?? I'm really just treading water until Monday :(
I tried keeping him in the stroller... it's soooo not happening :( He's super happy again now that he's mobile!! I just don't know if that's good. It's not like it's going to be unbroken by Monday anyway, but I really don't want to make it worse. I guess I'm just second guessing common sense because it's NOT bothering him and he's very happy crawling around right now!
@Margie, they said they wouldn't do it today, the swelling has to go down. The PED ORTHO doc is actually doing me a huge favor, he's not available until WEDNESDAY, and the office doesn't even open until 8am, but he wants to get a cast on it, so he's coming in at 7:30 Monday morning to help us out, which I'm actually very grateful about!
Does he have a high chair? You could put him in that with some crayons/markers and give him paper/coloring books. I know he doesn't like it, but I would be concerned that more damage could be done by him crawling around. Best wishes.
When they put the splint on him, they realized he is 19 months old and mobility will be an issue. Hopefully, they were competent and took precautions against him doing any further damage.
If he is crawling around, I would probably try to find some way to rig up a "walker" of sort for him. Have you ever seen the wheelchair like devices they have for geriatric dogs? I'm sorry to make such an unflattering comparison, but it is what comes to mind.
I read the other post, also..... I'm sorry it happened to you.... but accidents DO happen!
You've gotten a lot of good suggestions, but here's another.... is there a neighbor girl (pre-teen, maybe?) that likes playing with little ones? You could hire her as a "mother's helper" to just keep him occupied.... he might really love the extra attention he gets, and it would give her some early baby-sitting experience.
A neighbor boy would be good, also.....they sometimes like playing with the little ones.
My grandson had a concussion a few months back and was supposed to stay calm for a few weeks. Quite the task when they feel good. Your kid will do what's comfortable and most likely stay within the boundaries. I'd try to limit what he did by making things "convenient" for him, other than that his own pain threshold will keep him in check. I didnt read the previous post, I guess i will now.. Sorry bout the accident. Boys seem to hit the ER way more than girls do for some reason, I guess it's a "man thing" :)
AS you know there are different kinds of fractures and his is probably a hairline. the cast is doing what it needs to do and if he can move around he's going to. If it hurt too much he wouldn't be moving around. AS a point of comparison, when my nephew was 18 mos old and had hernia surgery he was playing on his living room floor and moving around about 6 hours later. when my husband had the same type of surgery for the same type of hernia he was on the couch and moaning for days. Yes men are big babies - but kids heal so much more quickly than adults and they don't feel pain the way we do. He'll scoot around the house as best as he can and if it hurts or if he gets tired he'll get quiet and and will want to watch TV.
This stuff happens, kids hurt themselves, we have to figure out how to handle the healing process and it becomes a family memory! We kept my daughter's cast from when she broke her ankle at age 6 (jumping off the arm of the couch...!) and it's so cute to see the cast in the memories trunk and realize that her leg was that small once!
Quick story - at age 3 my son slammed his pinky finger in a sliding glass door while we were on vacation staying at my inlaws cabin in the Pocoons. We ended up in the ER at 11:00 at night (by the time we realized he needed medical attention and we drove there) His ginernail had to be removed and got about 8 stitches. There was blood everywhere when we got back to the cabin at 2 in the morning with an exhausted 3 and 6 yr old. We had to keep his bandage and finger dry for the next 72 hours - it was August and stifling hot. We couldn't go in the pool, to the beach, fishing, etc. We ended up going on go-carts, found an indoor amusement place for one day. But we ended our vacation early since it wasn't worth spending all that money to not do much of anything. My daughter was annoyed but undrestand and loving her little borther. We have these great photos of him with his huge bandage, my daughter being a little mommy and they have these fond memories of the gocarts - while all we remember is the ER visit late at night, cleaning up blood, and a hot, short vacation that year. Family memories are made when things don't go as planned...
I would say that if it isn't bothering him then let him go. I would also keep the pain medicine in his system. So sorry you are going through this, but like you said in your earlier post accidents happen no matter how close you are. Best of luck with your little guy!
Why Monday?!? Oh I would be calling the docs and saying Hello!!! He's not yet 2. How the $&*% am I supposed to keep him quiet for three days?
If they don't give you any real answers then let him crawl around.
How badly is he going to hurt himself? Ask the doctor that.
I would probably let him do it too. It's a tough call though. Probably, I'd call the doctor's office (or at least ask-a-nurse, I love them!) and see what they say. I didn't read your earlier post about what happened to the poor kiddo, so I'll have to go back and read it! Hang in there! Accidents happen!
