Sometimes, it's best if you DON'T follow your dreams

Long story short: Julia has dream about making rock candy. Julia thinks it would be fun activity for her and kids on Saturday. Jack burns hand on stove. Rock candy obviously abandoned and
will forever be tainted in my mind.

So Jack's hand is burned, he's screaming, and I'm running his hand under water in the bathroom. I'm waving my hand out the window trying to catch TJ's attention (who is mowing the grass). I have him come in to continue rinsing Jack's hand, while I look online to see what to do. When I see that any burns on the hand, especially ones starting to blister (which his palm was), should be seen immediately at a doctor. I immediately hauled Jack to the ER. He's screaming, flapping his hand in the backseat. I'm beside myself.

We walk into the ER and they immediately took us into a back supply room (where nurses were coming in and out preparing injections) and told us to continue to run his hand under water for 10 minutes. We're both completely wet, as he's still shaking his hand and screaming. An ER staff member came over to me, with a paper towel and a pen, and took our name and address (that was the extent of us doing paperwork! Can you imagine that in the US?). Then a nurse wrapped Jack's hand and told me that they wanted us to go to the military hospital, as they had a burn unit. As I'm trying to get the directions, Jack rips off his bandage. The nurses take him from me to go rewrap it, and another nurse wrote down the address of the hospital (thank goodness for GPS, otherwise I'd still be trying to find it).

I talked to TJ, and he was going to take Amelia to Tammy's house, and he would meet us at the military hospital. The nurse told me that the other hospital knew we were on our way and were waiting for us.

So off we go to the military hospital (completely empty, WW II-looking building) and find the burn unit. Indeed, they were waiting for us and took us back immediately. TJ showed up just a few minutes later. They diagnosed the big burn (covering the vast majority of the palm of his hand) as a second-degree superficial burn.


****Possibly Yukky Details Below. Those with weak stomachs, proceed to after the next set of asterisks************

So with Jack in my lap, they take off the bandage. His whole palm is a big blister. They open the blister and slather it with flammazine, and then bandage it back up.

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As soon as the bandage was on, Jack stopped crying and was ready to play. And he hasn't complained of pain since! They told us to return on Sunday and they'd take another look at it.

Jack has been kindly reminding me since the incident: "I burned my hand. Is your fault." And then when I was trying to sing him songs Sat. night and burst in tears, we had this conversation:

Jack: Mama, why sad?

Me: I'm sad because your hand is hurt.

Jack (holding up his unhurt hand): Happy, mama. This hand hurt -- no. See, mama, is not hot. (and he presses his little hand against my cheek)

Which, of course, made me cry even harder.

And then he told Amelia the next day, laughing and pointing at me, "mama cry yike baby. is funny." I'm glad he sees the humor in it all. It's at least reassuring that he will never remember this incident, except in the retelling. But it will haunt me forever.

And on Sunday, Amelia hand-fed Jack his chocolate chip pancakes. He's done really well with his hand and not using it.

We came back on Sunday, and they unwrapped the bandage. They cleaned it up a little and put on an Aquacel patch, wrapped it up and sent us on our way, with a followup appointment for Wednesday morning. I've been beside myself -- literally nauseous -- ever since it happened. Not only for Jack's health and wellness (obviously the priority), but also because we're scheduled to leave on vacation in a few days! So I wasn't sure if we'd even be able to leave...

So fast forward through 2 days of worrying, until Tuesday afternoon. I notice that he has 3 blisters on his thumb, forefinger and middle finger. I panic that these are 3rd degree burns that the burn unit missed, and I'm envisioning skin grafts and all sorts of things. I call the burn unit and ask about it. They say just to put lotion on it, and they'd look at it in the morning. (Lotion???? Are you kidding???? But I did it anyway.)

So off we go on Wednesday. They take us right in. They unwrap his hand but leave the Aquacel patch alone (they don't even look to see how the healing is, since the patch adheres to the wound). They replace the gauze on top of the patch and rewrap his hand, and that's it. I had them look at his fingers and they did say they look perfectly fine (not even second-degree burns, they say) and to continue to use lotion on them.

We got the all clear to go on vacation (hooray!) and will go back to the burn unit after we return. The burn should actually heal while we're away (these burns should have a complete -- though thin -- layer of new skin within 10-14 days of the initial burn).

Lessons Learned
So, besides the obvious precautions, here's a few things I learned about burns:

-- They usually look worse than they are
--Get them under cool -- not cold -- water immediately (within 90 seconds if possible) and keep under running water for at least 10 minutes to stop the burning process
-- Have some flamazine (or the US equivalent) on hand -- http://wound.smith-nephew.com/UK/Standard.asp?NodeId=2744 --
-- Aquacel sounds like a pretty cool treatment for burns, though I'll wait to give my final verdict until after the bandages come off.

