Cooper Gets a
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Cooper Gets A
Cooper shares his experience of having a cast, so other children can learn about this simple medical procedure. Created & Written by Karen Olson
~ Special Acknowledgements ~ Dr. Ballock, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH Dr. Nancy Miller, Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery, Baltimore, MD Joseph K. Saboe, Orthopaedic Technologist, Portland Bone & Joint Center, LLC, Portland, OR Dr. Christopher Achterman, Portland Bone & Joint Center, LLC, Portland, OR
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love to play fireman in my tree house! One day, I was climbing down to play with my dog, Bunker, and . . .
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w! I fell down and hurt my leg. My dad came to help me. He said we had better go to the hospital right away.
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hen we got to the hospital, my dad put me in a wheelchair. My leg hurt so much I couldn’t walk.
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very nice nurse told me that she would take good care of me. First, she put a splint on my leg to help hold it still. Then, she checked my temperature.
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THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
he felt my heart beating by holding my wrist . . . thump, thump, thump, thump. Next, she put a band around my arm. The band gave my arm a big hug.
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he nurse took me to another room and helped me onto the bed. Then she helped me put on a hospital gown.
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he gently put a pillow under my sore leg. Then she placed an ice bag on my leg so it wouldn’t hurt so much.
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he doctor came in and carefully checked my leg. He told me I needed to get an X-ray. He said that an X-ray is a picture of the inside of your body. An X-ray lets the doctor see if any bones are broken.
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he nurse took me down the hall to the X-ray room. My bed had wheels!
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he X-ray technologist put a green cover over me. She said it was going to be a little heavy, but it wasn’t too heavy for ME!
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he put my leg on a special plate and told me to hold very still, like a statue.
the
machine goes up…
…and down.
…and forth! Back…
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lick, Click, Click . . . the pictures were done. I hadn’t felt a thing.
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he doctor showed us the X-ray pictures on a light box. The light box was bright and helped us to see the pictures of the bones inside my leg.
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he doctor said I had a broken bone. He said I would get a cast on my leg as soon as the swelling went away. Until then, I needed a new splint on my leg.
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e left the hospital and my dad bought me crutches because I couldn’t walk on my leg. For a few days, I stayed at home with Bunker. I tried to do quiet things so my leg would get better.
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om and dad took me to a different doctor for my cast. She took off my splint and gently looked at my leg. She told us that an “orthopaedic technologist� would be putting on my cast.
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irst, the technologist put a long sock on my leg. Then he wrapped my leg with padding.
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he technologist asked me what color I wanted my cast to be . . . red, blue, purple, pink, green, orange? . . . I chose blue.
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y leg was wrapped very carefully. It felt a little bit warm. He told me that it is very important not to get my cast wet. That meant no water fights or swimming, and mom or dad would have to help me with my baths. He also said no tree climbing for a few weeks.
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B
efore we left, the technologist gave me a boot to wear. The cast didn’t cover my toes so the boot was a good idea. It kept me from stubbing my toes!
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om and dad took me home. I rested a lot the first couple of days. Mom read a great adventure story to me and I learned some new games, too.
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fter a few weeks, we went back to the doctor’s office to have my cast removed. The technologist showed me the tool he uses.
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he tool was very noisy . . . I could feel it vibrating. But you know what? It didn’t hurt at all . . . it even tickled a little bit!
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hen the x-ray technologist took another X-ray to make sure my leg was okay. It was just fine. The cast helped the bone in my leg heal straight.
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e said goodbye to the technologist and went home.
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If you break a bone, it may not be quite the same as me. Your doctor may do some things differently in order to take very special care of you.
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s soon as we got home, I told Bunker that my leg was feeling much better. The doctor said in a few days my leg would be just like it was before my fall.
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Can you remember what happened to me when my cast was put on?
COOPER’S 27
COLORING BOOK
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