The Spica Cast Saga!

Tomorrow will be 3 weeks of having Sami in a cast that goes from right below her sternum down to her ankle on the leg that is broken, and her knee on the leg that's not.... if anyone would like to see what a spica cast is, here is a link: http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=755148 (this is not Sami, and I don't know the person who made this site...).

So, lets start at the beginning!!! We knew something was wrong almost immediately after her fall. She screamed like we have never heard her scream before and anytime we moved her in our arms she would cry. She also wouldn't stand at all.... so we decided to take her into the ER - thinking it might have been a dislocated hip or sprained/twisted knee. Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think that she had broken her femur! When it was told to us that night that she broke it and what kind of cast she would be in for up to six weeks, we were devastated! On top of everything else this 19 month old has been through and still has to go through, this happens!

Not only where we completely bummed out (which is a huge understatement) but we also felt anger that this had to happen to her and regret because we knew and understood what a block this would be to her development! They said that she'd have to learn how to walk again, and she may not even crawl at first because the muscles will have atrophied... and she had only been walking for about 3 or 4 months at the time of the accident!

Camping reservations would have to be canceled, and she would have to be kept inside - just in general - because the cast was covering more then 50% of her body and it would be way too hot to keep her outside in that cast for very long (and this little girl absolutely LOVES to be outside!). Her (and, in turn, our) whole way of life would change - she'd have to learn to sleep a different way (because she won't be able to roll over onto her tummy), meal times would have to change (because she wouldn't fit in her highchair), awake time would be much more hands on because she would not be able to do anything for herself other then sit where we put her and play with what we handed her.... A different car seat that she could fit into would have to be rented/bought. No one would be thrilled to try to cater to a non-talking, active 19 month old toddler who is starting in on her terrible two phase!!!! And... would we even be able to take her back to daycare with the cast on?

So, now three weeks into our 5 weeks, things are better then we thought they'd be. Sami has adjusted well to the cast. She gestures until we figure out what she wants, she has gotten use to sleeping the whole night on her back, during tummy time she'll crawl/scooch as best as she can to get around, we've modified a coffee table to her sitting height so she can have an eating and playing surface. We were able to rent a car seat from Maryland Kids In Safety Seats (an awesome organization!). It, at this point, seems to be harder on mommy and daddy (and whoever else watches her) then on her... AND she'll be going back to daycare next week! :)

We are coming down the home stretch and can't wait for this cast to come off!!!