No, Seriously, Never a Dull Moment

I've been lax about updating lately, I know. And, there's about a million other things I'd like to be updating you all about, but today I must let you know of our latest escapade with Elijah.

Pout unrelated to this particular story

On Wednesday morning, I got a call from Elijah's school letting me know he'd burnt his hand on a steam pipe they didn't realize was exposed.  They said I needed to pick him up and that he probably needed to be seen by a doctor.

So I took him to the doctor immediately. Upon examining the wounds - which were on the back of the fingers on his right hand - the doctor said she thought it was a third degree burn. Then she told me it would probably leave a scar and that since it covered a joint, it was possible he would lose some mobility in his hand and the scarring could make his fingers tight and difficult to bend. I had been thinking the burn wasn't too serious up to this point, but when I heard the words "3rd degree" and "loss of mobility" my heart sunk.

When I got home, I broke down. How could there be yet another thing working against our sweet little man? The use of his hands is already difficult for Elijah and here I was being told that he could lose more mobility. Not to mention, it's his right hand -which just so happens to the hand that he uses the most.

The doctor did give me the number and address for the Burn Unit if we wanted to take a more aggressive approach, which could mean skin grafting or surgery. She left that decision up to me. Andy and I thought it would be best to get a second opinion and see if there was anything else we could do to prevent any long-term effects - from those who deal with burns all the time.

So today, Thursday, we went to the Burn Unit. And, thankfully, they had better news for us. They think Elijah's burn looks more like a second degree burn, that it won't affect his mobility, and that it probably won't scar (at least not too bad). They can't tell for sure because the blisters are still intact (we can't tell the depth of the burn until the blisters break, so there is still a chance that the burn is more serious), but it sounds like this hopefully won't be affecting Elijah long-term.

In the meantime, we need to keep Elijah's fingers clean and then be diligent about wrapping it once the blisters are broken to prevent infection. We'll see what the next couple of weeks bring, but we're hopeful that this will all be a distant memory soon.

First Day Ouchie Blisters

So, all in all, it's been an eventful couple of days. We're confident that everything is going to work out fine, but we'd be grateful if you'd send a prayer in little guy's direction. Elijah sure has been through a lot in his little life, but I don't know anyone with a better attitude and demeanor than our little man. He's been such a trooper and we're so, so proud.

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