At 3 years old, my toddler was jumping on a trampoline with his cousin and they fell, resulting in a broken leg for my little Levi. To make things worse, we were out of state on summer vacation!
How we knew it was broken
After Levi and his cousin fell, he cried and we removed him from the trampoline. We held him for a while, then tried putting him down, but he started crying again, gripping my husband. I asked him where it hurt and he pointed to his leg. We couldn’t see any swelling and his leg looked completely normal. My husband continued to hold Levi and he eventually fell asleep while being held. My husband took him to the bedroom and they took a short nap.
When Levi woke up he wasn’t crying, but still refused to be put down. We were about to open gifts for a “Christmas in July” and when Levi wouldn’t even stand up to go get a present, we knew we better take him in to get checked.
We took him to the urgent care where they did x-rays. The doctor confirmed it was broken. Poor kid! My husband Jack and I felt HORRIBLE for not getting him to the doctors sooner. The urgent care couldn’t do anything further for him, so they sent us an hour away (this was miserable) to the hospital.
The hospital wrapped Levi’s leg in a splint (which was so freaking hard to watch) and told us to get ahold of the orthopedic doctor the next day. Levi was in a lot of pain after the splint was put on, so we rotated between Tylenol and ibuprofen, which was HARD for me because up until this point I hadn’t had to give him meds since our NICU experience.
Once we were able to get ahold of the ortho, he reviewed the x-rays and gave us the OK to drive back home before needing to put a cast on. At this point, they were talking to us about the possibility of needing surgery, so we wanted to get home before making any decisions.
The long car ride home
Levi was still rear facing at this point so in order to get him home comfortably, we switched his seat to forward face. This was helpful because we were able to prop his leg up on a cooler and pillows so his leg was elevated for the car ride. Since we had about an 8+ hour car ride, we broke it up into 2 days and got a hotel halfway through.
Luckily we had a wagon with us, which was tremendously helpful! We were able to put enough blankets and pillows down so Levi could sit in the wagon with his leg elevated while we were out of the car. We iced his leg when we could and kept it elevated as much as possible.
He read books, watched movies on our van screen and played with toys on the way home.
Getting a cast on and an unexpected ER visit
Once we were home, we met with the ortho who confirmed we would not need surgery. The doctor thought it looked like a pretty clean break (below the knee). They removed the splint and put a cast on. Levi was doing great from a pain standpoint. He was uncomfortable but the pain seemed to be going away.
Shortly after getting home thinking we were in the clear, the doctor called us back, letting us know he got another opinion and highly recommended us going to the children’s hospital ER to get Levi’s knee popped back in place, so it could heal properly. He was afraid that if we didn’t get it lined up perfectly, he may end up needing surgery after the cast is off, if it didn’t’ heal properly.
To avoid surgery, we took him to the ER where they sedated him, popped it back in place, then re-casted him, in a full leg cast. This was NOT easy to watch. Levi handled everything so well, but for Jack and I, it was a bit traumatic. Seeing your baby is pain is HARD. The doctor said it would be about 6 weeks before the cast was off. We would have to go in weekly, then bi-weekly for x-rays to see how things were progressing.
Surviving a toddler with a broken leg, in summer
Once home, now we had to figure out what life was going to look like for the next 6 weeks…. Here are my survival tips that worked for us.
Your child will adapt
Levi got used to his cast a lot faster than we anticipated. It didn’t take him long to start scooching himself around on the floor to get around the house. He even got to the point where he was pulling himself up onto the couch and children’s chair for meals.
Dress your toddler in sweats or loose fitting pajama bottoms
During the day, we were able to dress Levi in shorts if we were going outside. When indoors, we dressed him in loose fitting sweats or pajama bottoms. His other leg sometimes rubbed against his cast, so to avoid that from happening, pants were key. At night, he was most comfortable in loose fitting pajamas. His normal sized pants and jammies didn’t fit over his cast, so we needed to dress him in the next size up.
Bath time
The first few baths we gave, were sponge baths. I have twins, so one twin would get in the tub and my other twin, Levi would lay down next to the tub, on a couple of towels. I covered the cast in towels, and put a couple towels over Levi to keep him warm. Using a washcloth, I dipped the washcloth in the warm water, added a little soap, and rubbed it over his body, then rinsed, then dried right away. I worked in sections, to keep him as warm and comfortable as possible.
Finally, we bought a cast cover which was a HUGE help. This is the cast cover we purchased. It did a great job suctioning around his cast, and no water ever got in. I was still paranoid about submerging the cast and cover in the water, so I had Levi sit on a small outside children’s chair while in the bath, so part of his leg was covered in water, just not the top of the cast cover.
Get outside
We live in Tennessee and summers here are HOT. However, getting fresh air and sunshine is VERY important during the healing process. We got outside almost daily, in short intervals. At first we went for short walks in the wagon. Once Levi was more comfortable with his cast, he was able to scoot around on a blanket and play with toys outside. The doctor didn’t want him walking on it, so we did our best to avoid that from happening.
New activities, if your budget allows
Something we found helpful, was getting a few new activities for him to play with indoors. We were way more relaxed with TV time, but also didn’t want him in front of the TV all day long. A few things we purchased were, removable sticker books, art supplies, dot markers, puzzles, play-doh and water beads. We also visited the library to check out new books.
Natural Tools for a broken bone
After Levi broke his leg, I started researching what I could do to help his leg heal as fast as possible. Wellness Mama’s post Natural Aids for a Broken Bone was super helpful during this process. A few things we implemented to help speed up the process:
- collagen- added to smoothies
- nutrition- grass fed and pastured meats, bone broth, green leafy veggies, grass fed butter, avocado, banana, berries, bell peppers, tropical fruits, wild caught seafood. Protein is so important in healing a broken bone, so I tried focusing on extra, quality protein sources. If you need toddler meal ideas, read this post Toddler Meals: Simple, healthy meals for toddlers.
- supplements- in addition to taking his daily mulit-vitamin, we added vitamin D/K2 drops, vitamin c (not consistently), bee pollen spray and a probiotic.
Once the cast is off, expect time to adjust
Levi got his cast off after 6 weeks. Once the cast was off, it took him a few days to stand on it. He started getting more comfortable as time went on, but it was an adjustment. When he did start walking, his leg dragged for a while, then the leg turned sideways as he walked. The doctor said it was completely normal, but if things didn’t improve, physical therapy might be needed.
Levi didn’t end up needing physical therapy. His leg got stronger each day and he’s walking and running as normal as ever!
Having our baby break his leg was heart breaking, but he survived and so did we! Hang in there, mama! This time will pass faster than you think it will.
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Have you had a child break a leg? What tips do you have to add?! Share in the comments below!
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