Kouryou-chan's burned hand, update
Mar. 10th, 2003 10:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsThank you all for you concerns! We've been handling it pretty well; there's not much to be done now other than watch it closely for blistering or infection. And she's such a trooper, too. She shifted to using her left hand for what she can and calling for our help when she can't.
We took off the burn dressing as recommended by the emergency room physician and took a look. It's, well, ugly. She did a good job of grabbing the element after all. The pattern of the coils on the burner are clearly visible across the top half of her palm, and there are strips of singed flesh across her fingertips. There's a quarter-sized patch under her pinkie and ring-finger that's a disturbing pale-white, and one fingertip is reflectively smooth. We cleaned up the wound as well as possible, added more burn cream, and re-applied the dressing.
Both kids were pretty good. I apologized to Yamaarashi-chan about last night, made pancakes from scratch and watched, stunned, as my daughters switched places: Kouryou-chan only ate a half-serving while Yamaarashi-chan ate a double-helping. We played relentless games of duckduckgoose(sp?) and Candyland, and Kouryou-chan didn't even try to cheat (or let me cheat in her favor this time). There were few fights and most of them were Kouryou-chan breaking out crying, her limit for frustration lowered by pain and exhaustion.
And she was grindingly tired all day. Last night was a lot for her, and the pain didn't let her sleep well. Since she crawled into bed with us, I didn't sleep well, either. As much as I love her, I don't sleep well with someone cuddling up to me, especially not when that someone's knees are perfectly positioned to bash me in the kidneys now and then. We took a nap about 3pm and she just passed out. She slept about two hours, at which point we drove Yamaarashi-chan back to her mother's house and then headed out to Sunday dinner at a restaurant. She was passing out in the restaurant from being so tired still.
But when bedtime came, she resisted, naturally, but she was asleep soon after hitting the pillow. She woke up around 3 with the cough, so we gave her a little robitussin and put on the humidifier. Her bandage slipped off in the night, so we had to put on a new one. It's been rough, but I think we'll all be okay.
We took off the burn dressing as recommended by the emergency room physician and took a look. It's, well, ugly. She did a good job of grabbing the element after all. The pattern of the coils on the burner are clearly visible across the top half of her palm, and there are strips of singed flesh across her fingertips. There's a quarter-sized patch under her pinkie and ring-finger that's a disturbing pale-white, and one fingertip is reflectively smooth. We cleaned up the wound as well as possible, added more burn cream, and re-applied the dressing.
Both kids were pretty good. I apologized to Yamaarashi-chan about last night, made pancakes from scratch and watched, stunned, as my daughters switched places: Kouryou-chan only ate a half-serving while Yamaarashi-chan ate a double-helping. We played relentless games of duckduckgoose(sp?) and Candyland, and Kouryou-chan didn't even try to cheat (or let me cheat in her favor this time). There were few fights and most of them were Kouryou-chan breaking out crying, her limit for frustration lowered by pain and exhaustion.
And she was grindingly tired all day. Last night was a lot for her, and the pain didn't let her sleep well. Since she crawled into bed with us, I didn't sleep well, either. As much as I love her, I don't sleep well with someone cuddling up to me, especially not when that someone's knees are perfectly positioned to bash me in the kidneys now and then. We took a nap about 3pm and she just passed out. She slept about two hours, at which point we drove Yamaarashi-chan back to her mother's house and then headed out to Sunday dinner at a restaurant. She was passing out in the restaurant from being so tired still.
But when bedtime came, she resisted, naturally, but she was asleep soon after hitting the pillow. She woke up around 3 with the cough, so we gave her a little robitussin and put on the humidifier. Her bandage slipped off in the night, so we had to put on a new one. It's been rough, but I think we'll all be okay.
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no subject
Date: 2003-03-10 10:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-03-10 11:07 am (UTC)It sounds stupid, doesn't it -- but I hope you know what I mean.
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Date: 2003-03-10 12:40 pm (UTC)Like all parents, I'm too hard on myself. I have to force myself to not be perfectionist. It is not a failing of mine if my kid isn't absolutely the best in the world at everything-- I can only do my best, but I cannot afford, for their sake, to drive myself crazy trying to be everything in the world to them. Finding that fine line is, well, harder than I thought.
And then there's Kouryou-chan's line: "Put down your stupid computer and come play with me!"
no subject
Date: 2003-03-10 11:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-03-10 12:40 pm (UTC)I didn't know you were here. I've been reading your writing for - wow, no it can't be, like about a decade now?!? Anyway, I didn't know you were on LJ. Adding you to "Friends" list.
From my own first-hand experiences, all I can say is...
Date: 2003-03-10 05:40 pm (UTC)Yes, ouch. =-.-= I've been burnt before, most recently, ironically, as I was cooking the same night Kouryou's injury occured. So I got a nice glossy-smooth white slash across my upper right arm just shy of where it would be painfully close to the inside elbow.
I know it goes without saying, but make sure to keep that wound done right like the Doc's say. Otherwise, much like clothespins, it can hurt worse when it (the dead skin, or failing that the dressing) comes off, because it's before the new skin has aged properly. I had that happened with my first burn. :-\
Good luck to the whole group over there. And while you may or may not like to hear it, reading about your parenting I hope when I have children I'm able to do as good a job overall as you both do. :-)