Mar 18 2008
Post-Patty-Day
So, we had a sizzling St. Patrick’s Day around here. Sizzling. Seriously. See, Bubba (my nearly five-year old son) went into my bathroom yesterday and grabbed my curling iron, wrapping all of his fingers around it. It was, alas, plugged in and piping hot.
Sizzling.
Poor, poor Bubba. His hand is all swollen and blistering. I’m keeping it covered in that aloe/lidocaine gel stuff that people use for sunburns (known around here as “the blue gel of happiness”) and it’s all bandaged. He can’t use his hand at all (and of COURSE it was his right hand). He’s staying home from preschool today because he really can’t do much anyway and because he’s so miserable. Sigh. Poor Bubba.
I don’t know a lot about burns— I don’t know if, like, GOOD moms would take their kid to the doctor or something. Any ideas? For now we’re just staying home and bandaging and blue-gel-of-happiness-ing and I hope that cuts it.
But it wasn’t ALL tragedy yesterday. No, indeed, I actually went out and did something FUN. I know! Hard to believe, eh? My friend Hailey co-founded a comedy troupe called the Thrillionaires (yes, the very one that both Jewels and Hannah are associated with) and they had a grand St. Patty’s performance last night, where they improvised a “Shakespeare” play (all spur-of-the-moment, using suggestions from audience) and then they improvised a musical, set in Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day. It was honestly some of the funniest, most clever stuff I’ve ever seen in person. That Hailey is absolutely brilliant. I suppose I’d suspected as much before, but to see her in action was amazing.
Which led me to think about this funny world of motherhood. Hailey and I know each other because our sons are BFFs. Also, she teaches my completely insane son Scooby (yes, the one of Lucky Charms fame) in the nursery at church. It’s funny how you can see someone and have nearly daily conversations with them (”Hailey, it’s Brill. Is Bubba over at your house? Would you send him home?”) and really never know much more about them. Seeing her in all her brilliant talentedness yesterday made me realize that I just shouldn’t take anyone for granted. Everyone has a story, everyone has this other world outside of the daily grind of motherhood. It makes me want to get to know people on a deeper level than just “another mom I know.”
I think that’s one of the amazing things about blogging. In fact, I think it’s fair to say that my bloggy friends know me better than people who know me in real life, because I get to be my real self here. And I get to read about YOUR “real self” on your blog. Because, while moms share those robotic chores of diaper-changing and snot-wiping, we’re all actual people too, and so often that gets lost on the people who “know us in real life”—the people who only see us when we’re frazzledly chasing kids and nagging them to get their shoes on, etc.
Anyway, other things that made St. Patty’s Day eventful was that Hubby had a third interview for a job that would take us to a “new kingdom,” and we’re very excited about that. Also, Fuzzles had his 18-month check-up where we learned what we pretty much already knew, of course, which is that Fuzzles is in big trouble. The doc has ordered a whole new round of tests and specialists for us to see and maybe, just maybe, we’ll start getting to the bottom of some of his issues. Or maybe, just maybe, we’ll move before we have to deal with more Utah-Medical-Incompetency. (Not that I think that incompetency is limited to Utah, but when it comes to developmental disorders, there seems to be an overwhelming portion of idiocy here…)
So, yeah. St. Patty’s Day is not really a big event for a non-Irish Mormon who looks terrible in green like myself, but this year, it sizzled.
(You many now proceed to make “sizzle” sounds, if you weren’t already…)
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Oh no! Poor little guy! I hope he feels better soon!
Also, you are WAY too generous with your use of the word “brilliant,” but thanks for making my day anyway!
(Goes off to wipe bums and snotty noses…)
Yikes! A burn and bad news. Yuck! Good thing you got to have some fun there, or else it would be complete suckitude.
If you think it could help, feel free to email me for my phone number, perhaps I could help you with some other suggestions for docs and whatnot, having been through this for oh, so many years myself.
Keep laughing dear.
OW! Poor Bubba. And yay for hubs and the third interview! You’ll have to keep me updated!!
Also, you should call me. I have a funny story that’s not as funny written.
And I’m stalking you.
Shhh.
Burns are bad news. The only danger is if the skin is broken. Then the danger is infection.
The very best thing for burns is tea tree oil. It’s amazing. A miracle worker. But will sting if the skin is broken at all. Still, it is an exceptional antiseptic and will greatly speed up the healing. You could tea tree oil it and then put the gel on.
No home should be without it.
Key is to make sure it stays in the gel, so oxygen stays off of it. Oxygen makes it sting. Wrapped is good, as long as you can wrap in such a way that it doesn’t stick to the skin. Pulling skin off is baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.
The poor kiddo!
But…but…you can’t move to a new kingdom yet! I haven’t come to visit yet!
Poor Bubba!
It wouldn’t hurt to take him into the doctor just to make sure it’s okay - depending on how bad the burn is, the scar tissue that could form could be quite tight and give him some problems with dexterity in the future.
Aww poor little Bubba!
So for burn - that gel is good to ease pain. Also can give him some kids tylenol for pain too. Main thing is that if it has blistered to keep it very clean when the blisters eventually pop and watch for signs of infection. If they do pop switch to using neosporin with pain relief and it should keep the icky’s out.
Hope he feels better!
Poor Bubba. Hope he feels better soon.
And improvised Shakespeare? That sounds like a total riot! It’s right up there with the 15-minute Hamlet I saw once.
I will be happy for you if you get to go to a new kingdom, but I will miss being able to visit with you in the old boring stupid one we’re in now. I’m dying to know where new kingdom is? Would it be a more or a less competent state for your boy? Sorry about the burn, my daughter put her hand on the hot stove once, late at night, and I ended up taking her to the ER because she just didn’t settle down even after 2 hours. They put some stuff on it that was even more amazing than the aloe gel stuff. Of course, I paid through the nose for it, so if he’s ok when he’s not using the hand I’d just keep an eye on it.
