6 Weeks In: How we Feel About the Casts

Grace on her way outside for school recess

Well its been 5 entire weeks and we are into our sixth week. I look back on how I felt about this casting and how it would affect her and its all been worry for nothing. Tho I'm sure we'll both feel bad the first party she gets invited to that requires uncasted feet (eg. bowling - tho she might just be able to bowl - we'll see on that if necessary, swimming, roller skating). Luckily she went to a roller skating party a few days before starting the casting project.

I do see a LOT of people staring out of the corners of their eyes at her casts. Very few people will remark on them though. Just stare and look away if we catch them. That makes Gracie laugh. She has quite a sense of humor.

Kids do it out and out. The biggest outwards reaction of kids is they love her cast shoes. Her teacher prepared the class for her casting by talking about how even if you look different with the casts you are still the same inside. Both the same to what you were before casting and the same as the rest of the class. Now it seems kind of like one of those things that goes in one ear of a kid and out the other. But G took to repeating it to me right before she went in for casting and when we first left Childrens with her casts on. So it made a HUGE difference to G.

Every Friday her teacher gives Grace a folder with her "On The Go" journal that she takes with her (a "special" journal) and other class work and reading material. She has it in a special purple folder which G picked out. I drop G off late for school on Mondays - something she hates. But she LOVES the attention Mrs. Kuhn gives to her new casts. She will ask her what color (if she is not wearing shorts) and then make a comment or nickname her something with the colors. Like when she called her Her Bumblebee when she had yellow and black casts. So Mrs Kuhn has been FANTASTIC and a large part of why G feels less self-conscious than you think she'd be.

I used to feel self-conscious about them when we started. I didnt like kids at school out and out staring at her. Even turning around when they walked past us. But the school kids have become used to it so that doesnt happen anymore. And G is talking so much all the time that she doesnt notice it too much when it happens outside of school. She was somewhat concerned that her beloved Auntie 'Chel didnt know about the casts when we were supposed to go to MI for the weekend. But Michele was wonderful about them and we all forgot she had them on.

She had to drop soccer - no casts allowed - which bothered her. But not as much as I thought. She has shown some concern that in the Spring when she is in braces and can play again that she'll not know what to do as she was transitioning from 4 players on the field, no ref, no nets to regular playing. I try to reassure her that her brother and sister can bring her up to par very quickly. Thats the best I can do. Sometimes its enough, sometimes she obsesses about it. But that is Gracie.

Other than that, she seems to do everything she wants to. She plays in the playground with her friends at recess. She never claims she cant do anything because of the casts. She does gym at school. She even races her friends - glad I cant see that as it would kill me if she fell.

So all in all, its just become "life as usual" but a very large part of that has to be attributed to our fantastic Mrs. Kuhn. Kudos to her!