A Very Bad Night

You know how everything can change in the blink of an eye? There are a few times in my life where I would give anything just to change a few seconds. Here is the story of one of those times....

After our great day at the farm, Miranda, Pacey, Marino and I went to meet my Aunt Kerry, cousin Samantha, friend Patti and her daughter Madelyn at a restaurant to celebrate Kerry's birthday. When we got there, they were waiting outside for a table. We were all catching up, since we hadn't seen each other in a while. Marino caught sight of a light at the end of the walkway, so he was showing it to me (pointing). When he got closer, he stumbled and fell forward, putting his hands on the light to stop his fall. He started screaming, so I grabbed him and touched the light, which was burning hot!! It honestly never occurred to me that the light could be that dangerous! I ran him into the bathroom and put his hands under cold water, but he was freaking out. I asked the hostess to get me ice water, which I tried putting his hands in, but it was difficult, since he was completely inconsolable.

I finally decided to take him home, since his hands were still just pink and I wasn't sure if he was crying out of pain or fear. By the time we got home, his hands had blistered! I freaked and called 911, not knowing if there was something I should be doing to help him. The police and EMTs weren't able to do anything except take us to the hospital, but they distracted Marino enough to calm him down.

We got to the ER and they took care of us quickly. The doctor said he had 2nd degree burns on each hand (on one hand the main issue is the palm, on the other hand its the palm and 3 fingers). We have to keep both hands bandaged (except the thumb) with Silvadine (a topical antibiotic) to prevent infection. They also gave us a prescription for baby painkillers.

In the ER...see the bandages?

Monday we took him to the plastic surgeon. He couldn't really tell us much, except we need to keep his hands bandaged. We go back next Monday and he will tell us then if his hands will heal on their own, or if he will need grafting surgery. The whole thing is a total nightmare.

He clearly has pain in his hands and gets frustrated with not being able to do things (especially feed himself and pick up his toys). It's hard because we can't explain this to him...I'm sure he's just wondering why we're doing this. He did figure out how to hold his bottle, as you can see below.