This reader sought a second opinion regarding his 2.5 yr-old son's fractured femur and was able to avoid having a pin inserted in the boy's leg and the limb put in traction:
Hi Les,
I hope all is well. I found your site when I was researching about kids with broken femurs.
On the 24th of June '09 my son, Nolan (33 months), fell off his bunk bed while playing with his brother and his cousin. I had left them alone for 2 minutes to fix a corner of the computer desk so they wouldn't bump their heads on it ... then I heard the most horrible sound I've ever heard and found him lying on top of the bottom rail.
As soon as I picked him up I saw a lump on his right thigh and felt the bone. He was brought to the E.R. for x-rays -- it was broken at the midshaft.
After he was put in a spica cast we followed up with a visit to an orthopedist, and the doctor told us he needed traction to realign his bone. The method is horrible: he would not be able to move while they use weights to stretch the bone, inserting a screw the size of a pencil above the knee.
My wife and I were horrified to think of the pain he would go through and that we wouldn't be able to hold him for 2 weeks! So we got a second opinion -- and thank GOD we did!
Somehow, through the power of prayer, the bone realigned to a better angle! We are so happy he doesn't need that surgery!
The point I'm trying to make is that maybe you should post this on your site so that parents get a second opinion.
I just wanted to let you know that you are a WONDERFUL father, and your boys are beautiful!
I know your site has helped a lot of parents dealing with the same horrible ordeal.
Can you please tell me how Akira is doing now and if he has any shortening or lengthening of his injured leg or any other complications?
Thank you, and GOD bless your family,
Andy
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Andy,
Thank you for your email. I'm glad to hear Nolan didn't need to have pins inserted in his leg and have his limb put in traction.
At 2.5 yrs old I'm guessing Nolan will heal more quickly than Akira did, and that there will be fewer chances of complications. Please let us know how things turn out for him.
Akira is doing fine. He runs and walks around like any normal 4 yr old now and we've seen no abnormal lengthening of his injured leg (our orthopedist told us it's lengthening that may occur, as the healing on that leg might cause the limb to grow more than the other).
Les
Note: Read the comments to see updates regarding Nolan's condition.
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7 comments:
I sincerely it was the power of your prayer. I'm sure it was because the bone was set properly by a doctor when they put on the cast.
We got back from the orthopedist on the 16th and he said the spica cast will be on for 8-12 wks. What kind of fracture did Akira have? The angulation of the bone for Nolan was 25-30 degrees.
Andy
Andy: It sounds like Nolan had a much more serious fracture than Akira. Akira only wore his cast for 7.5 wks. (Although it didn't feel like "only" to us, b/c it was such an ordeal.)
I don't know what the "angulation" of Akira's fracture was. Frankly, I couldn't even see the crack in the X-ray when the doctor showed it to me. But, then again, I'm not trained to read such things. All I know is that my son couldn't stand on that leg, so it must have been broken.
Did you see the X-ray of your son's fracture? Was the crack visible? If so, it was probably much more serious than Akira's.
Yeah, we saw the X-rays of Nolan. It's completely broken at the midshaft. I'll have to ask the doctor if the angulation has something to do with the extra time in the spica cast. I guess it's better than getting surgery. I just hope he doesn't have any complications when he grows up.
God bless,
Andy
Sal,I stand corrected...the bone did not realigned by itself (not until a long period of time)..the doctor gave us the Lateral(?) degree of his femur his AP view was still at 25-30 degrees...God bless..
Hey Les,just a little update..we came back from the doctor's today for nolan's six week follow up...we were soo hoping the cast would be taken off today!! the doctor said it was healing and needed another three weeks...oh boy!!we are looking at the bright side of things...here comes the counting of days,weeks,hours,minutes again...take care..GOD bless!
Sorry to hear Nolan will be in the cast another 3 wks., but I'm glad he's healing well. You're in our thoughts and prayers.
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