How can I make life easier on my child who has to (temporarily) use crutches?
Hello fellow Tilderinos. My 9 year old will likely have to use crutches for a few weeks and I'm looking for some tips on how to make her life less miserable.
Unfortunately this happened not only right before we're set to fly on holiday this Friday (and we may have to cancel), but in early March she was meant to go on a week long school field trip where they were going to go horse riding and do circus classes. She's understandably upset she's going to miss out. Even if we're still able to fly on holiday next week, she won't be able to participate in the vast majority of activities she usually enjoys.
As a very physically active and social child, I know this is going to be really hard on her. I'd love some tips on how to keep her spirits up and make it possible for her to participate in fun activities (also possibly limit screen time as well). Would welcome any tips you may have to make it a less miserable time for her!
I've used crutches a bit to deal with severe knee pain, and also been a caretaker to my mom who was using crutches for a broken ankle for 6 weeks.
Being a kid with a medical device
Let her practice before she needs them and give her as many options as possible, e.g. style of crutch, type and color of shoulder pad. Buy her stickers and let her decorate them. Maybe even find some ornaments/keychains/etc you can hang from them. Brainstorm halloween costumes she could wear later this year if she gets really good at crutches.
If you're financially able, buy a pair of crutches for yourself too. Have races with her. Make obstacle courses for her (maybe this is as simple as chalk drawings on the sidewalk with "no feet allowed" areas). Let her decorate your crutches also. Depending on her sense of humor you could get her to make you the most embarrassing-for-a-grownup-awesome-for-a-kid crutch decorations (glitter??).
Think of ways she can use the skill of crutches in the future (maybe a Halloween costume this year?). Write a play together where one of the characters has a broken leg and perform it.
Basically, instead of compensating for things that are hard to do with crutches, create as many activities as possible that can be done only with crutches so that she gets to be the center of attention due to her unique skill that she'll be better at than anyone else (using crutches).
Actually using crutches
When I was using crutches I was TERRIBLE at it and I kept stubbing my toes. I'd recommend wearing a shoe or a (grippy) thick sock on the "working" foot while she's learning. Also she should learn to use crutches BEFORE she needs them if at all possible!!! I'm not sure based on your comment if she already needs to use them or is expected to soon. (Actually I think every kid should learn to use crutches, it should be part of PE/health class in all public schools.)
Agreed on also renting or getting her a wheelchair - wheelchairs are actually not as expensive as you'd think, I needed to use one for several years while I was very sick and I think it was maybe $80 or so on Amazon. You don't need a powered one most likely, and a cheap model should be fine. Again let her accessorize it.
The other big thing is that she won't be able to carry things. So, she should have a very fun backpack (probably different from school backpack) and also a cart on wheels that she can push around the house to bring things from room to room. When I was helping my mom I bought her a cart like this and she used it for pretty much everything while she was on crutches; sometimes I'd help her carry it across a room but I think for a kid I would not give that help unless asked, because I think it was a bit demoralizing for her that it was so easy for me to carry it but she was always struggling a bit to push it (but I felt so bad watching her struggle with it lol).
Traveling
Airports have a free no-questions-asked wheelchair service which you can use. I don't know if that will make a difference for your upcoming trip, but it might! And this should go for pretty much all airports globally, it's not just an American ADA thing.
There is a lot of useful information here, thank you!! The stickers and decorations are a great idea, she'll absolutely love that!
For the flight I'm planning to call the airport to see how they can accommodate if at all. We may end up getting a wheelchair ourselves but I'll definitely be asking for their help one way or another if we're able to go.
I'd say don't fuss about the screen time for now but the more things you can do with her the less that might make her feel like isolating with a screen. Or plan a special blanket fort movie night with her friends or something!
But maybe look at whether a wheelchair rental is an option, crutches can be exhausting and she might have more flexibility to participate if she can alternate between them.
A good circus camp would hopefully be willing and able to adapt things to include her (and maybe calling them in advance could help, if she had a classmate with a permanent disability I'd hope they'd be included too)
Planning alternative activities that are accessible - science museums, natural history museums, zoos, all should have reasonable accessibility, and be willing to ask for the accessible options, and let her know she can tell you when she's tired or hurting. (Autonomy matters here but she's a kid so it's a judgement call). Smaller activities would include puzzles, or a science kit or crafting kit. (Put all those Legos together!)
