Questions...my daughter broke her femur today

[DopeyDonald]

Help! My 3 yr old daughter broke her femur today. We leave in 2 weeks! She is fine, and in a temporary cast. She will be casted next Wed the 31st. this will be 1 week before we leave. I'm waiting to hear back from the Orthopedic guy tomorrow morning, and if he gives clearance we are still going. Are we nuts??

My thought is that there is really not that much that she won't be able to do anyway with her age/height. Really the only thing will be swimming or getting wet but....

One of my biggest questions right now too, for anyone with experience is what kind of stroller to rent? Do I rent a special needs pushchair from Orlando strollers or will she need more of a wheel chair type thing? She cannot bear ANY weight on it at all. Also then will we/should we wait in the wheelchair line for rides or can she just be carried - I'm thinking that she will only be riding kiddie rides anyway - do they allow casts?

It's been quite a day and I don't want to sound like I'm only concerned about our trip and not her, but it's looming and I have very little time to get prepared!

Thanks!

 

[jdb in AZ]

Sorry to hear about your DD. Is it possible for her to have a fiberglass cast that can get wet?

 

[DopeyDonald]

I'm not really sure what type of cast she will be able to get. I will be talking with the ortho guy in the am and will see what he says. Crossing fingers that she will be able to swim somehow

 

[SueM in MN]

The EASY question to answer is where guests using wheelchairs wait for attractions.
Even though people think most attractions have 'wheelchair' lines, most attractions have lines that are wheelchair accessible, so there is no special wheelchair line.
Post 11 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread lists the 'Mobility Entrances' for attractions and which attractions require a transfer from a wheelchair for the attraction. There are some attractions where the line is accessible, but there is a different boarding and/or unload area for guests with wheelchairs.
With an obvious leg cast, you would be able to bring a stroller into lines with you where strollers are not usually allowed.

I'm answering the rest of the questions as an RN and a mom whose child had 2 long leg casts connected by a spreader bar for 6 weeks after surgery.
The next easy question is whether you should carry her.
No.
A 3 year old would be hard enough to carry in lines. A 3 yr old in a cast is going to be very heavy, and with the cast, the weight won't be balanced, so you will want to pick her up as little as possible. You will also want to avoid walking with her as much as possible because it will be very awkward and you could fall.

Do they allow casts on attractions is harder to answer.
All shows have places for wheelchairs, so you will have no problem with bringing a wheelchair/stroller as wheelchair into shows.
Most 3 year olds won't be riding very wild rides and even the wilder rides allow casts as long as they don't interfere with the restraint system or move around in a way that they could hit other guests.
The question will be what kind of cast she has and whether or not she will fiot into the attraction. Depending on the type of cast, she may not be able to sit or may not be able to sit on a ride seat, since they are generally not very deep and are made of slippery plastic.

Stroller, special needs stroller or wheelchair?
That will depend on what kind of cast she has. Obviously, as a nurse, I can't answer medical questions, just nursing ones. I don't know how bad th break is or what kind of cast her break will require, so I'm just giving general information about femur fractures.
In most fractures, they try to immobilize the joint above and the joint below the break.
For the femur, the joint above would be the hip and the joint below would be the knee and/or ankle.
In a best case scenario, they might be able to cast her from just where the hip joins the trunk to the toes. That would be difficult, but she could still sit. You would need to carefully choose a stroller or wheelchair that would support the cast. Your best bet would be to work with an equipment rental place near your home since you will almost certainly need something to get around in your home and neighborhood while she is in a cast.
You could bring the equipment with you - mobility devices can be gate checked on the plane with no charge and not counting against your bag allowance.
On a plane, you may need the bulkhead seats for more leg room.

