Loose Cast?

Dear Tattered Angel,

One week after your surgery the swelling throughout your hips had finally dissipated and your little body returned to it's original petite size.  With the swelling gone your cast appeared extremely loose on your hips.  So loose that your mother and I began to worry that it was not going to be effective at holding your hips in place.  Being unfamiliar with how the cast should fit, we didn't want to risk waiting six weeks to discover your hip had slipped out of place and we would have to start all over.  I searched the web for any information to help understand how to tell if a cast was too loose.  Every article I found only detailed how to determine if a child had out grown the cast.  The sole information on loose casts was to contact the doctor if the cast was too loose. No further information, no clues to calm a worried parent, no advice.  Just call your doctor.  I contacted the nurse at the children's hospital discussing our concerns explaining to the nurse I could place three fingers high down the front and in the back of the your cast.  Unable to tell by verbal instructions if it was too loose, we were counseled to put a towel down the back of your cast and try to keep you as still as we could until we could travel to the hospital and have you examined by your doctor. 

All night long I stressed and worried. A setback in your treatment was not an option.  I scheduled the following day off work and made arrangements to travel to Salt Lake.  We waited only a short while before seeing your doctor, who quickly inspected the cast, reporting back that it fit perfectly.  To ease the nerves of concerned parents an x-ray was scheduled and performed.  Shortly after we were sent home with an x-ray of a hip in perfect alignment showing your hardware, a plate and four screws through your femur. 

I thanked the doctor for her support, explaining I would rather spend a whole day to find out I was an over concerned crazed parent then wait six weeks to discover we should have brought you in.  I am so grateful you are recovering so well.