Broken foot - 3.5 yr old, anyone got a cast shoe!?

[jennyh]

Hi

My 3.5 yr old has broken her foot and has a cast on. It isn't a very bad break I don't think but she has the first cast with the hard back and soft front. We are due to go back in 10 days to see if it can come off. In the meantime we have been told not to let her walk on it which I understand for 48 hours whilst it dries but surely she can hobble a bit after that if we keep a careful watch on it and look out for any damage to the cast etc??? With that in mind I am thinking we could do with a little cast shoe/boot thing to go over the top in case of bad weather, does anyone have such a thing knocking around!??? To fit a young child's cast!? It's all a bit vague as I didn't go to the hospital with her so going on my husbands account of what they said and I think thu weren't particularly clear about how to get through the next 10 days!

[Saffron]

Oh,sorry to hear that! You should try to speak to your GP tomorrow for more advice and support. If your daughter really shouldn't walk on it, you need to know. And if it is ok to walk on it, perhaps he/she can give you some additional advice? xx

[buggie]

Sorry to hear your little girls injured.

The cast you describe isn't strong enough to support even a toddlers weight so please don't

encourage her to walk on it - it's understandable that it's difficult, and youngsters bones do mend quickly compared

to adults, but they need to be rested to allow that.

I would suggest phoning the fracture clinic you've been referred to & ask about bringing the appointment forward.

There seems to be great disparity between local hospitals as to when they do follow ups - I'm more familiar with follow up in fracture clinic being the next day. (am guessing you're at Lewisham rather than KCH). Unfortunately there isn't anything extra a GP would be able to do regarding this.

Sorry it's not the advice you were hoping and with kids a similar age to yours can understand why you'd want her mobile again quickly, but it isn't an oversight of the team caring for your daughter to save her non-wt bearing. If they'd wNted her to be walking, they'd have given her something she could walk in/not used a cast at all.

[Saffron]

Oh dear, jennyh, that sounds like good advice but probably not what you wanted to hear! I hope you were able to get some further advice and support from the clinic. Hope your LO heals quickly. xx

[jennyh]

Sorry for not responding sooner, thanks to everyone for replying! Suffice to say it has been quite hellish and the time has both dragged and flown by :)

I took the advice and didnt allow her to walk on her cast, she has been getting around by crawling which she seems to take great delight in, that and shouting at me every 30 seconds to help her with something.

I took her to the fracture clinic yesterday who removed her cast to see how she was. She both refused to try and stand/walk and also refused to have another cast put on so we had a bit of a meltdown/stand off. Anyway she came home and has gradually started hobbling around quite comfortably on her bare foot (turns out the fracture doctor was a little unsure whether she has actually got a break or not...???). If she seems to struggle in the next 24 hours I will whip her back for the lovely pink hard cast that they have promised her.

[SLad]

Ah bless her AND you! Well done to you both for making it through a taxing time. I, for one, would love a bright pink hard cast. Just seems such a shame you don't get the old white one for everyone to write on anymore...

[buggie]

Aww, glad all ok & that she's getting use to having freedom again!!

Kids xr's can be v difficult to read & no one would want to misdiagnose a fracture, thus the

cautious approach.

SLad - you can write on new style ones with sharpies/perm markers, but the trade off is it's a lot lighter & stronger.

[jennyh]

Buggie - can I just ask in your experience...she has now been walking around on it for 4 days and has a very noticeable limp despite saying it feels ok. At times she says it is sore and when she attempted to run after her friend the other day she managed 2 paces before stopping so clearly it is still bothering her. We've told her to take it easy and try not to walk so much but this is easier said than done at her age. Would you recommend taking her back and considering a cast to allow it time to heal? Bit worried that as she walks on it she could be doing herself some damage, even though the Doctor at the fracture clinic said he would rather see her walking without a cast.

[buggie]

Sent you pm x