2nd Degree Burns

I know it was an accident, but it was an avoidable accident. Complacency and being in a hurry are what caused it.  I know it was an accident, but it was my fault, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to forgive myself.  (*Warning: There is a wound picture at the end of this post!)

The time right before dinner is crazy at our house.  Jeff usually gets home from work just in time to join us at the table. This means that I get to entertain two cranky-end-of-the-day kids while trying to make dinner.  I try to keep them involved, so if we have a pasta dish I always make them "noodle testers". Their job is to tell me if the noodles are done. I called for noodle testers right as I was draining the pasta over the kitchen sink. Even though I knew the pasta was ready, I thought the kids would want to feel like they were helping.  Plus, they were hungry and this would get them to quit asking for snacks.

Amelia ran into the kitchen right as I did it. Trying to be quick or save time or something, I don't really know what, I brought the strainer, filled with still-dripping noodles, from the sink to the casserole dish on the stove top. I could have let the noodles sit in the strainer longer to drain all the way. I could have moved the casserole dish over by the sink. I could have made the kids wait in the living room while I did the transfer. But, I didn't do any of those things and the effect was immediate.

She screamed out in pain, and I ripped off her shirt to check her body.  I grabbed her arm and held it under cool running water and tried to think what to do next.  My brain was not working properly.  Should I call someone?  Jeff?  9-1-1?  Maybe I should just take her somewhere.  The ER?  I felt sick as I watched the skin on her little arm bubble and peel off.

I remembered advertisements for a new urgent care facility near West Seattle.  There had been fliers and billboards, but I couldn't remember where it was or what it was called.  I grabbed my phone and tried to search.  At some point Amelia got away from me.  She was no longer crying, but pacing around the house from Marley's room, through the kitchen, into the living room, and back.  Between my shaking hands and the fact that my broken phone is almost unusable, I was having a really hard time finding anything.  It was like that nightmare where I'm trying to call 9-1-1, but keep misdialing.

Finally, I came to my senses, grabbed the computer, and unexpectedly found an open urgent care facility just 5 minutes away.  I don't know how we got out the door and over there, but the moment we walked in I lost it.  Luckily, the people at West Seattle Convenient Care were so kind and reassuring.  It was such a relief to let someone else take care of us.  Actually, I didn't realize until we were home how wonderful they were.  The doctor personally phoned in Amelia's prescriptions, and even though we had never been there before, they didn't ask us to fill anything out.  The receptionist handed us some paperwork on our way out to fill out and bring back later.  All they had were our names!  They will most definitely be getting Christmas treats along with our paperwork tomorrow.

I finally looked at my phone once we were settled in our room at the clinic and saw a text from Jeff that he had gotten a flat on his bike and was coming from downtown on the bus.  I called him and told him where we were.  His bus was close, so he got off and came over.  When the doctor came back in to treat Amelia's burn, Jeff decided to take Marley outside to try and get his bike in our car.  They were unsuccessful, but at least Marley got to be away from the craziness for a bit.

We left the clinic to go pick up prescriptions two blocks away at QFC.  Amelia fell asleep the second I got her strapped into her carseat.  We decided that rather than have Jeff walk his bike home, we would call on our super dependable friends, Liz and Chris, to meet us and drive his bike home.  It was also nice to get a few more hugs.  We, finally, made it home after collecting everything we needed from the pharmacy.  There was the evil casserole sitting there waiting for us.  I wasn't sure if I could bring myself to eat it.  Marley was starving, though, and asked for some right away.

I wasn't sure what Amelia would do when I got her out of the car.  I got her pain meds all ready in case she woke up, which she did as soon as we got inside.  Jeff asked her if she was hungry and she said she wanted to be a "noodle tester".  I think my heart actually split in half, and I told her she could have as many noodles as she wanted!  And if Amelia could eat the casserole, I guess we all could, right?

She was in a pretty good mood for the rest of the evening: eating well, smiling, and even laughing.  Though with the bandage on, she couldn't bend her right arm all the way to her mouth and kept dropping food on her lap.  She also kept trying to tell us about what happened.  She said repeatedly: "Next time...Mama...water...arm."  I interpreted this to mean: "Next time, Mama shouldn't pour boiling water on my arm."  You got it, baby.

Right now, Amelia's sleeping peacefully.  She gets meds every six hours, bandage change every twelve.  We go for a follow-up in the morning.  I just hope she can eventually forgive me.

Enjoying her noodles and wondering why Mama poured boiling water on her arm.

At the doctor's office about 20 minutes after the incident.