Broken Leg Must haves

[ray7694]

Besides medical items what essentials do I need for my 16 year old son? He broke his tibia and had a screw placed.

[georgiegirl]

I’m sorry, that’s awful. Brace or cast? (Makes a difference it terms of bathing.)

My good friend’s son broke his femur last June. They moved his bedroom to the main floor of the house. He played lots and lots of video games.


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[doberbrat]

Sounds like a bad break. I'm sorry!

When my daughter broke her foot I got little saddle bags for her crutches. That way she could have access to stuff and have her hands free for her crutches.

[twowhat?]

DD had surgery on both legs last year. She developed a tight relationship with her walker...so much so that she could not give it away when she was done using it, it had become like a friend to her :)

We set up the downstairs couch for her and she slept on it at night until she was able to manage the stairs, so we kept a sheet and blankets and pillows there, and rolled it all up and put it away during the day. We kept a big variety of pillows around as well, just to make sure her legs stayed elevated but that we could adjust her position so she wasn't always stuck in the same position. Lots and lots of pillows and Squishmallows, LOL.

We used a plastic IKEA chair for the shower, and having a handheld showerhead on a slidebar was SO useful for when she was able to start taking showers, as she was able to sit and adjust the showerhead to hit her in the right spot.

And screens, LOL. She spent, well, a lot of time on her iPad.

[DualvansMommy]

Few things we may need to know; to better help you as far supplies get recommended.

I had a trimalleolar fracture break which is essentially foot and ankle breaking in 3 places. What helped me in the immediate aftermath after my surgery was staying on the first floor to sleep in my recliner. I had a walker, the traditional crutches, shower seat as couldn’t bear any weight on my foot for 8 weeks. That shower seat with a back was a lifesaver. I eventually transitioned to the arm crutches as the traditional made me more unstable.

Getting around the house and yard was my knee rover scooter. Get the one with basket in front as he can put his snacks, books, etc a drink in that while transporting himself around. Then I was approved to walk in a walking boot. Don’t buy that yourself as your child’s doctor will approve that as needed with your insurance paying for it. It helped me somewhat but I quickly transitioned to my running sneakers as it gave me best stability to walk.

Good luck to your son as he recovers and heals.


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[NCGrandma]

Lots of good suggestions—one other thing that may be useful is what is usually called an over-bed table. It can also be useful over a recliner or even while stretched out on a sofa.

Amazon etc offers many options but if there is a medical supply store near you (or a large CVS etc that has a good variety of equipment), that could be a useful "one stop shopping" for an over-bed table plus many of the other suggested items. If you have a chance to see the table in person, the 2 main criteria are stability and ease of adjustment.

ETA: medical supply stores can be a bit off-putting if you’re not used to them, but they usually have a lot of stuff and if the staff are knowledgeable, they often have useful suggestions.

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[ray7694]

Thank you. He broke is tibia. They placed a rod/clamp in it so no cast. He can put weight on it when possible but he is obviously in a lot of pain.

[erosenst]

I had a spiral fracture of my tibia. Full leg cast, then half.

* If he can’t use a knee scooter, a decent desk chair on wheels will let him “scoot” around

* Can’t tell if he needs to keep it dry. If so get a cast cover.

* A cheap folding chair works great in the shower.

* Experiment with different pillows and seating locations. I couldn’t comfortably keep my leg below my hip - even a slight change in elevation made a huge difference in pain levels.

* You didn’t mention if sleeping is an issue - but my ortho suggested sleeping pills for the first week or so. I resisted and then gave in. I shouldn’t have resisted...

Good luck!


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[ray7694]

He is not in a cast and he is my 16 yo son. I just had to demand more pain meds. He just had surgery and they were trying Tylenol. That failed miserably. We are still in hospital due to swelling and pain management. Just trying to be prepared.

[erosenst]

He is not in a cast and he is my 16 yo son. I just had to demand more pain meds. He just had surgery and they were trying Tylenol. That failed miserably. We are still in hospital due to swelling and pain management. Just trying to be prepared.

So sorry that he is in pain but good job advocating for him. Hang in there and make sure to take care of yourself too.


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[lizzywednesday]

Since this is the break plus the surgery, I think that pain management is going to be a Big Deal at first - keep on a med schedule and then taper. Heavy-duty ibuprofen rotated with another med should be fine; talk about it with the nursing staff & discharge team. (If given heavy-duty pain meds, get Colace.)

Knee scooter is a good option, but considering the location of the injury, it might not be as useful as it was when I had a broken ankle.

Seconding the saddlebags or some way to carry stuff with him while using crutches - I used a travel backpack.

If using crutches, see if he can spend more than a few minutes with the physical therapist to get used to moving with them, because it's tricky the first couple of days.

A laptop stand or bed table as a PP suggested can help with schoolwork and meals.

[DualvansMommy]

He is not in a cast and he is my 16 yo son. I just had to demand more pain meds. He just had surgery and they were trying Tylenol. That failed miserably. We are still in hospital due to swelling and pain management. Just trying to be prepared.

Def demand pain management for him. For me, the first 2-3 weeks from the hospital was my most painful periods. stay on top of the meds every 4-6 hours and don’t skip even if he’s feeling better. That was my mistake initially and learnt hard way.


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[mom2binsd]

With pain meds comes constipation, get the generic form of Colace (stool softener, it's not a laxative it just helps), if he gets completely constipated, generic Miralax. The name brand of these two is so much more expensive it's crazy. Lots of water too, flavored water is ok.

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