Summer of the Boo-Boo(non BPI related)

Forum for parents of injured who are seeking information from other parents or people living with the injury. All welcome
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CarrieF
Posts: 25
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2004 5:30 pm

Summer of the Boo-Boo(non BPI related)

Post by CarrieF »

This summer has not been a good one for us. It began the day after Easter. My son Garrett fell off a climber while my mom was babysitting him and broke his right leg. Ouch. I've never had a broken bone in my life and hated seeing my son suffer through it. Not to mention my mom- she still hasn't forgiven herself and it was a total accident! He did pretty good and got the cast off on June 2nd a few days after his 3rd birthday. Then this past Thursday, he broke it again. This time he was with my dad and my dad is so upset about the whole accident and he hasn't slept well since.He says he's afraid to play with him anymore. But Garrett only he fell like two or three feet onto gravel time, I told my dad he could have fallen off the sofa and done the same thing. I asked the doctor about a bone density test and he told me not to worry about it yet. We asked if this was common for a child to injur himself again so soon and he said no. It just left me confused.
If anyone has any advice on this topic or how to handle hysterical grandparents please let me know.

Thanks.
katep
Posts: 1240
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 3:20 pm

Re: Summer of the Boo-Boo(non BPI related)

Post by katep »

Wow, Carrie.. your poor son is having one rough time!

Did his leg re-break in the same place? Did his doctor order an x-ray to see if it was healed well before removing the cast? Fractures can be slow to heal if they aren't aligned well or the bones shift or a bunch of different reasons. Unless he broke it in a new place altogether, I would be more worried about his doctor than about his bones. It sounds to me like he wasn't ready to have his cast off.

Kate
CarrieF
Posts: 25
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2004 5:30 pm

Re: Summer of the Boo-Boo(non BPI related)

Post by CarrieF »

The first break was a fracture of the fib & tib. Both fractures were horizontal. This time it is just the tib. About the same spot but a spiral fracture(diagnol istead of horizontal.) He had x-rays at each check up. The day the cast came off I looked at the X-rays and couldn't tell the bones had broke.
katep
Posts: 1240
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 3:20 pm

Re: Summer of the Boo-Boo(non BPI related)

Post by katep »

Carrie,

That sounds very concerning. How intrusive is a bone density test? I am with you... I would be concerned, too. Is this your regular pediatrician or a specialist? Perhaps a referral or a second opinion is in order, if this doctor isn't worried. It seems that doing something early rather than late would be a smart approach!

Kate
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marieke
Posts: 1627
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2005 6:00 pm
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: LOBPI
no external rotation against gravity, can only go to 90 degree fwd flexion, no hand-to-mouth
1 surgery at age 14 (latissimus dorsi transfer). In 2004, at age 28 I was struck with Transverse Myelitis which paralyzed me from the chest down. I recovered movement to my right leg, but need a KAFO to walk on my left leg. I became an RN in 2008.
Location: Montreal, Qc, Canada
Contact:

Re: Summer of the Boo-Boo(non BPI related)

Post by marieke »

A bone density doesn't hurt. They inject a dye into your vein (arm/hand) then the machine scans the area... that's it. For a leg )or both) it takes about 15-20 minutes. I had one done 4 yrs ago... many many stress fractures from skating and not paying attention to my boo boos!
I would ask about getting the test done, especially if he broke it again at about the same spot.
Marieke (LOBPI)
Marieke Dufresne RN
34, LOBPI
http://nurse-to-be08.blogspot.com
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