Spica Cast: A Heartbreaking Situation

April 22, 2018 was one of the most heartbreaking days of my motherhood journey thus far! The spica cast story.

My daughter and I went to a small kid themed park called, FairyTale Town located in the Sacramento region of California. We met some friends there for a kids play date and since my daughter has never been, we decided to try it out.

We met up with friends and the first thing the kids wanted to do was go down The Red Shoe.

Now, this shoe has been around since my brother was little and from pictures my mother has from 20 years ago, little has been updated to this slide. My daughter wanted to go down this slide and requested I go with her since she was nervous and she is only 2 years old.

I told her I would go with her, as I have done plenty of times before at other parks. We climbed up the steep, steep stairs that many kids were struggling to get up and we sat down on the metal slide and proceeded to go down.

This slide was so steep and since metal has zero traction we FLEW off. I tried stopping us at the bottom with my feet, but the momentum of my weight (mind you, I am not a big heavy person either. I’m 5’4 and 165 lbs) with the steepness of the slide had us both flying off.

We both flew off and my daughter landed on her right kneecap and I landed on her side and bruised my knee and scrapped my elbow. But it wasn’t until later that night that I’d realize my daughters injuries were much worse!

I scooped her up and told her it was okay, as the fall had knocked the wind out of both of us and I tried to calm her down as she was screaming and crying.

We sat for awhile and then I decided to leave the group of friends and take her home.

Fast forward to later that evening when my normal two year old would have been running all over the house trying to entertain her then 3 month old sister, was laying on the couch refusing to move.

My husband and I later took her into the Emergency Room to get x-rays and we were heartbroken to find out that she had broken her femur! Which as I’m told is one of the hardest bones to break.

My daughter got a splint put on in the ER and the doctor told me to schedule her for a cast for that Friday! Mind you this all happened on Sunday!

So I’m supposed to keep a toddler calm and relaxed in a splint for a WEEK?!

By Tuesday I couldn’t take it anymore and called the number and asked if there was any way I could be seen early and they told me to come in the next day. They thought that it was ridiculous that the ER doctor told me to wait until Friday!

Now my family and my little girl went through HELL dealing with splints, pain, hospital and doctor visits, x-rays and not to mention an awful spica cast that my daughter had to wear for 4 weeks because of this break.

This cast was from her rib cage down to her ankles. It was awful. She could not move her hips or legs for over a month!

The day of the casting was the longest day of waiting and appointment time changes and delays! We got to the hospital at 8:30 am and she didn’t get the cast placed on until 4:30pm!!

And we didn’t get back home until 8pm that night. To say the least it was a long ass day!

In order to get the cast placed on, my daughter had to be put under anesthesia and have a trachea tube put down her throat.

She was under for over an hour and seeing her being wheeled into the operating area was the most heartbreaking thing!

My husband and I waited patiently along with my Sister-in-Law and her boyfriend for what felt like forever. We were able to go right back to see her as she was waking up.

She was out of it. The nurses and doctors had warned us that she will be confused and angry and boy they weren’t exaggerating.

She was PISSED. She didn’t understand where she was, she was thirsty and wanted so badly to move but couldn’t.

We were finally able to go home about an hour later but since a spica cast goes from her rib cage down to her ankles with a hole cut out in the genital region, there was no way we were going to be able to place her in her car seat to go home!

We asked how do we get home and no one could give us answers. I mean no one. Even the nurses were confused why they place the spica cast in such a position that kids can’t sit up straight.

We had to be driven home in an ambulance and she was placed on a stretcher to be taken from the hospital to our home (which is not that far away, less than 20 minutes).

I then questioned the doctors as to how I was supposed to get her back in 2 weeks for a follow-up x-ray to see how her leg is healing.

Once again, zero solutions.

They told me I could pay for another ambulance ride. Uh no thanks!

Basically I was on my own on how to transport my kid as well as care and bathe her. The doctors told me, just make sure the cast doesn’t get wet or soiled/dirty or else we will have to re-cast it and go through this all over again.

And I’d be damned if I was going to go through and put my 2 year old through this all over again.

She was in the cast for 4 weeks. I had to be innovative and my mother and mother-in-law helped with some ideas on how to try and live our normal routine.

But I knew 4 weeks keeping a toddler entertained, as well as caring for an infant was going to be a difficult task.

Thankfully I had family close by to help me for a couple weeks. Read here for all the tools/hacks I used for those 4 weeks to help keep my daughter clean, safe, and happy.