The worst case scenario would be something called a spica cast, which starts on the chest or lower chest and continues down the broken leg all the ways to the toes and halfway down the other leg ( about to the knee). There is usually a bar that goes between the 2 leg casts to keep everything very stable. This is the most likely type of cast for a preschool child with a broken femur from what I know.
This website has a good explanation of a spica cast with pictures (the website is a bout femur fractures in children).
http://www.hss.edu/conditions_femur-fractures-in-children-broken-thigh.asp

If she has a cast like that, she will have a hard time sitting and may not fit on an airplane at all. You would also need a very modified mobility device for her.
My youngest DD was in that sort of cast after surgery and for the first few weeks, she could only be in a wagon with lots of pillows. Then her cast was cut down and she could sit ( although her long leg casts were still stuck together with the spreader bar). At that point, she could sit in her own wheelchair, but we had to modify it with a wedge shaped piece of plywood, well padded, to support her legs. That made the wheelchair very wide where her feet were, so it didn't fit a lot of places.

Another issue would be transportation. DD didn't really go anywhere while she had the big cast ( other than home from the hospital). Once it had been cut down, we did take her in our van, but we took out the middle seat to make more room and rigged up some milk crates connected together to support her legs. We didn't have a wheelchair accessible van, but she could go to school in her wheelchair in the accessible van.

If you do go and have a stroller, she would need to be removed from the stroller and it would need to be folded for use on the buses. You could take her onto the bus in the stroller, but then would have to remove her and hold her on a bus seat.

The last thing would be comfort. A long leg cast will be hot; a spica cast will be hotter, plus you will need to deal with 'sanitation' since much of her lower trunk ( near the 'business ends' will be covered).

Personally, I would seriously consider not going if she has a long leg cast and I would not go at all with a spica cast.

 

[DopeyDonald]

SueM - thanks for your thoughtful response. I definately would not bring her in a Spica cast - your daughter must have been so glad to get out of that. If she gets a cast like the one she has now it will go from her upper thigh to her toes. She has a buckle fracture at the bottom of her femur. And her cast right now is slightly bent so it's easier to be supported. Also I think she'll fit on most rides just fine with it.
I'm still not sure what we'll do - I'm still kind of in shock about the whole thing.

 

[SueM in MN]

SueM - thanks for your thoughtful response. I definately would not bring her in a Spica cast - your daughter must have been so glad to get out of that. If she gets a cast like the one she has now it will go from her upper thigh to her toes. She has a buckle fracture at the bottom of her femur. And her cast right now is slightly bent so it's easier to be supported. Also I think she'll fit on most rides just fine with it.
I'm still not sure what we'll do - I'm still kind of in shock about the whole thing.

I was wondering if it was at the top or the bottom. Obviously, the top would be more likely to need a spica cast. And a buckle fracture is not as severe as a total fracture. Glad to hear your DD will probably avoid a spica cast. We were all glad to see that go. The cutting down to 2 long leg casts was not too bad, except for the bar between them (although DD did discover it worked well for helping her sit up when she didn't have support behind her back).

So, at least, it sounds like you have the best case scenario working for you.

I guess once you find out from the doctor if the trip is OK, I would also try to find out what kind of cast and then work with an equipment supplier in your area if you can to get equipment to take with you.
That way, you could have it before she gets her next cast. If any further modifications are needed, they can do them before you leave.
There is a section about air travel with a wheelchair in the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

 

[DopeyDonald]

Thanks again SueM. I feel lucky that we do have the scenario we do - I looked up buckle fracture and it definatly is a "better" fracture to have I'm not sure about what equiptment will be available in our area. We too live in MN and will be flying out of MSP. We live about 4 hrs away though in a small town. Right now I'm just checking on buying a new stroller to have for this trip - looking at an regular old "big" stroller that I can recline and put the leg flap thingy up like you would for a sleeping infant. She's a few weeks shy of 3 so she's still pretty small so that may work.
A later trip would really be hard for us due to hubby and my parent's work schedules, not to mention that we are staying at a 1 bedroom villa at VWL that we snagged 40% off of many mos ago. So we would lose that, plus our ability to actually stay in a 1 bedroom at VWL. So if I can make her comfortable, and there is no danger to her to take her we will. I figure she'll get some good sympathy character interaction if nothing else
I am mainly concerned about the heat - and thinking of how hot/itchy her cast may get, but she'd feel the same way here too....plus this way she would be getting some stimulation and not just vegging on the couch watching TV.... I don't know...
We'll just have to see what the dr says in the morning....


