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Broken bone in toddler's arm


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My 16 month old son fell off of one single step and landed in a completely unawkward, "normal" manner and ended up with a buckle fracture of his radius bone. I won't bore you with the medical specifics, you can google that yourself... The injury happened on Friday and he wasn't in much pain but could not use his arm to pull himself up or pick up heavy toys. No bruising, swelling, hot/cold fingers, etc. It just "wasn't right". So we took him to the ER yesterday for the diagnosis and he has a splint/ace bandage thing on till we can get a hard cast later this afternoon.

 

I'm asking for a) prayers for a speedy recovery for my boy, and b) advice as to what kind of fun I'll be experiencing as a parent dealing with a toddler with a cast.

 

As far as i'm concerned right now, he's back to 100%. After he figured out that he could use the hard splint to pull up and maneuver, he's back to running around crazy and climbing on everything. Hopefully since the break is minor, we'll be looking at the low end of the 4-6 week window for the cast. Any stories of experience/advice would be greatly appreciated right now!

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My 16 month old son fell off of one single step and landed in a completely unawkward, "normal" manner and ended up with a buckle fracture of his radius bone. I won't bore you with the medical specifics...

Sounds like the little guy got Posluszny-ed. :P

 

I'm glad to hear he's not in pain. I hope he gets better very soon.

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Not from a parent's perspective, but when I was 6 or 7 and my younger brother was 2, we were playing a game where we would climb up on the back of the couch, jump down to the seat cushions, then down to the floor. My brother landed funny and broke one of the bones in his foot. After he got back from getting x rays and a cast, he immediately started doing the exact same thing again! When my dad told him to stop and asked him if he remembered what just happened, my brother said something to the effect of "yeah, but now I have a hard shoe so I can't get hurt." :lol: If your son is back to doing his normal stuff already and the injury isn't bothering him, he should be fine.

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My 16 month old son fell off of one single step and landed in a completely unawkward, "normal" manner and ended up with a buckle fracture of his radius bone. I won't bore you with the medical specifics, you can google that yourself... The injury happened on Friday and he wasn't in much pain but could not use his arm to pull himself up or pick up heavy toys. No bruising, swelling, hot/cold fingers, etc. It just "wasn't right". So we took him to the ER yesterday for the diagnosis and he has a splint/ace bandage thing on till we can get a hard cast later this afternoon.

 

I'm asking for a) prayers for a speedy recovery for my boy, and b) advice as to what kind of fun I'll be experiencing as a parent dealing with a toddler with a cast.

 

As far as i'm concerned right now, he's back to 100%. After he figured out that he could use the hard splint to pull up and maneuver, he's back to running around crazy and climbing on everything. Hopefully since the break is minor, we'll be looking at the low end of the 4-6 week window for the cast. Any stories of experience/advice would be greatly appreciated right now!

 

I'm not going to wish him well...because, frankly, he doesn't need it. Kids are little bags of growth hormone...they heal extremely well. He'll be fine. You're freaking out, of course...but you're a parent, it's to be expected.

 

When my sister was about 2, she broke her arm (greenstick fracture, much worse than your son's). I have only dim memories of her in the hard cast...but I don't recall any issues with her acting any way other than like a normal crazy 2-year old. Again...I expect you'll be freaking out about it more than he will.

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Poor little dude!!

 

Sounds like a tough little guy, though...kid breaks his arm, rubs some dirt on it, wraps it with an ACE bandage, and is back to playin' hard again :thumbsup:

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My son broke his foot when he was 2 - rough-housing with his twin sister he fell akwardly and broke 2 bones in his foot. Like you we didn't think anything was broken until the next day when he couldn't walk - then we went for x-rays and saw that it actually was that bad - we felt terrible for waiting to take him but there was no swelling or intense pain - hard to know what's really up with a toddler.

 

Anyway, as a previous poster stated, kids heal really quickly - amazing to watch. Seemed like it was only like 5 weeks or so until he was pretty much back to his old self. The good news is that no only do little kids heal fast, they are also really good at self regulating - they don't push themselves to do things that can't (in my son's case, run or jump). I think you'll find that your little guy will do a good job of sticking to the things he can do (and adapting better than you'd ever imagine) and staying away from things he shouldn't (picking up heavier things, using his arm to push himself up, etc.). The biggest problems you're probably going to have are 1)Bathing - what a pain trying to keep a kid's cast dry while also making sure to maintain hygiene, and 2)Making sure he doesn't do anything to reinjure it (i.e. - climbing up where he can fall). Aside from those two things I think you'll find it easier to deal with than you think.

 

Sorry to hear about the accident - not fun! Good luck!

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My 16 month old son fell off of one single step and landed in a completely unawkward, "normal" manner and ended up with a buckle fracture of his radius bone. I won't bore you with the medical specifics, you can google that yourself... The injury happened on Friday and he wasn't in much pain but could not use his arm to pull himself up or pick up heavy toys. No bruising, swelling, hot/cold fingers, etc. It just "wasn't right". So we took him to the ER yesterday for the diagnosis and he has a splint/ace bandage thing on till we can get a hard cast later this afternoon.

