Cast of Character

Way back in September we told you the story of how Gwendolyn broke her leg. Living with a toddler in a cast presented extra challenges and adventures. I took several photos of these interesting times which have set ignored on the camera for too long. Here they are at last.

Gwendolyn's cast required coverage with a plastic bag for bathing, and neither full immersion nor being in the shower were options. So for six weeks Gwendolyn sat on a towel in the downstairs bathroom, cast wrapped in plastic, for her "baths." We sponged her down to get her clean, and Sara had the brilliant idea of inaugurating a set of foam bath letters which, when wet, would stick on the outside of the shower door.

Gwendolyn had no less fun in those bathtimes than in the old way.


You can see the plastic on her right knee, and two buckets: one with foam letters and one with soapy water and sponges.

The trick, we discovered, was not letting the bath go too long. If she got cold, she'd wet the towel with something other than bath water.

My girl is a tough chick, but one part of the whole healing process did her in. The vibrating cast saw used to take off fiberglass casts scared her. It doesn't touch the skin at all, but the jet-scream of the machine made her want to get away as fast as possible. She cried louder than she does when she gets shots.

As I remember my cast-wearing youth, the doc took off the cast and said, "Go easy on it for a week." Otherwise, we were good to go. No more! Now orthopedic patients--even the eighteen-month-olds--get protective boots for two weeks after the cast is removed. Here's Gwendolyn showing off the remains of her cast:

You can be sure no emotional trauma remains when the patient pretends to use her cast as a cell phone:

Two weeks later, Gwendolyn walked normally without the boot, and the two hunks of fiberglass, signed by family and friends, were just another pair of toys to throw around the kitchen.

And Gwendolyn will not remember a bit of it.

~ emrys