Thursday, April 10, 2008

Thank Heavens for Sinus Infections

Never thought I would be greatful for a sinus infection but in this case I am. The story goes like this - Last week while camping Madison reached up to the camp chef and burned her hands. We immediately put her hands in cold water and wrapped them. One really blistered but then popped a couple of days later and look at lot better. The other hand did look worse but I thought it was fine as long as I kept it wrapped and moist with antibiotic ointment. She also didn't seem to be in any pain. About a week went by and she seemed to be fine but developed a sinus infection. I took her to the doctor and she received the necessary antibiotics and as a percausion I had them take a look at her burns. I was confident that they were fine but thought I was there so I should atleast double check. I unwrapped her hand and the doctor immediately said it was bad and I needed to take her to the University of Utah burn center. I felt like the worst mom in the world. The doctor must have noticed because she was nice enough to comment on how well I had it bandaged and cleaned. It still didn't help with the guilt I felt in my stomach. Well we headed to the burn center the next day and I was thinking maybe it wasn't that bad and our doctor was just sending us as a precaution. Well the burn unit didn't agree. They were nice but preceded to tell me that the reason she wasn't in pain is because it was 3rd degree which means that the nerve endings have been damaged. The were concerned of the location and her range of motion being affected. They cleaned the burn and re-wrapped it and then showed me some stretches that need to be done 3 times a day to keep the range of motion. We have a weekly appointment until further notice. Hopefully only 3 weeks until the wound is closed and then they will determine what physical therapy needs to be done and how often we will have to return. They did warn me that the pain will increase as the nerves/skin regenerates. She is a tough cookie and hopefully it won't be to bad. They were optimistic that she will have a full recovery due to the fact of the burn being deep but narrow and small. Things could have been worse and I am actually surprised something hasn't happened to her sooner. She is so fast and has a determination. We are blessed to have a burn center in our state and I am grateful we went to the doctor for a sinus infection. I have attached some pictures but of course they don't do justice.


Can you believe she smiled at the doctor and never even winced when they cleaned and wrapped her hand. We call it her pretty. Keeping it clean will be a challenge.

4 comments:

Clarke and Kamie said...

poor bebes! at least there is someone who is a worse parent than me---JK!

Rommel and Christy said...

Wow Jen! That looks painful! She is a tough cookie!

Joe and Rach said...

Ouch! That looks rough. Hope things turn out for the best. Keep us posted.

pamela84087 said...

My dad has passed the blame onto three other people: Merv for leaving to help Carter, Carter for crying for Pa, and my mom for being sick and not being there to supervise. Do you think I should let him babysit when I have kids? Maybe as long as there are no hot things around. How's Madison's burns doing?
P.S. I tagged you in my blog:
http://pamandtravisjensen.blogspot.com/