I echo the advice to call ahead -- my sister broke her leg in high school right before going to a concert and she was treated super well when it came to being let in early to get an appropriate seat and everything. Obviously there's still some stuff she just can't do, but good businesses will usually have some sort of accomodations. Calling ahead allows you to know what you're in for regardless, which also helps save her some disappointment. Similar for your airline/destination for the family trip.
Thank you, if the trip goes ahead I'm definitely planning to call the airline ahead of time and ask for help! As for the camp, as I mentioned to DefinitelyNotAFae, it's up to her dad (we share custody) what he wants to do but we'll pass on the tip!
Thank you, you've given me a lot of food for thought! I'm not planning on being stingy with screen time but knowing my daughter there's a point past which too much screen time makes her get hyperactive and she has trouble controlling her emotions. We're definitely looking into renting a wheelchair, it's probably going to be a necessity one way or another.
It's a good point about the camp making accommodations for handicapped kids, I didn't think about that. Camp is happening during the week she's at her dad's so it's in his hands, but we'll let him know to call and ask. Unfortunately we live in a country where accessibility is somewhat behind where it should be, and they're not great about accommodating people with physical (or other) handicaps. Crossing my fingers for her that it'll be possible though. It's not so much the activities, she could do those another time anyway. It's more missing out on the chance to be at camp with her school friends.
Even if she can't go to camp, the pillow fort is a great idea, we'll definitely find a moment to invite her friends over for that!
May I ask what the injury is?
If her pain management is under control I’m sure she’d still have fun on the holiday even if she is still limited on activities. I recommend alternating Tylenol and Ibuprofen. If you alternate, she gets pain medicine every three to four hours instead of having to wait every six hours every dose if taken together. This will give her good around the clock coverage and less likely to have breakthrough pain.
How is she doing while walking? I would double check her form and make sure they are fitted correctly, both of those things can heavily impact her crutch-using stamina if something is off.
The grips on the crutches for her hands should be right at the height of her palms when her arms are down in a resting position while standing. If they are higher or lower you should adjust it.
When she is using the crutches, make sure she is not using her armpits to walk. The top portion of the crutch should be placed at the [Serratus Anterior] (https://kajabi-storefronts-production.kajabi-cdn.com/kajabi-storefronts-production/file-uploads/sites/80059/images/8e2bc82-155-7ba6-bf1e-c86386c6ca6_951cc83f-1ac1-43b6-ab30-202470a20b8a.jpeg). It will feel strange at first but this will reduce the soreness and prevent injury (you can actually cause tissue damage by walking with the pits). It is more ergonomic and she won’t tire out as quickly this way.
Depending on the location and type of injury, would a medical knee scooter be an option? They're much less tiring than either crutches or a wheelchair, and they're less unwieldy as well. I actually kinda had fun with mine!
I broke my toe on vacation in Japan last year and ended up on crutches for 6 weeks. Lots of thoughts.
First, oof, travel can be hard on crutches. Many tourist attractions are busy and crowded. Many have an initial drop off location and then a long walk in. Walking on crutches sucks the big one. I could do like 3 city blocks in a go and it was hard work. I exercise quite a lot - running/biking/etc - and it blew my mind how tough it was. So try to limit the amount of time they will actually be on crutches. When we got a wheel chair for me it wasn't much better. My face was up in butts all of the time and the historic parts of the city were virtually un -navigable in the chair. Also, you get treated like you have a significant mental disorder. All of it was very eye opening and empathy building. Maybe having a kid experience a little of that would be helpful, but you can do that in a day and then cater to their needs. On my trip, Kyoto was a nightmare on crutches so we ended up pivoting and getting out of there.
We ended up renting a car so that I could avoid having to negotiate crowds and public transit - plus i couldn't carry my own bag and it was hard for my partner. We also headed out to the coast so that we could do less crowded, right from the car things. Those made things much better. If you are going to travel, be sure to keep in mind where will be easy for her and where activities will be accessible for her. Eating good/fun/exotic food is something most folks can appreciate and it comes at a table.