 

I'm asking for a) prayers for a speedy recovery for my boy, and b) advice as to what kind of fun I'll be experiencing as a parent dealing with a toddler with a cast.

 

As far as i'm concerned right now, he's back to 100%. After he figured out that he could use the hard splint to pull up and maneuver, he's back to running around crazy and climbing on everything. Hopefully since the break is minor, we'll be looking at the low end of the 4-6 week window for the cast. Any stories of experience/advice would be greatly appreciated right now!

 

Did they ask you all sorts of questions on how it happened? did they talk to you separately?

Kids heal fast. 0:)

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Did they ask you all sorts of questions on how it happened? did they talk to you separately?

Kids heal fast. 0:)

 

No, I didn't get the DSS treatment. I teach special ed pre school for a public school. This injury screamed of "developmentally appropriate injury consistent with a fall". Now, if he goes back for another broken arm next week, then I'm sure i'll be getting a visit.

 

 

 

Anyhow, he's got a full arm cast and has already figured out how to get up and down. He should be fine. Cast stays on for 3 weeks.

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My 16 month old son fell off of one single step and landed in a completely unawkward, "normal" manner and ended up with a buckle fracture of his radius bone. I won't bore you with the medical specifics, you can google that yourself... The injury happened on Friday and he wasn't in much pain but could not use his arm to pull himself up or pick up heavy toys. No bruising, swelling, hot/cold fingers, etc. It just "wasn't right". So we took him to the ER yesterday for the diagnosis and he has a splint/ace bandage thing on till we can get a hard cast later this afternoon.

 

I'm asking for a) prayers for a speedy recovery for my boy, and b) advice as to what kind of fun I'll be experiencing as a parent dealing with a toddler with a cast.

 

As far as i'm concerned right now, he's back to 100%. After he figured out that he could use the hard splint to pull up and maneuver, he's back to running around crazy and climbing on everything. Hopefully since the break is minor, we'll be looking at the low end of the 4-6 week window for the cast. Any stories of experience/advice would be greatly appreciated right now!

Oh, man. As a parent of an almost two-year-old I feel for you. I had a friend in the neighborhood whose daughter had the same kind of thing happen in a fall with mom down the stairs (totally scary). The thing to remember is that it does heal fast and it's just sort of like another layer of what you already know with a toddler - this phase shall pass. Bathing's a pain in the neck but an arm is way better than a leg break for myriad reasons. And I presume with the cast he'll have maneuverability of his hands, so interference with the developmental use of them won't be an issue. As long as he's happy and doing his thing, I'd say just watch out for those steps, keep the good shoes on, take it easy in the snow and ice if he's walking out there (if you're even in a cold weather clime), and keep an eye on him! ;)

 

Best of luck.

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My son Matt broke his leg right around the same age. He had climbed in to our bow window in the front of the house then fell back in to the living room about 18" landed on a toy car. Walk with the cast on his leg. Then when the cast came off he walked like he still had the cast on for a few weeks. when he was 7 or 8 he fell out of bed in the middle of the night and broke his collar bone. Then at around 13 he was showing his mom and I how he could jump his bike over the stone wall in the back yard and broke his collar bone again.

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My son Matt broke his leg right around the same age. He had climbed in to our bow window in the front of the house then fell back in to the living room about 18" landed on a toy car. Walk with the cast on his leg. Then when the cast came off he walked like he still had the cast on for a few weeks. when he was 7 or 8 he fell out of bed in the middle of the night and broke his collar bone. Then at around 13 he was showing his mom and I how he could jump his bike over the stone wall in the back yard and broke his collar bone again.

Did he drink milk at all?

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I know one thing, if the little ones stay occupied they don't dwell on discomfort. Did your doc recommend any specific pain relief for the little guy? My youngest daughter (now 19) was in a serious car accident when she was 4 and she got a broken collarbone. We all made it through somehow . . . Hope everything works out and I'll say a prayer for him tonight!

 

:rolleyes:

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My 16 month old son fell off of one single step and landed in a completely unawkward, "normal" manner and ended up with a buckle fracture of his radius bone. I won't bore you with the medical specifics, you can google that yourself... The injury happened on Friday and he wasn't in much pain but could not use his arm to pull himself up or pick up heavy toys. No bruising, swelling, hot/cold fingers, etc. It just "wasn't right". So we took him to the ER yesterday for the diagnosis and he has a splint/ace bandage thing on till we can get a hard cast later this afternoon.

 

I'm asking for a) prayers for a speedy recovery for my boy, and b) advice as to what kind of fun I'll be experiencing as a parent dealing with a toddler with a cast.

 

As far as i'm concerned right now, he's back to 100%. After he figured out that he could use the hard splint to pull up and maneuver, he's back to running around crazy and climbing on everything. Hopefully since the break is minor, we'll be looking at the low end of the 4-6 week window for the cast. Any stories of experience/advice would be greatly appreciated right now!

 

 

I ain't no doctor, but three of my 5 kids have had arm buckle fractures and they are no big deal. He will quickly adjust to the cast. Get a sharpie and let him draw on his cast. Have everybody sign it

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