The Story of Cast Off Day

Again, I apologize for the delay in posting, but we've been moving full speed ahead since Grace's cast came off on May 20. So, here's the full story. After nearly 6 weeks in the body cast, Tuesday, May 20 was met with much anticipation. Travis and I and Poppy took Grace to Children's for an 8:15 a.m. appointment. She was very excited, but nervous at the same time. As we waited for our name to be called, she curiously checked out the other kids, many of whom had casts on and others who had just gotten them off. When it was finally our turn (or so we thought), we got moved to yet another waiting room and then finally to the x-ray room. Grace did NOT want to be put down on the table, but the nurses were really great. They said they couldn't believe that she didn't smell bad because most kids in body casts for 6 weeks show up really stinky. That's a testament to how rigorous Dori and Gabby were with sponge baths and diaper changes. Something else they couldn't believe--we potty trained her in the cast! Yep, no more diapers for Grace- YIPEE!!

After the x-ray, we were sent back to the waiting room. Grace was still really nervous, especially when she could hear other kids getting their casts off in the next room. That saw is really loud and was met with lots of screaming. After a while, they called us into an exam room, where they looked at her x-ray and proclaimed that her leg was healed! So, off to the "cast-off room" for us.

Now, this was the terrifying part. The nurse could tell Grace was scared, so she said, "Don't worry, Sweetie, it's just like a vacuum cleaner." I'm sure she was trying to be comforting, but this was not the right thing to say to a child who absolutely hates vacuum cleaners. Grace immediately broke into tears. They asked her to lay flat on the table, so Travis and I stood behind her. He covered her ears, and I held her hands. She basically screamed bloody murder the entire time he was sawing her cast off. It took a while because he had so much to cut. After a couple of attempts and some prying, the cast was off! Grace dried up her tears and told the tech, "You did a great job, but I'm ready to go home now!" He laughed and told her he loved her pink sparkly shoes. She replied, "You can get some at Target!" Yes, she must have inherited this disease from me. If someone gives me a compliment about something I got at Neiman's, I would never tell them where I bought it. But, if it's from Target (or Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Ross, Forever 21, etc), I can't help but blurt it out. Like mother, like daughter.


After the cast came off, Grace was very uneasy. They said her leg would probably be sore and that it might take her a while to start walking normally again. They were right. She said it was still broken and wasn't excited at all. When we got home, she just wanted to cuddle with me. Then, she wanted her legs covered with the pink leopard blanket again and wouldn't take her hands off them. She didn't want to eat and was really fussy again, kind of like she was when she first came home in the cast.

She's definitely had a tough time walking. Her tiny legs looked even tinier outside of the cast, and she lost a lot of muscle tone. She couldn't stand on her own for a while because she didn't have any balance. A couple of things that helped were the walker and the jumparoo (Ella's favorite things), so we let her hang out in those for a while each day. It's been a slow process, but after almost 3 weeks, she's finally walking unassisted. Her hip and knee are still stiff at times, but she's almost back to normal. More posts about what we've been doing since cast off day to follow.