*update - I was just checking out strollers, do they allow the bike trailer kind that can be converted to a stroller? She could sit flat in that for sure....

 

[SueM in MN]

Given that you have the 'best' type of fracture and the 'best' type of cast, it is doable, if the doctor agrees.
Since you are in a small town, you are right that it may be harder to rent something appropriate. There may be a place that can get somtging sent from the closest big city though.
The bike thing might work. Some convert better than others. Things to watch for would be size, how manouveable it is and whether any pieces stick out in a way they could hurt anyone if they run into it.
Some converted bike seats are too big, som still have a stem that attached to the bike in a way that sticks out and some are hard to push because they can really only go well in a straight line.
Some of the bike seats are not very supportive. Trying it out ahead of time at home would let you know how hard it is to push and also how comfortable for her.
Not sure how you would transport it to get it to WDW, since some don't fold easily. It would fit on monorails and most boats and could be wheeled right on with her in it ( if it meets the size listed below).
There are large and small boats serving WL - check the disABILITIES FAQs thread for more info.
This is from the WDW website:

Q. Are there any personal items I should not bring with me into the Theme Parks?

A. Items that you may not bring into the Theme Parks include, but are not limited to:
Items with wheels, such as wagons, skateboards, scooters, inline skates, shoes with built-in wheels, two-wheeled or three-wheeled conveyances, strollers larger than 36" x 52", suitcases, coolers, or backpacks with or without wheels larger than 24" long x 15" wide x 18" high (coolers required for medication may be stored in a locker or at Guest Relations), and any trailer-like object that is pushed or towed by an ECV wheelchair or stroller.

You may find she sits too low in a bike seat to stay in it for shows.

Depending in the stroller, itmay be easier to transport, etc but unless you can figure a way to have the leg part in the extended - reclined - position and the seat so she can sit, she may not be comfortable.

If you end up not being able to go, WDW may still allow you to rebook the villa at the same rate because of the circumstances.

As for heat, the way it's been this summer in MN, you are right that it may be no worse in Florida. And there are more diversions to keep her occupied with a broken leg in Florida than in MN.

 

[Owl's Friend]

I wonder if the characters could sign her cast? How cool would that be!

 

[SueM in MN]

I wonder if the characters could sign her cast? How cool would that be!

Characters will sign casts.
You want to bring some Sharpie permanent markers for signing casts.
When the cast is cut off, they will cut it along both sides of the leg. So, keep the signatures along the top of the cast or on the behind part and have the characters stay away from the sides.

 

[autismgoesdisney]

My daughter also broke her femur when she was 3. It was a horrible experience with a total spica cast (from her toes to right under her neck!). I can't imagine bringing her to Disney and not having her go on any rides. Her height would most definitely allow her to go on a lot of rides! I have a 3 year old now and I just can't imagine telling her she can't go on rides.

 

[DopeyDonald]

autismgoesdisney - I totally agree with you, if she ends up with a spica cast there is NO way I would consider it... I talked with the dr today and if she x-rays the same way she did yesterday on the 31st when she sees him, she will be in a upper thigh to toes bent leg cast. Not so bad.

Also, I agree about the rides and what I meant about the height was that rides such as splash mountain that a cast shouldn't go on, she would be too short for anyway. I imagine her to be able to still ride Dumbo, Peter Pan, the carousel, etc. Also rides like Kilamonjaro Safaris and Spaceship Earth etc.

We're also big resort people and hang out there quite a bit each day. We have 5 character meals planned along with an appt at BBB and tickets to MNSSHP. So there will still definately be plenty of exciting stuff for her. I figure it beats sitting on our couch for those 12 days Plus I do have a 9 yr old and 6 yr old and my parents and dh to help out.

I talked with the ortho this morning and he would not commit to anything until the 31st when he re-xrays her. So we'll just have to be patient I guess.

I am just looking into buying a jogging stoller of some sort - anyone have any recommendations for one that would give her leg the most support?

Also do you think it would be beneficial to rent a car? At VWL we can take the boat to MK and the boat/mono to Epcot and avoid having to fold her stroller etc, but Im wondering if a car would be handy to do DTD, AK and DHS.....