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On Sat, 11 Jan 2003 22:17:43 EST ejcrewe@... writes:
> In a message dated 1/11/2003 8:44:47 PM Central Standard Time,
> freeform@... writes:
> > Rain was 10 yesterday, on the 10th. :)
>
> How is she doing with her cast?

Thanks for asking... the good news is that she got it off on Thursday,
the bad news is that one of the broken bones moved slightly while it was
in the cast. There's a noticeable bump, and it was clearly crooked on the
x-ray. :( The orthopedic surgeon said that since she's only 10, it's
okay, and it will smooth out as she grows... but I did email my dad (he's
an M.D.) to see if he knows any orthos who could give a second opinion.
It just *looks* bad.

She has something else now, I think they called it a brace? It supports
the wrist but it's removeable, although her arm hurts when she takes it
off.

The good news is that I called MediCal (the California version of
medicaid) and they said that if we qualify, they pay medical bills
retroactive for 3 months. That would be great, since this is at 5K
already and I'm sure there are more bills to come.

So, now she wants to break her leg to see how that feels. I shared your
story and Sandra's, plus the arm seemed pretty painful, as I recall. I
told her she didn't have my permission to break any more bones, so she's
waiting until she's 18, and she's made a mental list of all the people
she knows will be happy to come and help her out (somehow Joylyn made the
list but I didn't, hmmm). She's always been like this, though. She
didn't vomit until she was 5 or so and she really wanted to get a stomach
flu for quite a while... she didn't like it when she had it but she
wanted the experience.

Dar

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In a message dated 1/11/03 10:45:53 PM, freeform@... writes:

<< So, now she wants to break her leg to see how that feels. I shared your
story and Sandra's, plus the arm seemed pretty painful, as I recall. >>

Tell her to take her time and let it happen naturally.

(YIKES!!!!)
(I suppose for kids, crutches seem very cool...)

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Dar -

the bump sounds bad from an adult perspective, but maybe it really is ok for
a 10 year old. Glad you are looking into a second opinion.

My sister broke her arm on my parent's icy driveway on Christmas morning.
She had surgery and external pins, which will be removed once the cast comes
off in a couple of weeks. They were worried about the bump with her if the
cast didn't hold the bones correctly. Plus, she's a triathlete (at almost
42!) and she needs to have enough strength to ride her bike.

Seems like each break is different. And I can understand Rain wondering what
it's like to break something and wanting to do so. This was my first break
ever (at 38) and I don't recommend it. I think with legs, and age, it's that
the break really hurts, the cast really is a pain and it still hurts and then
there's the recovery from being in the cast! I never knew about the criss
crossing tissue at the base of your leg in front that totally stiffens up in
a cast and takes forever to become pliable again. And when the physical
therapist said she was pleased with my pointing of my left foot, I removed my
right shoe to point that one and she said, simply "Oh, my." I may never be
able to regain the extreme flexibilit and hyperextension I had from ballet at
4 years old.

So, if she's going to do it, young is the time, I think.

Glad she's doing better and that it looks like you'll have some coverage for
it. What a nightmare for you.

Elizabeth


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nellebelle

It would be cheaper to buy crutches and other such items and let a kid pretend fractures. 10yod has long had a fascination with wheelchairs, etc. We found kid size crutches at the thrift shop. They're a big hit with all the kids who play here. They also like to wrap their arm &, legs in Ace bandages and pretend that they've broken them. I get some great stories when I ask them what happened. Maybe I have a future physical therapist here. Or maybe not, but who knows?

Mary Ellen

---- Original Message ----- (I suppose for kids, crutches seem very cool...)


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On Sun, 12 Jan 2003 12:28:27 -0800 "nellebelle" <nellebelle@...>
writes:
> It would be cheaper to buy crutches and other such items and let a
> kid pretend fractures.

I don't think the crutches are the issue for Rain. We see them at thrift
stores all the time and she's never been really interested - I hadn't
even mentioned that aspect of broken legs. She just wants the
*experience*, so she'd know what it was like. It's a personality thing, I
think - she'll try anything once. Nice when it comes to going places I
want to go, not so nice when it comes to physical injuries and
illnesses...

