The Casting

Well, last Tuesday was interesting to say the least! After learning about the upcoming cast, I was actually able to get Aiden excited about it. We bought cast tattoos, and he bragged to all of his friends that he was going to wear a dinosaur cast. To a bunch of 3 year old boys, that is about the coolest thing in the world! The more we talked about it, the more comfortable Aiden got with the idea. He even got to pick out a new dragon movie to watch during the procedure. My Aunt Laura came down to help me out because Brandon had class - I knew there was no way I could help with Aiden and keep Connor from freaking out at the same time!
On the "big day", Laura came with me to pick up Aiden from school. He was so excited to show her his school! In fact, he was all smiles the whole way to the hospital! He couldn't wait to introduce Jennifer to his Aunt! When 1pm came, we watched Jennifer come out to the waiting room to get him and explain what was going to happen. She asked if I could go to the cafeteria to pick out ice cream for him, and then join them in the casting room. Aiden was so excited to get started that I made the mistake of taking my time heading upstairs. I got Connor settled in with Laura - he had a big bowl of mac n cheese and a grilled cheese. By the time I got the ice cream (it was a surprising long line) and headed to the casting room, it was about 1:20. I knew as soon as I saw 2 of the assistants waiting in the hallway for me that it wasn't going well! I walked in the room and he was screaming and crying at the top of his lungs! He was furious that they were holding his arm still and casting it! The ice cream (and mommy) completely turned things around :) I spoon fed him Superman ice cream while he watched his movie, and he relaxed - as much as he could - for the next hour and a half.
I thought it that the cast would be a regular one - kept on 24/7 as I had read about on all the Constraint Induced Movement Therapy sites. Instead, as soon as the cast was on, they cut it down the side and removed it. The exposed edges were covered in a thick tape, and velcro was glued on. The cast went back on, the super strong velcro was applied, and then a self adhesive bandage was wrapped around it to keep the velcro hidden. I was instructed to remove it after the first 3 hours to check for red marks or bruising, and then put it back on. He was also to sleep without it on, both at bedtime and on the off chance he wanted to take a nap. I have never seen him so eager for bedtime! The first morning was hard - it took almost 20 minutes of Brandon and I begging, pleading and finally holding him down to get the cast back on, and we were of course late for school!