Broken Leg in the Winter - any tips? - Update post 23

[Amy]

Well, we've had quite a week so far. DS17 had some friends over to watch the Super Bowl Sunday night (WAY TO GO STEELERS!!), and he decided to walk them home after the game. He found a patch of ice, fell and broke his lower leg/ankle. He needed surgery, and now has 6 pins and a metal plate in his leg. He's still in the hospital in a LOT of pain. Hopefully he'll be heading home tomorrow. DH and I have been taking shifts staying with him at the hospital.

This is the first broken leg I've had to deal with, and of course he has to break it in the middle of winter. Does anyone have any tips you can pass along besides the usual "put a small garbage bag over it to keep it dry"?

We already called the school to try to figure out what accommodations they have for him; luckily I leave for work at the same time he usually heads out to get his school bus, so I can drive him to school, and I'll have to call in a lot of favors to find someone to give him a ride home.

But I'm looking for some other practical, "why didn't I think of that?" kind of tips that you only learn when you've lived with a cast for a while.

Any helpful tips you can pass along? We'd all really appreciate it!

 

[buzzlady]

Wow, sorry to hear that. Don't really have any suggestions. It will take time for him to learn to walk with crutches. DS16 has been on them 3x. Once with a boken ankle and twice he had surgery because he was born with his right leg shorter than his left.

Good luck and a speedy recovery!

 

[robinb]

I broke my ankle about 15 years ago and I still have a plate in my leg. If he had surgery for a metal plate then you don't have anything to really keep super dry ... there will be no regular cast. I had an "air cast" when it was time to put weight on my leg 6 weeks later, but really nothing before that other than a wrap for the first few days after I went home. I recall being home (and on drugs) for about a week and then I went back to work on crutches. My doctor gave me a temporary handicapped parking permit. Unfortunately both our cars were manual transmissions so I couldn't drive!

This may seem silly, but I would recommend buying a shower stool for him and a detachable shower head if you don't already have one. That will allow him to shower sitting down. Like I said, he won't have to keep his leg dry but he still won't be able to put weight on it.

 

[browneyes106]

I'm sorry about what happened to your son. I just got a cast off three weeks ago for a broken ankle. It is hard walking on crutches and dealing with cast during the winter. Keep his toes and feet warm with thick socks and maybe ask for cast shoe or boot to give the cast more protection. robinb gave good advice about a shower chair and shower head.

 

[monkey68]

Is he going to have a regular hard cast, removable cast, or no cast at all? If it's a hard cast, buy him the warmest socks you can find to keep his toes warm, you obviously won't be able to pull it all the way up, but you can usually get them onto the foot part at least, and have something over the toes. His school should have accomodations for him, usually leaving class 5 minutes early so not hobbling around in between the bells, and around here, all the public high schools have elevators. You need a pass to use them, but if you're on crutches or in a wheelchair, you get the pass.

As far as logistics go, if he's never been on crutches before, it'll hurt his arms a lot. I like to wrap a washcloth or something around the armpit part of the crutches to make it more cushion-y.

Also, since you live in Pittsburgh, I'm just gonna go out on a limb and say you guys get a lot more snow than I do in NYC. Crutches and ice is almost a worse combination than Super Bowl and ice. They sell these attachments that you can put onto the bottom of the crutches to make it easier walking in the snow and ice. I personally never tried them, but I've seen them. You can get them from any medical supply store, and they're not very expensive, usually around $10-$20 I think. Only he would have to remember to fold them up when not in the snow and ice, as it can cause you to skid on a ceramic or tiled floor.

Hope he feels better soon!

 

[LisaZee]

The spouse broke his foot a week before Xmas a few years ago. We found that using a walker was easier for him in the ice and snow - it was easier to control and less likely to slip out from under him in bad weather. If your insurance only covers one device (crutches OR a walker), call your town hall and see if they have a medical device "closet" that people donate to and borrow from. Some towns will let you use something and then give it back when you're done.

I second the chair for the shower - I found the spouse's at Target, of all places, but you should be able to get one at Walgreens, too...

Hope he is feeling better!

