Traumatic Hands Update

Oh my, was yesterday's Doctor's office visit traumatic - almost as bad as the ER visit two weeks ago today! We'll share a happier picture, taken on Wednesday while we were playing outside finding "things" - just to keep a "happy" spin on it for a while.

So as I mentioned in yesterday's blog, during the bandage change on Wednesday, I noticed something that looked like it could be an infection on his right hand (under his ring finger). I worried about it all night, and took another peek in the morning before making my decision to call his pediatrician and get him in for a hand-check before our scheduled appointment on Tuesday.

If you talk to Drew or see him as he's about to go to the doctor's office you'd think we're ripping his finger nails out one by one - he absolutely loses it. This was no exception.

So we check in, and I manage to get him calmed down by reading a book about trucks - all boy right?! Well then they call our name, and we're back to the fingernail torture type screaming. The nurse weighs him - and she says he's down a whole pound since we were there last week - and asked if I wanted to re-weigh. I said no, since we're going back in 2 weeks for his 2 year check-up (in hindsight, I think it's a miscalculation since Dave got on the scale with him last Monday, where today he was on the baby scale - alone).

Anyway, the nurse leaves and Drew collects himself, as he pleasantly says "bye-bye" to the nurse and begins begging to "Go bye-bye too". I bribe/distract him with some milk and Fruit Loops.

Then the Doctor comes in, and he said he was surprised to see the bandages on his hands still - and then I explained we were there because I suspect an infection. So we begin the process of taking off the right bandage - which is an ordeal in itself. We get it off, and the Doctor grimaced when he saw the hands, but he instantly knew the area I was looking at as the possible infection.

He went back and forth, kind of talking aloud about whether this was an infection or the "epidermis" growing back - freakin' use the word skin dude! After a moment or two of his going through the options with himself, he says he wants to get a second set of eyes on this. He goes to find a Doctor. Moments later he's back, and says "Let me take a picture" and whips out his iPhone. Then leaves to consult someone.

He comes back and grabs my diaper bag, and asks me to go into another room, he wants to cut off the blisters/left over skin, so that the area can really start to heal.

Oh boy this is where the trauma starts - and I'll warn you it's not for the faint of heart or those with a queasy stomach!!! Ok that's your only warning - read at your own risk!

So he has me sit down in the chair with Drew - who hasn't stopped screaming since the Doctor peeked his head into our room the first time. He then gathers some sterile gloves, sterile scissors, gauze and tape. He then goes to work, all while asking me "Do you think you can handle this" (um a little late now dude, I'm already in it!).

I couldn't watch what they were doing for fear of either passing out or throwing up, so I focused on my screaming child, and tried to sing songs while I had his little legs pinned in mine, and had his right arm (the one he was working on) in one hand, and I used my other arm to brace is other hand and also pat his head to calm him down. I was afraid of having any kicking, head-butting or punching going on while the doctor was cutting at him with the worlds sharpest scissors (no sharper than we were given from the ER for the dressing changes, but still they're razor sharp).

So while Drew's screaming his head off, the doctor manages to cut away all the loose skin. All that Drew has on his right hand is a lot of very raw, pink skin. It literally looks like someone skinned him - it's very gross and frightening to look at. The doctor then put some antibiotic ointment on his hands just in case it is an infection, and then put a lighter gauze over the area - rather than the sterile pads we've been using - which are much thicker. He then wrapped his right hand back up, and put the glove back on.

Poor Drew thought he was done.... but we went for his left hand. I thought the hysterics couldn't get worse, but they did. Luckily a nurse came in to see if she could help, so the three of us had to pin Drew into my lap while the doctor performed the same cutting procedure on his left hand.

The bright side of this - his left hand wasn't burned as bad, so the skin was much more "normal" looking at this point, and less raw. And it didn't have any of the same "spots" where you'd think there's an infection. The bad news it had the the last blister to pop, so the skin was a bit tougher yet to cut than the other hand (where it practically fell off in your hands) -- Hey, I warned you this was going to be gruesome!

We then bandaged up his left hand - which didn't have any possible signs of infection. The doctor said we didn't need to come back, but he wanted to see a picture of his hands in 2 weeks - just to be sure he's coming along. He then called in a prescription for the additional antibiotic ointment, and he wants us to use that and the Silvadene (burn cream) but with the gauze vs sterile pads. He really wants us to let it breathe more, and possibly remove the bandages altogether within the next week or so - as they start to scab more.

But we can continue to put the "gloves" on over the gauze bandages like we've been doing to keep the wound clean - at least the doctor gets that boys will be boys and play in dirt! And we should keep up the changing every other day.

I promised Drew throughout the procedure that he could have anything he wanted for lunch - so I bribed him with McDonald's. That was the least I could do after all of this! Um, I think it's safe to say he's not going to like going to the doctor's office for a long while yet!