Everyday out of a cast is a good day.

Today marks three months since Sonja had her body cast removed.  For those who don't know the story, I will tell it for you.  


On the morning of June 25th 2010, Sonja and Haven and I were walking our dog Jett in the park behind our house.  I was carrying Haven in the Baby Bjorn carrier and Sonja was walking with me.  On the way back to the house, Sonja was running up ahead, when she slipped on the gravel path and twisted and fell in just the perfect way to break her left femur in two.  I saw it happen and I thought she had hurt her knee, but after scooping her up, grabbing the dog and running home, both babes screaming, I knew something was seriously wrong.  Peter came straight home, took Sonja's shorts off and it was then that we saw how swollen her thigh was.  I remember thinking that I was going to vomit, but I didn't want to scare Sonja even more and Peter kept reminding me that I had to keep it together.   


We went to the hospital, where our little girl had morphine and ketamine injected into her tiny body to keep the pain at bay while she had x-rays and was put in traction.  It was a nightmare and I kept thinking that any minute I would wake up and my baby would be fine.  After 24 hours of traction, Sonja was put in a body cast that started at her upper chest, and went down to her left toes and right knee.  She stayed a total of two nights in the hospital, and came home, where Peter and I had pretty much no idea what we were in for.  

First night in traction.

Next morning, still in traction.

Sonja and Haven together in the hospital bed.

The boredom was brutal, to be sure.  We watched way too much TV those 5 1/2 weeks.  The days were hot and the house would just bake during the day, so we didn't go out much.  And even if we had gone out, Sonja was casted in a quasi-sitting position where she couldn't quite sit up and couldn't lie flat, so doing much of anything took some creative positioning to make it comfortable for her.  I would load her in the stroller and we would walk the dog in the morning and late afternoon, but beyond that we stayed close to home.

That is a really big, pink cast alright.

At the park, on one of our two daily dog walks.

The worst thing by far was the diapering.  I won't go into detail, but suffice it to say that bodily fluids and casts don't mix and we had to do a lot of searching online for advice on how to manage diapering around a body cast.  And sponge bathing sucks.  It really sucks.  I think Peter and I both lost sleep worrying about bed sores.  Overall, we were lucky, but it sure wasn't easy, I can tell you.  If you or anyone you know has to go through this, please contact me, I will be happy to pass on some tricks.  

Getting some tummy time while watching TV.  Again.

In the end, it was the longest 5 1/2 weeks I can remember and the the lousiest summer ever.  Every day felt like a week and every week like a month.  But it was most painful to see how Sonja wilted during this time.  She just wasn't the same girl and I remember one night after Peter had put her to bed, he came out of her room and we both were near tears, saying how much we missed her and couldn't wait to have her back.


I have replayed the moment she broke her leg over and over in my mind.  I would lay awake countless nights, trying to will myself to stop thinking about how much pain she endured.  And I also remain incredulous at how brave she was, how calm she was that day in the emergency ward, as long as one of us, Peter, his mom or I was by her side (it was usually all three of us).  Doctors and nurses would come in and pause and say, "Is this the girl with the broken femur?"  She was amazing, she was calmer than me by far.

Two days after the cast came off, cuddling with Haven after a bath.

I never ever want Sonja to go through anything like this again, and I'm glad the memory will fade for her.  Personally, I don't want to forget about it, because strangely enough, it reminds me how fortunate we are.  While Sonja was lying in traction in the paediatric ward, there were kids in there with serious illnesses.  A body cast is nothing compared to that and Sonja's leg is all better now (as she likes to remind me often).  Grateful.