Monday, June 6 – Casting Call

Yes, it was the day of the cast.  Our first child to be fitted for a cast.  I took Erica to OrthoIndy, and friendly Dr. Berrios was the pediatric orthopedic specialist who saw her.  This was the same Dr. Berrios, by the way, who saw Kate when she broke her leg as a 14-month-old.  Dr. Berrios was friendly and informative, and the busy office took us from check-in to the waiting room to radiology to Dr. consultation to cast fitting and back to the car in 60 minutes.  I really thought it would take hours.

From a choice of about 10 colors, Erica picked out a neon orange cast, reasoning that it was a “neutral” color.  I think it is a great choice, because the chances are greatly reduced that someone will accidentally bump into it.  On the way home, we stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things and the cast generated several comments and questions about how she broke her arm.  :-)

The cast is made of fiberglass, rather than plaster, so it can get wet in a chlorinated pool or shower.  Thankfully, we have both!  The technician said Erica should probably wait 2 hours before she got it wet for the first time, so approximately 1 hour and 58 minutes later, Erica was asking to swim.  There were a few delays, because everyone wanted to get in at the same time (no small feat!), so about 3 hours after the cast was put on, Erica was in the pool!



In the next 2 pictures, she was explaining to Sarah how they put on the cast.  :-)







She has had only minor itching and a little bit of soreness.  The doctor says they will re-check it in 2 weeks, and she will wear the cast for 6 weeks.