Yo, Adriannn!

My little Rocky Balboa burned his hands last night. We were all out as a neighborhood riding Jeff's go-cart. Chase showed his two little buddies the go-cart by saying, "My dad said that when I grow up, he is going to pass this down to me.", and proceeded to plant both of his hands on the muffler. When I initially looked at his hands, they looked like they had been dusted with chalk on every finger and his two palms. After standing at the sink in water for several minutes, we decided that I would just take Chase to Insta-Care to make sure he was okay. On my way there, I stopped at my friend's house (who is an EMT) for a quick second opinion, and I was ordered nicely to take my suffering child to the ER as fast as legally possible. I felt like a schmuck when the ER Dr. told me that he had 2nd degree burns on his palms and the screaming was because 2nd degree burns are seriously painful. Nice, Mom.


We went back today for a follow up at the hospital and his hands look REALLY good. They looked so much better than the hamburger flesh I was imagining under the boxing gloves. I still need to keep him out of school for another day for the obvious reason that he can't hold a pencil, and for the fact kids are germ magnents. Days 2 and 3 are the days when burns are suceptible to infections. We will unwrap and rewrap his hands for two more days, then move to bandages on his palms for two days. By Monday, we should be good to go, if the healing goes well.



The other good news is that the wrap they put on today is about 3 inches less thick than last night's. Chase can now use his hands ,somewhat. Phew. I was not sure how long I would be able to enjoy being nursemaid to his itchy nostrils and having to run pell-mell from the porcelain pot to scratch his tummy. He has discovered that the guaze on his hands is abrasive enough that it works really well as an itcher. Much more time with the thick wraps and I would discover even further how talented I really am. Since I was feeding him, clothing him, and tending to every little need, I had to multi-task and work very quickly. This morning, I blew my hair dry, while on the toilet.


He has such a good attitude about this adventure today. He was a little less than stellar in the ER, understandably. After a quick pep talk, he has decided, now that he is doped up on Lortab, that this could be a fun adventure together if we want it to be. Tonight, we are all eating dinner with no hands, and tomorrow, we are trying "toe" painting, and other things that we think would be fun to try with our toes. Within reason. Grossing Mom out is not part of the deal.

Chase has been seeing all of the silver linings in this mishap. He said that what a good thing it was that he didn't burn his lips. He can still talk! Yes, that is a blessing. I think.