Six weeks ago it was a normal Monday and I got a call that no parent wants to get ... "Mrs. Roeder, Emma hurt her leg on the playground and now she won't walk. I don't think she is faking."

I was in the middle of a conference call for work and they were holding for me to take the call from daycare, I jumped off the call and ran to my car. From the sound of Emma's cries in the background of the telephone call and the description of Emma falling and then trying to walk, I knew that she had broken her leg. 

When I got to daycare Emma was curled up in the Director's lap eating a lollipop, her face and hair stained with tears. I scooped her up, asked a few questions about how she got hurt, was able to watch a video of the fall, and then got Emma loaded into my car. I pulled the front passenger seat all the way up to its forward most position, took off the headrest, and leaned the seat back to give Emma a place to prop up her leg, and we headed straight to the pediatrician's office. 

Emma's doctor's schedule was overbooked so they got us into see another doctor in the practice. Within a few minutes of seeing the nurse, Emma was given a dose of Tylenol and some fresh ice to help with the pain. Shortly after that, we were given an order for an x-ray at a nearby medical center and we headed straight there.

Getting Emma in and out of the car from daycare to the pediatrician, the pediatrician to the lab, and the lab back to the car was excruciating. I had never heard such cries of pain from Emma before. Each time I went to pick her up she would start crying even before I touched her. Luckily, I keep a stroller in the trunk of my car, so I was able to get Emma settled into the stroller when we got to the lab and angled the seat so that her leg was propped up and stationery. When the x-rays were taken, the technician and I didn't need a doctor to tell us her leg was broken. I physically hurt for Emma just looking at the x-ray.

The pediatrician got the results of the x-rays very quickly (far less than the estimated hour) and started working on getting us into see a pediatric orthopedist. The pediatrician and his team were so supportive, encouraging me to keep Emma in the car until the orthopedist appointment they secured for us that afternoon, even coming out to check on us in the parking lot with fresh ice and entering the address of the orthopedist into my phone to make sure we got there. 

After a quick trip home for a change of clothes and some food, while we waited for the appointment time, we headed to the orthopedist's office to get Emma into a cast. 

Emma broke her left tibia, just below the knee. The break was bad enough that if she had been an adult she would have needed surgery. Instead, she got a bright purple cast (with silver and red glitter of course) from her toes all the way to just shy of her hip to keep her leg stable. She was in so much pain that it took four adults to hold her still to cast her leg (even Mom and Dad were wearing gloves and pitching in). After Emma's leg was all wrapped up she finally started to feel better, and within moments of the cast being on, she relaxed into my arms and fell asleep from sheer exhaustion and pain. And that's when her Daddy snapped this picture.

Another set of x-rays confirmed that the bones were lined up nicely, and we were sent home with instructions for Emma to not walk on her cast for 6 weeks and that we would see the doctor again in a week to make sure her bones were staying aligned. You read that right ... full leg cast, no walking, 6 weeks, and Emma is 3 years old. 

Once we got home, the real fun began. For the first 48 hours, we gave Emma Tylenol around the clock for pain. We let her binge watch Netflix shows and her favorite movies, we ate cookies and ice cream, and she even got to eat breakfast in bed. Those first 48 hours were all about keeping Emma comfortable.

As the pain got more tolerable, Emma adapted to her cast and a broken leg, and that is when it was time to get creative. We survived 6 weeks in her cast and learned a lot along the way. 

Here are my tips for cast care and keeping a three-year-old entertained when they can't walk for six weeks.

• Dresses and nightgowns. Thank goodness for being a cute little girl who likes to wear dresses, because they were perfect to wear while Emma was in a cast. While little girl leggings are stretchy, we did not attempt to wear pants while Emma was in her cast (we did pull on shorts a few times). To help me not need to do laundry every other day, I purchased a few nightgowns and some cotton dresses that Emma will continue to enjoy for months to come and they became her wardrobe for the six weeks she was in her cast.
• Big socks over the end of the cast. My little girl is not afraid of getting dirty, and so whenever we left the house she got to wear one of my athletic socks over the toes of her cast to make sure that dirt (and sand) did not make its way into her cast as much as possible. This sock also helped keep her toes warm.
• Pillow pets. While I once laughed at the concept of pillow pets they became Emma's best friend while she was in her cast. The pillow pets were the perfect size to fit under her knee to keep her foot propped up at just the right angle. The doctor shared that because Emma couldn't walk and would be spending a lot of timing sitting with her leg propped up, she was at risk for getting bed sores inside of her cast. Therefore he recommended that she keep her foot elevated (with the weight of the cast off of her heel). The pillow pets did just that! We slide a pillow pet under her knee and she stayed bed sore free for all six weeks in her cast. Now, I think the pillow pets may be permanent companions.
• Washcloth baths on the bathroom floor. From scooting herself around on the floor to get around while in the cast, Emma came home from daycare quite dirty each night. To get Emma clean each night, and keep her cast dry, I laid out a towel on the bathroom floor, filled up a bowl with warm water, and grabbed some washcloths. She was able to wash her hands in the bowl (and occasionally her other foot), while I scrubbed her down. Two to three times a week we washed her hair in the sink, and on the other nights I sprayed her hair down with a squirt bottle. (P.S. I had never been so excited to give her a bath as her first night out of the cast!)
• Pull-ups. I was fearful of potty accidents while Emma was in a cast so I kept her in a pull-up. I think it served both the purpose of keeping her cast clean and making it easier to go to the potty by having velcro sides. She wet the pull up only a handful of times, but I know that it helped us keep the same cast for the whole six weeks. 
• Arts and crafts. Coloring books, scratch off art pads, stamps, paint, play-doh, scissors, stickers, oh my! Arts and crafts were perfect activities to help keep Emma entertained while she couldn't run around. She loves doing "projects" as we call them and we stocked up on extra art supplies to help her from going stir crazy. (Thank you to everyone who gifted her arts and crafts as get well soon presents.)
• Puzzles. We recently discovered that Emma loves puzzles and it was perfect timing that they are a great activity she can do while sitting (relatively) still. She enjoyed doing both physical puzzles and digital puzzles. 
• Lap desk. Fitting a casted leg under a table is a challenge (which we overcame), so we got a lap desk to help Emma have a place to eat meals and do art projects until she got more comfortable with sitting at the table and moving around. (I think I may have fun with this now that she is done!)
• Radio Flyer Cyclone bike. Asking a three-year-old to sit still can be quite comical. I was so excited to find this bike that Emma can pedal with her hands because it acted like a wheelchair for her, giving her the freedom to move around. She got so comfortable with the bike that she participated in singing and dancing activities at school and spinning herself in circles, navigating the hallways and on and off elevators. Watching Emma get around on her bike has really been quite impressive. Take a look for yourself, below.

I am so thankful for the wonderful support we had throughout Emma's time in her cast. We had friends and neighbors bring Emma cookies, fruit, balloons, arts and crafts, movies, and toys. Other people made us dinner, and/or picked up groceries, and her teachers and friends at school helped her adapt while making sure she felt included and safe. I felt less alone knowing that I had people to lean on and it gave me extra strength to focus on what Emma needed ... time to heal. 

The cast has been off for two days now and Emma is warming up to the idea of walking again. She will now spend 4 weeks in a walking boot to let the leg finish healing. Before we know it she will be back to running around and her time spent in a cast will be a distant memory. I hope it is a memory that we will not repeat again, but one that others can learn from.