Broken Arms, Casts and Water...

I actually forgot to post this blog entry I wrote in the middle of the summer, so here it is:

So within a week of moving into our new home, in the middle of summer, and only 2 days after discovering the local swimming area, our 4 year old broke her arm. Within 4 days, she had a new cast since she got it wet "watering" (AKA drowing) my potted vegetables on the back patio.  Being frustrated that I couldn't take all 3 kids swimming (It was about 85 degrees an 97 % humidity) and that I may have to cancel beach plans, I googled "waterproof cast cover" and found a cool product that cost less than $35. Its called a XeroSox cast cover and claims to be fully waterproof, so much so that you can fully submerge your broken appendage in the water, whether you are swimming, snorkeling or just taking a shower. I ordered it and it worked, despite that it was a bit too big.  I would not give it rave reviews because a) it was a bit too big, and we had ordered the smallest size and b) my daughter found it painful to have all of the air suctioned out of the cast.  It caused a certain amount of pressure which pained her.  Still, with waterproof tape around the top of the arm we were able to make an airtight seal that held despite not fully removing all of the air.  She was able to go to the beach and play round in the water as well as play on the slip and slide in the backyard and not have to get a third cast.  We did not brave fully submerging it underwater since it was a bit too big.

THEN, I got an e-mail from a former neighbor who told me her daughter had had a waterproof cast. I googled that and found you can line a fiberglass cast with something else than cotton. The product is called Gore Procel Cast Liner and for a small childs full arm would have cost $51 (plus $20 for next morning delivery) and a large adult full leg was about $125 (plus shipping). Of course, the Army was too cheap to use that, but if ever in the same situation, I would insist on it and probably pay for it. I bet many hospitals and orthopedic offices carry it. It would be so much easier if I didn't have to worry about her ruining the cast or getting it wet.  Of course, if the break was severe and there were skin wounds involved, it would probably not work since the risk of infection would be too great.

Anyway, a heads up that hopefully none of you will need!!