I guess my summary is you have a few options. One is to have a normal vacation where you try to shoehorn in the crutches, and as a word of advice, do not go this route. The other option is to plan out a limited mobility trip from the get go. Those can be hard to figure out, but if you're going to do the trip I think it's a better option. It also might be a nice empathy building trip for folks with disabilities. The last option is to say home. It makes things easier - she can veg out and play video games but might feel left behind by the school trip. All in all you've got a pickle on your hands.
Last last thought. I couldn't get a knee scooter in Japan, but that is the first thing I would do if I had broken my toe domestically. Could be fun and might be a nice highlight to an otherwise miserable experience. Plus other kids might think it's fun/cool and that'll be a win for your daughter.
Hi all, sorry I haven't been able to reply to everyone in a few days. I just want to thank everyone who left advice, it's been very helpful. We decided to postpone our holiday in the end. Logistically, financially, and most importantly for our daughter's wellbeing, we felt it just wasn't a good idea to fly. The first few days were somewhat rough, but she's getting more and more used to using her crutches. She'll be racing down the corridors in no time. Thank you again to all who responded!
Unfortunately, you might indeed have to cancel. I don't know why she's on crutches, but I broke a toe bone back in 2020, and a week later I was unable to go to a relative's house a short drive away. Going to an airport would have been absolutely impossible for me at that time. It may be different for your daughter, but you should be prepared to cancel.
I never got the hang of crutches in that time, but one thing that helped: we had an old office chair on wheels that I basically used as a wheelchair. I'd use it to get to the bathroom at night, and later to help with "zoomies" by rolling back and forth and/or spinning. I'm an immersive daydreamer and need to move, so being stuck unable to walk for weeks on end was one of my worst fears. So if your daughter just needs to move because of energy, office chair is good.
Otherwise, I wouldn't worry too much about screentime. Being stuck on crutches with limited mobility sucks, especially with the stuff she's missing out on, so some extra screentime might be one of the few "pluses" to the situation. Maybe look into some board games or puzzles though, or encourage her to explore new hobbies she can do while sitting. She might find a new passion she never would have tried otherwise.
Yeah her health comes first so if we can't go, then we can't go. She has an appointment on Wednesday, we'll ask the doctor what he thinks about her flying. It's a short flight but I don't want to risk her getting hurt.
The office chair is a good idea, she has her own office chair and I can definitely see her wheeling that thing around the house and wreaking havoc :)
As someone who spent their entire summer break on crutches as a kid one year, it's going to have it's ups and downs.
I highly recommend towels or gel pads of some kind wrapped around the tops. The armpit is not designed to being a load bearing hinge, and that was a constant source of pain / annoyance.
Also, be careful with the other leg/ knee. I blew my opposite knee out in a freak accident cause I was putting too much weight on my good leg and someone hit it at the wrong angle. Probably nothing to stress about, but it did happen to me. Just make sure if the other joints are hurting from picking up the slack you use ice or anti inflammatorys.
Speaking of ice, it helped a lot with joint pain and swelling for me. Obviously doctors advice is more valid than mine, but I would ice 30 mins on, at least 15 off (you can over ice) to help with swelling. And you don't want unaffected leg muscles to deteriorate, so do what you can (again, doc and physical therapist will know more)
Oh. Showers or baths were weird, as I had a full leg brace that couldn't get wet, and my joint was too weak to take it off at first. Another thing to consider, as it can add to the misery of you feel broken AND gross. Sponge baths, or sticking the leg out of the shower kind of worked for me.
And I was able to keep up with my active friends once I got the balance and motions down. Takes some learning, but it can be done. All about maintaining balance and swinging your weight imo.
I was an injury prone child so have way too much experience with casts and crutches.
Day one find yourself some good pads for where the underarm meets the crutch. It will get very sore after extended use. Some towels and duct tape will work fine too.
If you have tile or slick wood floors be very, very careful with any water that gets on the floor. An ice cube got stuck in the fridge dispenser and left a small puddle which I slipped in and landed on the bad leg. it set my recovery back a lot and was just as painful as breaking it the first time.
Similarly nobody warned me about painted areas on asphalt (parking lot lines, written words, etc) on a rainy day- that stuff is slippery like nobodies business.
I dont have personal experience with them but those little collapsible knee scooters seem great for making getting around easier especially the long flat walks you'd run into a lot on a vacation. Way more fun too!