My daughter broke the bone just above her wrist, the first few days of the summer hols aged 11 going up to seniors in the septemeber..
They set her arm in plaster from finger tips to shoulder, said this would be be on for a week, then they would do a half plaster upto the elbow and she would be in plaster for 6 weeks! She started seniors with her arm in plaster from fingers to shoulder 6 weeks later, The promised in the begining of september she would be able to go swimming for her Birthday in mid November, well Novemeber came and went she still had her arm plastered from fingers to shoulder... They gave her a christmas treat, and finally reduced the plaster down to her Elbow and finially took this off at the end of january, with a lot of physio afterwards..
At 18 and 19, she broke bones in her hand, with these it was a standard 6 weeks of plaster, a couple of session of physio and she was off...
By the way, she's not diabetic...
Longest stint I know of being in plaster, was my daughters school friend mum, who have tearing her ankle ligments spent almost two years with her lower leg in plaster... Used to swear blind she that if she had actually broken the ankle she would be out of plaster within 6 weeks!