Pre-game Jitters
The day had finally come after 3.5 weeks of waiting, time for the cast removal!! The morning of the cast removal we went to a family breakfast.
After the removal we made plans to go to the National Zoo in DC with
my family and my mother in law as a post cast celebration.
My husband and I were both excited to finally get the cast
off. Although it didn’t seem to be
bothering Mason at all it was an adjustment for us. The cast made it a bit
difficult to maneuver him and he definitely was a bit heavier to lug around on
my hip!
After breakfast we headed over to Kernan. I was a bit nervous since I wasn’t sure how
Mason would handle the saw. He is not a fan of loud noises (cries when the
blender is on, cries when we yell while watching
the Ravens play…etc) and I was sure that we were in for some healthy crying
while he was getting his cast removed. After
a lengthy wait (I didn’t realize so many kids suffer from broken limbs!) we met
with the nurse to check in, then we headed to another room where the magic
happens.
Bye Bye Old Friend
Neither my husband nor I had ever broken a limb so we weren’t
sure what to expect. My husband removed Mason’s shirt so the nurse could see
his arm Spica cast. The nurse told us they were going to cut Mason’s cast in 4
places.
As my husband and the nurse were talking I noticed the saw that they would be using to remove the cast. While everyone was distracted I snuck a picture, it looks pretty intimidating.
The nurse took the saw and explained that it just vibrates and that it wouldn’t cut the skin. He turned the saw on and put the blade against his skin and it didn’t even make a scratch. While the saw was running Mason was relaxed and the noise didn’t bother him at all which was a relief. The nurse placed a cover over Mason and my husband’s laps to catch the plaster while he was sawing. Then the sawing began!
As the nurse started sawing, my previously laid back son
started to whimper, and then he started to really cry. It definitely wasn’t
painful since we know that the saw blade wouldn’t cut him but we think the
vibration scared him. As a mom I just wanted to hold him, but unfortunately
that would have to wait until the cast was removed. Instead I just stroked his
cheek as he sat there looking at me with that “Why the hell are you letting
them do this to me?” look on his face.
Free at last
After 10 minutes the cast was off. Sweet freedom! I immediately looked him over to see if his
skin was irritated from the cast. Everything looked great. I was so happy to hug him again. We were moved back to an examination room so the Dr. could evaluate
Mason. He immediately saw improvement with his external rotation. The physical therapist
also came in make benchmark his progress as well. Now Mason will resume his occupational and
physical therapy next week. We are hoping that he makes great strides!!
Mason is still not crawling yet but we are hoping that once
his arm gains some more strength that he will be able to crawl around soon.
Guess we better baby proof the house!
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