My daughter is likely to need Super Hip + Super Knee surgery early next year, on one leg.
I understand she'll have to be in the spica cast for 6 weeks or so. We live across the country, so one big question is .....
do I stay with her in Baltimore the 7 weeks or so while she's in the cast, keeping accessible to Dr. Paley in case there are complications OR
since I have other young children and my husband who would have to hang in there 7 weeks or so while I stay in Baltimore, do I to make the cross-country flight home maybe after 2-3 weeks and then back 3-4 weeks later for cast removal (and then home one more time after that but at least without a cast)?
- Has anyone done a flight like this while their 2 1/2 year old (or other age) is in a spica cast?
- Do I need to buy 2 seats for her (I understand she may not be able to 'sit up' for the 5 hours of flight, so I may need enough room so she can lay down)?
- How would I get her through the airport? Are there normal or special strollers folks could recommend?
- Are complications common with Super Hip + Super Knee surgery such that I better not plan to leave Baltimore?
- Any other advice I am not thinking about?
Thanks a ton!!
Comments
Accessible
Well, if you have the time and resources stay the 7 weeks,
keeping accessible to Dr. Paley or the Clinic (Hospital) in case there are complications is alway a good idea.
Anywhere else you'll end up in a "E.R. Department" not good.
Jaime
We went through super
We went through super hip/knee/ankle last fall when our son was 18 months. We ended up with a fixator on for 2 months and then a partial spica cast for 6 more weeks. He also had surgery again this summer on his hip and we had another cast on. We flew back and forth to Baltimore 9 times since Sept. 2005. Our son did fine on the plane.(out flight is only 1 1/2 -2 hours) We used his regular car seat and his regular stroller. We did show the stroller and the car seat to the physical therapist at the hospital and she approved them for him to use with the cast and the fixator.
At the airport they would pull us aside at security and swab the fixator/cast but this never took too long.
Our son did have complications but it has all been worth it. When we were concerned about infections,etc.. we would take pictures of his leg and e-mail them to the doctor. He would let us know if we needed to come back or not.
I wish you the best!! You are in great hands. ~Staci
flying
My son(age 2) broke his leg in Pennsylvania and we had to fly back home to Washington state-a very long flight. The doc put him in a spica cast due to his age. I called the airline and requested bulk head seating and a wheel chair escort. The wheel chair met us at curbside check-in and took us all the way through to the gate. It was a good experience considering the circumstances. Since we had bulk head seats it gave me room to adjust him as needed. I used pillows to prop him up. The airline also had a wheel chair waiting for us once the flight landed and they took us to the next plane.
Yes you can fly with her in a spica - we live in Alaska
We live in southeast Alaska and have flown many times from here to Baltimore with our son Keagan in a hip spica. He had the superhip/knee when he was 2.5 years old. We stayed in the hospital two nights, then stayed in the area for one week before flying home with him in the spica. As for transport in the airport - we used a Chico 2002 stroller that reclined fully and it worked so well that we loaned it to another child from Seattle for her Superhip - and then used it for our son's first lengthening. It is an aluminum folding stroller and there are several like it, such as MacLaren. We also had a special car seat made for kids in spica's - it was called the Spelcast car seat made by Snug Seat. We did not need to buy two seats for him, but it did help to have a window seat and an isle seat and have flight attendants keep the middle seat open. We also used those bead-filled squishy pillows for positioning. I see no reason for you to stay in Baltimore "just in case" for seven (or eight) weeks in the cast. Complications are not common - and if there are any (I've never heard of any superhip emergency complications in my 8 years of being involved with this), they are usually not so urgent tha you can't fly back. And a local ER is not a horror story - they should coordinate with Paley or Herzenberg or their staff. We only went back for cast removal after 8 weeks. We also found having a small beanbag chair at home helpful and one of the mechanics "creepers" made for working under cars was also useful. WE used double diapers - a small one inside the cast with the tabs cut off (shove it in from the top front of the cast at the waist and thread it through to the back) and then a much larger one over the outside of the cast. Sweatpants (about a boy's size 10 for a 2.5 year old) with the legs cut short go well over the cast - and then big warm socks are helpful (provided you are doing this in the winter - which I HIGHLY recommend as they are sooo less busy at Sinai then).
Feel free to call me with questions - BTDT and happy to help - Sue Walker (907-586-7646)