I hope the interview goes well. I am looking forward to hearing more news!
I am sorry about the burn though. Not fun at all. I hope he is feeling better soon!
Poor kid! I hope his hand gets better soon! (I’d probably take him to the doctor)
I am longing for the day when my children realize I am an actual real person.
Children never realize you are an actual real person unless you act like an actual real person.
Ooh, poor Bubba. Be careful with the Neosporin. I had a horrible burn on my leg a few years ago. I was dressing it down with Neosporin 2 or 3 times a day and keeping it wrapped, and it was getting better … until it started getting dramatically and quickly worse. Finally went to my dermotologist, who informed me that Neosporin is the second-most-common thing people can develop an allergy to with exposure, second only to nickel. He gave me some other antibiotic cream, and all was eventually well.
My oldest had a very,very bad burn when he was about 2. He stuck his hand in some boiling hot candy syrup that I had just poured out onto a plate to cool. He was blistered all around each and every finger as well as his palm and the back of his hand. Poor baby. The doctor had me coat his hand with Anusol, a hemeroid cream, to cut down on the swelling. And then I had to change the bandages 3-4 times a day. It was painful and probably traumatic for him, but he is now 22 and not a single scar and he has full use of his hand (thank goodness as he is a Marine, now). If it starts to look like it is not getting better after a couple of days, take him to the doctor, as it may become infected and then he will need anti-biotics.
Poor poor bubba…I hope the hand is on the mend by now. Good luck with hubby’s new job..hope the interview went well and I will keep my fingers crossed for y’all.
Ay yi yi. Poor Scooby. I feel his pain. Literally. I frequently suffer from bad burns…not sure what it is I just have a klutzy knack for that kind of thing.
Lets see there was last week when my arm touched the scorching hot top of the metal pan on the stove while trying to cook and attend to the twins
Or then there was this morning when I burned the top of my ear with my curling iron while turning my head to catch a news story
Or there was the time I was putting something in the oven and somehow managed to touch the burner with my arm…
The list goes on …yeah, I know I’m smooth.
Ouch. Poor kid. I would probably take him to the doctor. Serious burns might need something more. Good luck to your husband.
OUCH!!! I can hear the screamin’ now! Oh the shreiks!
Hey bubba, hang in there buddy. Ya a stud. Show the girls, they’ll think tough and crazy cool.
Peace!
So I’m just blog-wandering tonight since my husband’s at work, and I find this post that mentions Hailey! Hailey is my cousin in law and she IS brilliant, though if you ask her she will probly say I’m a distant relation and it is by marriage anyway so she doesn’t claim me. Whatever, Hailey. That’s so rude.
Like your blog! Come visit me at diversifiedbeeson.blogspot.com
Oh, sweetie… I hope the burn heals fast. They are very painful. It might not hurt just to take him in and make sure the blisters are doing what they’re supposed to be doing. I had one that wouldn’t pop and ended up getting really infected.
But yay for the third interview and funny friends! I’m glad the day had some bright spots!
Oops I am a dork. I meant Bubba and I said “Scooby”. But then I’m sure you’re already aware of my dork-itis.
Hope pulled my curling iron by the cord down off of the sink and onto her jawline when she was about 18 months old; she was in the pediatric burn unit at a Manhattan hospital for two weeks. Poor baby; it was awful. What a nightmare for us all.
Congrats on the third interview! I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
Ouch. For both of you. Just a big OUCH!
Happy post-St Patrick’s day. Can I only hope that the new kingdom will bring you closer to me? Can I hope?
Your poor little dude! There is something that you can try, it’s called “Burn Free”. Cody uses it in the Ambulance - the stuff works miracles. I think you can buy it at pharmacies. It’s a little white bottle, it’s a clearish gel and it honestly takes the heat out of burns. Temporarily, of course, but I swear by the stuff!
I hope he is feeling better by now?!
Hope the poor guy’s hand is recovering! I did that when I was a kid, too. Maybe that’s why I have an intense fear of fixing my hair…
And I tagged you on my blog! Run and take a look.
I don’t know much about burns either, except for understanding that if it “hurts” it’s a good thing. When my oldest was burned with a sparkler on a fourth of july a few years ago, I was feeling triumphant when we visited the doctor the next morning, declaring “he says it doesn’t hurt at all! That’s good, right?” To which she replied, “no, that’s very very bad”.
Oh. Apparently when you burn through all layers of skin, it actually kills the nerve bits at the end. But still, it doesn’t hurt, so that has to be good, RIGHT???
Sorry for darling Bubba. Let this be a lesson to you that stringy straight hair completely trumps any curl by a hot implement.
Can’t wait to hear all about the new move approaching. Love to hear your very positive take on it all. And now, I am off to make some siiiiiizzzzzzzzzzle….
(posted from Ireland. Did I tell you I was in Ireland??)
Poor baby! I work in health care and have some experience with burns. I would definitely take him to the doctor- they can check the severity (blistering means at least 2nd degree) and give some medication to help speed the healing process (Silvadene is great stuff!) You want to do everything you can to avoid scar tissue.
When my son burned his hands we had to do alternating ibuprofen and tylenol every 2 hours for pain control.
His skin will also be more fragile for up to a year. The good news is, kids usually do heal very well.
Please take him in to have his hand looked at. Better safe than sorry.
Yeah, I LOVE finding out about other mothers’ past/side lives. It’s like moms wear these drab Clark-Kent identities during the day, and then, when no one’s suspecting, they find a phone booth, and…Shazam! It’s Superwoman (mixed metaphors and all).
Just for the record, I think Hailey’s brilliant too —
Looking forward to tonight.