6 y.o. ds has a hairline fracture in his arm - 3 weeks before Disney trip

[txaggiemomof3]

My ds fell off of our playground yesterday afternoon and what we initially thought was a bad sprain has now turned out to be a hairline fracture near his elbow. I'm waiting for my pediatrician to call me back with a referral to an orthopedic specialist so I don't have much information right now.

I'm just curious if anyone can help give me an idea of what to expect? How long does it take for a hairline fracture to heal? Will he be able to ride most of the rides with a cast on his arm? Any advice would be appreciated. I can't believe this happened 3 weeks before our trip!!

 

[kristinw3girls]

My daughter did the same thing 3 weeks before our last Disney trip. They had her in a cast for 6 weeks. It really didn't stop her from doing anything. I bought a cast cover on line. It has a gasket (rubber) opening and a heavy plastic sleeve. They sell it to let you get a shower, but we used it for everything. She was in the Contemporary pool, Kali river rapids, splsh mt., EVERYTHING! it really made the trip great. The only slight problem we had was at the airport. The security people needed to take her aside and test the cast (I guess to see that it wasn't explosives or drugs?). I made sure I was always close to her so i could go with them. It took us a few more minutes in line, but still not too big a deal. Good Luck!

 

[kristinw3girls]

I wanted to give you the name of the cast cover we used. It is Dry Cast. It really did work well. Have a great trip. We are going in 17 days!

 

[txaggiemomof3]

Thanks so much for the replies. I'm already feeling a little better. I just didn't want him to be limited seeing that we don't get to go to Disney very often. I'm thankful it was his arm and not his leg so at least he will be mobile. I will definately check into the cast covers. I'm hoping he will also be feeling a lot better in 3 weeks. He's in a lot of pain right now.

 

[kristinw3girls]

It will actually feel better with the cast on, if you can imagine. Ithink the support helps it feel better. I was freaking out too. During our trip "Fairy Godmother" asked if DD broke her arm 3 weeks out. I told her yes, how did you guess? She said, "almost every kid with a cast has broken the bone 3 weeks out." It did make me laugh. The poor lady sitting next to us in the castle had a son with his arm in a cast. iasked her when and how. She said 2 days ago. They pulled into the parking lot & the kids jumped out. He was running to the front door of their hotel and fell! OUCH!! She spent the first day and a half getting the cast on. They were made to pay in full, since they were out-of state with their insurance. That would not be a good start to a vacation!! I think about her every once and a while. I hope the rest of their vaca. was better! Keep me posted!:

dance3D14, DD11,DD soon to be 8, DH Dme!

 

[corinascot]

My ds has had 3 broken arms and a broken leg! We never had a problem with casts on rides.

The cast covers work well, but with the last broken arm we paid a bit extra...I think it was $50 (b/c insurance wouldn't cover) and we got a waterproof cast. He could shower and swim with it. Well worth the extra money b/c it was summertime. You can't use it for all breaks, but you might ask your ortho about it.

 

[txaggiemomof3]

I saw the radiology report tonight and it says he has a fracture on the radial bone right below his elbow. I'm thinking they are going to want him in a long-arm cast to his shoulder now which would be more restrictive than a short-arm one. The good news is that it is a minor break and my neighbor (who is a nurse who used to work in orthopedics) thinks it will be well on it's way to being healed by the time we go on our trip. At least my ds will be used to wearing a cast by then. We will find out more tomorrow when we hopefully can see the specialist. Not much we can do to change things now so I'm hoping he will adjust and we will still have a great vacation.

Thanks again for the positive feedback!

 

[palpluto]

No problem- it should not slow him down.
They may even use one of those casts that can be removed for bathing, but for active swimming they may prefer he keep it on and wear a cover. If you are not swimming he should be fine. And, with a hairline fracture they often only have the cast on 3-4 weeks.
My son just did WDW on crutches if you can imagine. I would have gotten a wheel chair but was by myself and needed to push my younger son. We've had a few fractures.
Good luck and don't worry too much.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

I think the whole thing might actually make your trip more special!

He'll get lots of special attention from Cast Members. They'll fuss and fawn all over him. Could be lots of fun - you never know!