Halloween 2009

Rhett was an adorable lion this year! He didn't care one bit about Halloween, candy, trick or treating, any of it. But he wore his costume like a good little boy!

Burn Update - Plastic Surgeon Visit

We met with the Plastic Surgeon today for Rhett's burns. The doctor said exactly what we wanted to hear, NO SKIN GRAFTS! Quite a relief! The burns are bad and will scar but they will heal on their own and so there is no need for grafts. He said that at this age it is best to let the burns heal on their own and deal with any scarring issues later then to put a baby through all the trauma of surgery, recovery, stitches. He said that there will be scarring but he doesn't expect them to be too bad. And really, he is a boy, aren't scars on boys cool?! Hopefully Rhett thinks so!
Thank you to all who said prayers and fasted on little Rhett's behalf. We are so grateful to have good friends and family who love us.

The Pumpkin Patch

We really did have a good time contrary to the photographic documentation. :)

Burn Update

I had planned on giving an update on Rhett's burns today after his doctor's appointment however, I thought the update would be more positive then it is. It was 2 weeks ago yesterday that Rhett burned his arm. We saw his pediatrician today who hasn't seen him in a week and half because he was out last week. He is not happy with how long it is taking for Rhett's burns to heal. He said that they are deep second degree burns! He said to continue dressing his bandages every day for five more days and then we will recheck. If he isn't happy with them at that point he will refer us to the plastic surgeon. He is concerned that the burns might be too deep to heal on their own and that a skin graft might be necessary!
We have decided that we are going to go ahead and get the name of the plastic surgeon and book an appointment. We feel that it is better to move forward then to wait and see.
That being said . . . Skin grafts! I had a pit in my stomach. It took a minute for it to sink in and then came the questions but of course, by then, you have already left the doctor's office. Does that mean they have to take skin from another part of his body? Will they use cadaver skin? Does that mean he needs skin from an infant cadaver? That makes my stomach feel worse. My little baby would have to be put under. I am not afraid of being put under. I, myself have been put under, like 10 times, seriously, not exaggerating but my little boy?!?! That is much more difficult. I absolutely know I am getting ahead of myself but these are things that run through your head.
So, now we will just wait to see when we can get into the plastic surgeon and what he has to say. Rhett, is handling the whole thing like a champ. Still not phased by the whole thing and even sits still for us to change his bandages now. What a kid!

Santa Barbara Zoo

and then there were four . . .

We met our dear friends the Lovios and Reeves when we were asked to serve together on the activities committee for our ward at church. We had so much fun with that calling and remained good friends ever since. When we started hanging out Sydney was just a few months old. Now there are 4 of them!!! We sit back every now and then and look at each other and say . . . "how did we get here?" It is crazy but so much fun!



From Left to Right. . . Rhett Bryce (14 months), Dylan Reeve (4 months), Sydney Lovio (2 1/2 years), Tysen Lovio (3 weeks).

Burn!

Wednesday morning I was finishing getting ready for the day and Rhett was playing in the bathroom. I tried to be ready by the time he woke up from his nap but that didn't quite work out. I finished flat ironing my hair, turned off the iron and turned to attend to Rhett who was rapidly unraveling the toilet paper roll. As I did that he reached for the flat iron cord, pulling the hot flat iron down on his arm. Each side of the flat iron was on either side of his arm, as he screamed bloody murder, as you would imagine! I pulled the flat iron off and immediately ran it under cold water. After a minute or two of cold water I took his arm out of the cold water to asses the situation. The skin was off one of the burns and I knew we were in big trouble. I got a bowl of cold water for him to put his arm in as I called the Pediatrician. He began to play in the bowl of water and calmed down immediately, never giving another thought to is burns. I made the soonest available appointment with the doctor. In the meantime he played, ran all over the house and played catch with me, throwing with his injured arm.
Randy, luckily accompanied me to the doctor where they had to peel all the skin off as we held Rhett down and dressed his wounds. The doctor was concerned that at least one of them was a 2nd degree burn and said we might have to see a plastic surgeon. Just what I wanted to hear, I felt horrible!!!
The rest of the day went on as normal, Rhett napped, played and slept through the night.
Thursday we took him back to the doctor. The doctor was pleased with the progress and said he thinks Rhett will be fine. He said the color of the skin will always be white in those spots but he is confident there will not be major scarring or any other issues. Thank goodness!

Now, it doesn't escape me that the last post was about me calling poison control and this post is about Rhett being burned. I definitely feel like a poor mother at this point. I keep thinking, how come some kids go years with out getting injured, going to the ER, never have a record with poison control, never have a horrible burn and others, well . . . . do. Is it because their parents are horrible parents who are careless and don't pay enough attention. Maybe. But to make myself feel better, I keep telling myself it is the kid. Nice mothering technique, blame it on the kid. . . more evidence of my great parenting. All kids are different, right? Some are more active, precocious and fearless then others, right? I think I have one of those. Am I surprised, no, not at all. . . . just don't call CPS, please.

Picture of the burns are below. Be warned, this is not your average curling iron burn . . . scroll down at your own risk.






Day 1 - the initial burns before treatment




Day 2 - after the skin was removed and they had been treated and wrapped for a day. They look worse but the Doc said they look good. Pink is good.





All bandaged up! Poor Baby!