Less than a week to go and my son broke his arm

[jnkrim]

We see the ortho tomorrow and surgery Wednesday. We haven’t talked to anyone about restrictions yet. He will have rods, not a cast. Do you think he will be able to ride very much?

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Ugh sorry about this.
I broke my arm as a child but I had a cast and I was still quite active.
I know someone that broke their arm and leg and needed surgery and rods in both and the restriction is basically everything meaning sit and don't move.
Don't get too frazzled until you are able to find out what his doctor thinks about his specific situation.
I'm guessing that if its safe for him to get to Disney then its safe for him to go on most of the attractions since honestly being on a plane or in a car is more rough than most of the mild attractions.

 

[bumbershoot]

Hmm.

I would think that the cast would be more protective. My son and I went to Universal while his arm was at a 90 degree angle in a cast from shoulder to wrist. They are more restrictive than Disney and it was only Hulk he couldn’t ride. The cast protected him from a lot.

But just a week from surgery...I mean, talk to the surgeon, but I’d be hoping I bought the insurance if I were in your situation.

I’m really sorry.

 

[jnkrim]

Nope, we’ve already paid and no insurance.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Hmm.

I would think that the cast would be more protective. My son and I went to Universal while his arm was at a 90 degree angle in a cast from shoulder to wrist. They are more restrictive than Disney and it was only Hulk he couldn’t ride. The cast protected him from a lot.

But just a week from surgery...I mean, talk to the surgeon, but I’d be hoping I bought the insurance if I were in your situation.

I’m really sorry.

Some breaks a cast is the norm and other breaks no cast is the norm. Really varies.

 

[mamabunny]

We see the ortho tomorrow and surgery Wednesday. We haven’t talked to anyone about restrictions yet. He will have rods, not a cast. Do you think he will be able to ride very much?

The Ortho may nix the trip; if his bones need time to set without being jostled around too much, travel may be off the table. And frankly, after surgery, he may not feel like it at all.

I think you may have to reschedule. Reach out to Disney (sooner rather than later) and see if they will help you salvage what you can of the trip. You may have to pay a fee, but since there is no insurance to fall back on, it can't hurt to call them ASAP and ask.

I'm so sorry. We had to cancel our January trip because I was in an accident just days before departure, and suffered multiple broken bones. I know everyone will be sad to miss out on this trip, but it will be so much better to go after he is all healed up and back to his normal self!

 

[Elle23]

I went to Disneyland in a full arm cast when I was a teenager. I don’t remember any great restrictions...just lots of nice attention from CMs!

However...I didn’t have surgery and was not fresh post op at the time. When I did eventually have surgery (broke my arm 3 separate times in the same place), I can assure you I would not have felt like traipsing around a theme park for hours on end just days after my surgery. Surgery requires time to recouperate and heal. It is much more invasive than just having a broken bone set.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

The good need is that kids are resilient. The bad news is that you may need to cancel the trip. Depending on where the break is and how the rods need to go in, he may be told to keep still and avoid jostling for a while. Not to mention he will have incisions which you need to keep clean and free from germs. He might be able to go and do most dark rides, or you may be told it’s a no go.

 

[DLgal]

My friend completely shattered her wrist, had surgery to put it back together, and had no restrictions at all. She wore a fabric brace for a week and was fine afterwards. Usually, if a break is bad enough to require rods, it will actually heal faster than if you just use a cast and the rods will provide the stabilization needed. You may be fine to go on the trip with very few restrictions.

 

[Chelley00]

Our DD broke her wrist 4 weeks before we left for a trip. She had pins. Her ortho let us go on the trip but nixed any rides that would bounce her too much or anything that went upside down because she wasn’t in a cast anymore but In a hard brace and he didn’t want her to feel like she had to frantically grab to support her weight and hurt herself.

 

[seashoreCM]

I would have suggested a sock over the hand and the arm in a sling, but the weather may be too hot for that.

The purpose is to prevent grabbing a bar or belt or handle for support by reflex which would wreck the bone alignment, cast or rods or not.

Putting the other hand on the bar or belt, etc. seemingly excessively or unnecessarily could better maintain balance and better prevent the urge to use the affected hand.

 

[jnkrim]

So it looks like we are avoiding surgery for now - he’s in a cast and will recheck in a couple days and see if everything stayed in line. The doctor was surprisingly okay with keeping the trip as scheduled, so we’ll just take it easy and he can ride the low-key rides. He also will have us checking in with a ortho group in Orlando next week for X-rays to check the healing.
I am very relieved as we prepaid for the hotel offsite and our tickets are our annual passes we bought last year to use again just a week earlier this year. We’re a family of 7 and could only justify the cost of annual passes last year because we knew we would just go a week earlier and it would be cheaper than hoppers both times.