Daughter mostly mute since getting spica cast

[SophStressed]

A bit under two weeks ago she (13) decided to ride down a hill in a little pushcart while at a friends house. Obviously you can see where this is going, which is more than she managed at the time but what can you do. 

She spent a few days in traction before being put in a spica cast (From her armpits to her ankle on her bad leg, and to her knee on her good leg.). In the first few days she seemed to be getting better and better and seemed pretty happy at points. However, when she got her cast I noticed she stopped talking or smiling much, but I put it down to stress of the surgery and hospital getting to her.

She's back home now, but not much has changed. Before this she was a very talkative and bubbly girl, and we were very close. Now she still doesn't talk and I have to ask her about pretty much everything. We keep everything she needs around her bed so she can at least be a teensy bit independent, but I still have to be her full time carer and that's made so much harder by her lack of responses. It's at the point where asking if she's comfy isn't enough and I have to ask her specific "Yes/No" for if she needs to be rolled or needs a pee or anything.

Any advice is appreciated, I'm not sure if this is a rant or desperation, but I miss her

[Andrea-RO]

Hey @SophStressed, I can only imagine how demoralising this whole situation for both you and your daughter, particularly since it sounds like you're trying so hard to make things better for her. It totally makes sense that you're feeling really concerned about your daughter not being her bright and bubbly usual self, but unfortunately this might just be a facet of the healing process. Because her body will be dedicating a lot of energy just to getting better, she might just not have the energy to be her normal self. Additionally she's going through a really rough time right now, so it makes sense that she might be feeling a bit down. You're doing a great job at being a supportive parent, and I'm sure she knows and values how much care and love you have for her!