Update on Us

(no pics, sorry!)

By the end of the week, all of the blisters on Marino's hands had popped. Initially, they looked awful, but they all look much better now (comparitively, anyway). Evan took him to the plastic surgeon this morning (I was too sick to go) and he said that his hands are healing wonderfully and we no longer need to wrap them. He said he may have scars temporarily, but probably not forever, since we shed so much skin on our hands over time. Marino seems very relieved to have use of his hands again!

I am still sick. The doctors are treating me for c.diff. If you're unfamiliar with c.diff, it is a serious bacterial infection of the colon. It generally only strikes people after they have a weakened immune system AND have taken antibiotics. I got it after my blood transfusion (they always give antibiotics with a transfusion) after I had Marino. At the time, I was VERY sick and had to spend an additional 10 days in the hospital because of it. I literally had to beg to be discharged and eat in front of the doctors, who were very skeptical it was safe to send me home. Once you've had it, the recurrence rate is very high. This will be my 4th time having it (the last time being December of last year).

This time is no where near as severe as the other times I've had it, but I'm much healthier now than when I had it previously. My mom came over the weekend, so Evan and I got plenty of rest and Marino got lots of love and special attention. I've been on the antibiotic for 48 hours now and it does seem to be helping some. I have a ton of inflammation in my colon, so I doubt I will be feeling wonderful anytime soon, but I'll settle for functioning:)

5 on Friday (and an update)

Well, this has been a tough week, my friends. But, my boy never ceases to make me proud, so here are 5 special reasons I'm loving my boy this week.

5. He loves brushing his hair and teeth. Great hygeine already! If I brush my teeth without giving him his toothbrush, he opens his mouth waiting for me to do his teeth. This morning he brushed both Evan and my hair (very sweet, although not the part where I got knocked in the head with the brush).


4. Ok, this is sort of sad, but the first time we gave Marino his painkillers, he was acting sort of drunk. He was in his highchair and he said "UP!" and then shook his head and said, " No, dowd, dowd, dowd" (dowd means down) like he was confused. It was very adorable. He still refused to nap;)


3. Marino is so good natured. We're so blessed, especially at times like these, that he is a naturally happy guy. He was obviously hysterical on Sunday when the EMTs arrived and he decided he didn't want the EMT to even look at him in the ambulence. Well, by the time we got to the hospital, he has changed his mind and laughed at everything the guy said (to his credit, he was trying very hard to be kind). He also made lots of friends in the ER.


2. Marino has a very adorable dance that he does. I have to try and get a video. It involves wiggling and he has a mischevious little smirk he does, like he knows he is too cute. Sometimes there are feet stomping and arms swinging. I love this dance - what better way to let us know he is happy than to break into a dance?


1. The most important reason I am loving Marino this week is that he continues to amaze me in every way. If I had these injuries, I know I wouldn't handle it as well as he has. He has learned to do so many things this week with bandaged hands: drink a bottle, scoop crackers into his mouth, stroke my hair with his thumb. He hates the bandaging, but everything else he has accepted so well. I wish there were words to explain how I love him, but I have none. I just wonder everyday how I got so lucky that I get to be his mom. I'm so proud.


Update on us:
Whenever I tell the burn story, people ask me "What kind of light is that hot?!!" so I wanted to share this picture with you, so you know to avoid them in the future. These lights often have grids on them to protect them from little hands. Regardless, stay away!!
The moment we have been dreading arrived this evening, the first of Marino's blisters popped. We (or should I say Evan? I couldn't even look at it) had to cut away the skin. This is what is underneath. Very cringe-worthy, huh? The big fear now is they skin is exposed to infection. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't terrified, especially considering Marino's recent skin infections.
I am still very sick. Hopefully I will know soon what the problem is, but the prescriptions are not helping. I did make it to work for most of the day today, since my sickness is much worse in the morning, evening and overnight. I am extremely dehydrated, though, which is making me very tired and really bothering my eyes. I'm trying hard to stay positive, but I have to be honest, it's getting me down.

Ok, This Whole Week Sucks!

We're not having a great week. On top of Marino's injuries, now I am really sick with some stomach issue. I've been sick since Monday. I saw my GI doctor today and he said either I have c.diff again (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) or this is a bad flare up of my colitis, probably caused by stress. I have to have some tests done, but I do have some prescriptions in the meantime that will hopefully help.

Marino is hanging in there. I'm really proud of how well he is dealing with his burns. The worst part is bandaging them. It takes a while (20-30 minutes) and he does not like sitting still. I have been bribing him with the Wonder Pets and watered down apple cider but he is still miserable and cries through most of the bandaging process.

Here's a shot of each of his hands, unwrapped. Not pretty, huh?

Last night he slept through the night again, so I'm hoping that means his pain is starting to decrease some. I think the bandages really help with the pain, too. Yesterday we let him play for a few minutes with the bandages off, but everytime he would touch something, he would stop and look at his hand. It must be pretty uncomfortable.

Hopefully, my next update will be more upbeat. My mom is coming Friday, so that will be a big help. I'm optimistic I will feel well enough to leave the house by this weekend!

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.