 

[Axel]

I shattered my ankle on December 14th so I can feel your son's pain! Like him, I have pins and plates left behind. Totally non-weight bearing and in a hard cast for about 8 weeks, then 8 more weeks in an air cast with "slight weight bearing" - meaning I could rest the foot on the ground when I swung through the crutches!

If your orthopedic doc's office hasn't already offered, find out how you go about getting a rental wheelchair. Your insurance should cover it and it will help immensely. Although a 17 year old is probably going to have an easier time than I did getting around on crutches, it was still so much easier to let someone push me when we went to the mall, etc. I am assuming he doesn't drive so whether or not you need to bother getting a handicap placard is up to you - I never bothered since it was my right leg and I couldn't drive. Whoever drove me just dropped me at the door of where I was going and we left the handicap spots for others.

I second getting a shower chair. Or you can just use a metal or plastic folding chair - that is what I did. But I never would have been able to balance on one foot and shower and wash my hair. Pick out two pairs of pants - one to wear and one to wash - because you will probably have to cut the leg to be able to get them on/off.

If its the same type of break I had, your son will have a few cast changes ahead of him. They'll wait for the surgical swelling to go down some, then take off the one they send him home with, do x-rays, and put on another temporary. That is to check the incisions for infection I was told. Then a bit later they'll take off the cast and remove the staples (or stitches - I happened to have staples). Plan to take that day off school and take pain meds ahead of the appointment. Until they removed my surgical staples I thought childbirth with no anesthetic was the worst pain I would ever suffer! I almost broke DH's hand I was squeezing so hard.

It is going to be hard with a teenager, but it is very important that he follow doctor's instructions about keeping the leg elevated, non-weight bearing, etc. I was a pretty good patient and have had a pretty good recovery. Although even after months of physical therapy the ankle is still pretty grotesque looking. And has arthritis that gets worse all the time - but I am told that with this type of injury it would be more surprising if there wasn't any arthritis in the joint.

Good luck.

 

[Ohiodislover]

My mom went thru this last year about this time.

If he is non-weight bearing, those crutches can be brutal. I agree about getting him a walker even if only for around the house. I know a 16 Y.O. won't want an old lady walker but it will allow him to rest his shoulders/arms. You can usually find them fairly cheap at goodwill too.

 

[Amy]

Thank you all for your replies! We brought him home from the hospital this afternoon, so now the real fun begins! Poor kid, he's still in so much pain.

Axel (or Axel's mom), your ankle sounds very much like my DS17 (ouch!). He does have some type of temporary cast on right now. Right after surgery the dr. told us to bring him back in 2 weeks to get the staples out and have the "official" cast put on. But today, he told us to bring him back in 1 week to have this temporary cast/dressing changed. Kind of disgusting the way it's oozing thru the dressing, but they said that's normal.

I never would have thought of getting a shower chair, but that sounds like a great idea. For the near future though, he'll just be doing sponge baths until the dr. gets another look at his leg. The nurses in the hospital said that there's some new kind of cast that you CAN get wet; I'll try to remember to ask the dr. about it when we see him next week.

The dr. said he can go back to school on Monday, but I might just wait. His appt. is at noon on Tuesday, so maybe he can try 1/2 day of school Tues. morning and see how it goes before doing a full day.

Poor kid! I feel so bad for him. My older DS is content to sit and read or watch tv, but DS17 with the broken leg can never sit still - he's always outside running around, playing street hockey or basketball or something. We're in for a few rough months ahead!

 

[honugirl]

I had my ankle reconstructed in 2008 and was in a hard cast for 6 weeks. Try this website for stuff: http://www.brokenbeauties.com/

I absolutely loved the fleece toe covers. They just slip over the cast and have a velcro strap which goes around the back to hold it on. They worked way better than socks!

Also they have crutch cover pad things that really helped with the soreness.

Good luck!

 

[Amy]

I had my ankle reconstructed in 2008 and was in a hard cast for 6 weeks. Try this website for stuff: http://www.brokenbeauties.com/

I absolutely loved the fleece toe covers. They just slip over the cast and have a velcro strap which goes around the back to hold it on. They worked way better than socks!

Also they have crutch cover pad things that really helped with the soreness.

Good luck!

THANK YOU for that website! I'm definitely going to get the toe covers for my DS17. We were going to use old socks, but that velcro strap is the perfect thing!