Dar

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In a message dated 1/12/2003 2:32:05 PM Central Standard Time,
nellebelle@... writes:


> It would be cheaper to buy crutches and other such items and let a kid
> pretend fractures

Great idea!

While I was using crutches full time, the kids kept making their own
"crunches" (somehow, that tch sound is hard for them) out of stacking pegs,
tinker toys, etc. And they would carry mine all over the place - not helpful
if I wasn't paying attention. They loved being pushed in the wheelchair and
hanging off the back. They both really worked on their balance by hopping on
one leg. That's helped a lot now that they are using their ballet dvds as
exercise tapes!

New ones are about $30 at the drug store. I'm sure there have to be a lot of
used ones out there - we'll stash mine in the basement when I'm done. (They
will gather dust along with the egg coddlers, empty boxes, boxes full of
styrafoam chips, outgrown toys, half finished projects of mine and tubs of
christmas ornaments.)

Elizabeth


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On Sun, 12 Jan 2003 10:56:21 EST ejcrewe@... writes:
> My sister broke her arm on my parent's icy driveway on Christmas
morning.
> She had surgery and external pins, which will be removed once the cast
comes
> off in a couple of weeks. They were worried about the bump with her
if the
> cast didn't hold the bones correctly. Plus, she's a triathlete (at
almost
> 42!) and she needs to have enough strength to ride her bike.

Wow. Rain tried to ride her bike with the cast on but I talked her out of
it - it's been wet and muddy here for a month, and I just didn't want
another broken bone. She did do ballet with the cast, though...

The ortho doc said if she'd been 14 it would have been different, so 42
sounds definitely over the growth-hump.

I hope you're able to regain that flexibility in your foot - that would
be a real bummer. I guess I figured that whatever happened, with broken
bones you'd eventually be "good as new", but apparently not, or not all
the time :-/

I've never broken a bone, and I can't say I yearn for the expereince...

Dar

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In a message dated 1/12/2003 3:14:14 PM Central Standard Time,
freeform@... writes:


> I hope you're able to regain that flexibility in your foot - that would
> be a real bummer. I guess I figured that whatever happened, with broken
> bones you'd eventually be "good as new", but apparently not, or not all
> the time :-/
>

Oh, it hasn't been that long yet. Only a month with the cast off. I'm able
to do 40 minutes on the elliptical with just swelling problems. I'm getting
better at stairs, but down is still very stiff. I didn't mean to make it
sound that bad, sometimes even I get sick of hearing my whining! My pointing
ability on my right leg is abnormal

On my sister's arm, the pins were necessary to give her the strength
eventually once the cast gets off to ride her bike. Perfect alignment was
necessary. Sorry if it wasn't clear before. She's not riding her bike right
now. And she's pretty unhappy about that.

Bones! I think it's amazing they can heal. It reminds me of when we went to
see Sue, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, at the Field Museum and I read that she not
only had something like 73 teeth, but they grew back if she lost one. A
factoid that got lost in my head in the aging process...

Elizabeth


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In a message dated 1/11/03 11:46:01 PM Central Standard Time,
freeform@... writes:

> Thanks for asking... the good news is that she got it off on Thursday,
> the bad news is that one of the broken bones moved slightly while it was
> in the cast. There's a noticeable bump, and it was clearly crooked on the
> x-ray. :( The orthopedic surgeon said that since she's only 10, it's
> okay, and it will smooth out as she grows... but I did email my dad (he's
> an M.D.) to see if he knows any orthos who could give a second opinion.
> It just *looks* bad.

When I was 6, I got my hand slammed into a taxi cab door when we lived in
Iran. The ring finger on my right hand was broken and opened from the knuckle
under the nail bed to the area where the ring and middle finger meet. The
doctor set it and stitched it closed. When it healed there was a noticeable
bump on the top knuckle on the side that is closest to the pinkie finger and
the finger curves slightly so that it points toward my middle finger. The
doctor told my parents it would be okay and would smooth out as I grew. It
didn't.

IMHO Get a second oppinion. ;o)

~Nancy


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