 

[honugirl]

THANK YOU for that website! I'm definitely going to get the toe covers for my DS17. We were going to use old socks, but that velcro strap is the perfect thing!

You're welcome! I got them in a couple of different colors so I could mix and match with what I was wearing. I never had a single problem with cold toes. I could even sleep in them. They were great!

 

[yeartolate]

You can also look into a temporary disabled placard - that way with the multiple MD/hospital visits you he doesn't need to get exposed to too much additional ice and moisture. You probably can get the form off the internet, fax it to MD and bring it to DMV and walk out with the placard in short order.

I had my ankle fixed during an unusually bad rainy spell (bad for CA anyway).
My ankle was casted in an internally rotated position so I was pretty miserable navagating around (not to mention I had a rotator cuff repaired a few years prior, so crutching it was special). I probably only used the placard 10 times, but it made all the difference in the world.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Ugh. Casts. I spent nearly two years in various sizes of casts on both legs. Went through the winters in snow and ice, too.

In addition to the shower chair (or simply a plasic resin patio chair) get a hand held shower. They are really inexpensive, and easy to put up and take down. Get some of that shower tape (instead of pipe dope) and all should be well.

He can then sit in the shower, facing whichever way will allow him to put his casted leg outside the shower (on the tub ledge, if that applies) and use the hand held to control the water. He'll have quite a bit of autonomy with that and he'll want all he can get.

He's going to be in quite a bit of pain for awhile. Ortho pain is right up there with burn pain.

Split pants are horrible. I have no idea what size he is, but will some of those really wide legged pants work for him? Or is it possible for him to "survive" in shorts?

Be wicked careful with any plastic bag tricks. They'll make his foot slip out from under him. If the doc allows, have him prescribe one of those silly ortho shoes. They look stupid, but will help him keep that cast dry.

Tell him to do isometrics every single time he thinks about it. I did them nearly obsessively and it makes a huge difference when the cast comes off for good.

Depending upon how his ankle is involved, be sure that he does not allow his toes to "drop" (if the ankle isn't casted in such a way as to hold the foot in a "walking flat" position). If he stretches that tendon, he'll have much work to get it back to normal.

I was told by a nutritionist during my time of casts that chocolate seriously interferes with the body's ability to absorb (and therefore use) calcium. No chocolate for the boy.

Best wishes to him. It's a miserable thing to deal with.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Sheesh, meant to add that a pair of rain pants might come in handy in the shower. Cut the leg off the "good side" and use the other side to protect the cast from water. He'll have to be a bit inventive with washing certain areas...but he's 17, eh?

 

[scrap4u]

I spent 10 weeks in a walking cast. The best advice I got from the doctor was to sleep with a pillowcase over the foot/cast at night. I asked him why? He said the cast was going to be touching the ground and then you're going to put it in your bed at night. That was a duh moment for me! So I slept with a pillow case over my cast every night!

So once your son is able to put some weight on the cast I highly recommend this.

Good luck to you and your son!

 

[tiggger1]

my brother had surgery and was in 2 casts for 6 weeks. Since he was in a wheelchair the school district had to get him a wheelchair van for him to bring him to and from school..

 

[yeartolate]

I spent 10 weeks in a walking cast. The best advice I got from the doctor was to sleep with a pillowcase over the foot/cast at night. I asked him why? He said the cast was going to be touching the ground and then you're going to put it in your bed at night. That was a duh moment for me! So I slept with a pillow case over my cast every night!

So once your son is able to put some weight on the cast I highly recommend this.

Good luck to you and your son!

But did you scrap book the cast.

 

[Amy]

You guys are the best! I LOVE all these tips! Keep 'em coming!

 

[Amy]

I spent 10 weeks in a walking cast. The best advice I got from the doctor was to sleep with a pillowcase over the foot/cast at night. I asked him why? He said the cast was going to be touching the ground and then you're going to put it in your bed at night. That was a duh moment for me! So I slept with a pillow case over my cast every night!

So once your son is able to put some weight on the cast I highly recommend this.

Good luck to you and your son!

Yep, "duh moment" for me, too. That would have been the last thing I would have thought of, but it makes perfect sense.