I probably will have some updates to Jack's story, but that's the gist of it. Poor guy is most upset that this has ruined his chances at driving the bumper cars at the carnival. But on the plus side, he's gaining a lot of sympathy with the guy who doles out the free ride passes. Jack's been getting a lot of them....

I wan't kidding ....

Amelia's illness last week developed into an ear infection at 4 this morning. The doctor had warned me that her ear had been swollen a little last Friday, but I had assumed we were in the clear. But the poor thing woke up screaming, and I gave her some Panotile in the affected ear -- or so I thought -- and some Paracetamol for the pain, and she managed to sleep for a little bit longer. We go hauling into the doctor AGAIN (I'm afraid he's going to think I have Munchausen's Syndrome!), and he confirmed that her left ear is seriously infected, and the right didn't look as bad but was inflamed.

I asked why Jack is STILL coughing, and I got not much of a helpful answer. We're going to try some Zyrtec, and see if that helps. Or maybe we're not, as I was reading some not-so-good reviews of Zyrtec -- for both kids and adults -- online. It doesn't bother him at all to cough, but it's driving me crazy....

******* Cute Jack Story ******
Jack and I went to pick up Amelia from school the other day. I had given Jack some Goldfish as a snack, which he ate, then brought a bowlful for Amelia. Amelia was noshing on them in the car, and Jack asked if he could have some. Amelia said no. Jack got a mad look on his face and said "I angry at you, Yah-Yah." Then a few minutes later, he tried again, to no avail. This time, he said, "I breathe fire on you, Yah-Yah." I couldn't help but laugh. It was so cute and so serious.

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Money Drain, Part 2 and 3
Was so thankful to see the carnival leave town on Sunday. What a relief. But then on Monday, we saw big trucks lining up on the main street by our house, which meant only one thing: the carnival is coming to Stockel. And indeed this morning, they were well on their way to setting up. This one fills up the whole square and will have many more games and rides than the Ste. Alix one. And to add insult to injury, signs went up last night for another circus starting next week.
Needless to say, the kids are very, very excited.

Misc.
The weather has really been beautiful the past two day, so I think it's safe to say that spring is here. We're even having a little thundershower at the moment, which is quite uncommon!

There's really nothing else to report, seeing as though I've been posting more than usual, even if it is just illness-related. (Thankfully the kids have had their chicken pox vaccine, as there is a case of it at school right now. I don't believe they give that vaccine here...)

Off to watch a little TV before the kids wake up, and am making some chicken soup from the chicken man's chicken (the "sauce" from the chickens makes a yummy broth) for poor Amelia.

More to come soon!!

Love,
Julia

It's Official: We Have the Sickest Kids in Belgium!

Saturday, April 19 .... After yet ANOTHER trip to the doctor yesterday, for Amelia, it's official. Even the doctor agrees that we are having terrible, terrible luck. So next year, he's putting them on a special get-well regimen. He's been a great doctor so far, so I'm hopeful that next winter will be much, much better.

(In synopsis, Amelia has fever, swollen glands, pressure behind the ears and vomiting. Luckily, I was FINALLY able to resolve the vomiting on my own, thanks to strawberry jello water. And today, the fever is gone and she's back to running around! Hooray.) And I told the doctor that Jack was still coughing and had snot tusks. So we're on another round of antibiotics. After the first dose, we put Jack to bed and he promptly coughed ALL NIGHT LONG. But this morning has seen a decrease in green goo, so perhaps he's on the mend, too.

Amelia is looking forward to going to a classmate's birthday party at Little Gym (like Gymboree). T.J. is in charge of the kids tomorrow (while I work at the consignment sale).

For those outside the midwest, I'm sure you've heard about the earthquake in Indiana/Illinois yesterday. Poor Susan called me right after it (since I was the only one she knew would be up) and was quite shaken by it (no pun intended). Luckily there was no damage in STL, just some jangled nerves.

Monday, April 21 ...
I had a nice time at the consignment sale. Most of my small items sold, and about half the big items did, too. So all in all, I probably came out even. Was able to shop early at the sale and picked up some cute clothes for the kids (including some Mini Boden at ridiculous prices!!). It's amazing, but even in spring, the Belgians just seem to switch from dark brown to light brown as their color of choice. I never believed I'd buy so many dark colors for the kids!

I also got the kids a cute plastic picnic table for just 8 euros. It'll be fun for outside, and Jack even used it today to eat in front of the TV.

Jack and I went swimming today, and I think he's going to be a great swimmer. He loves jumping in and has no hesitation about floating by himself, but he can't seem to remember to keep his mouth closed. Swimming was his reward for nicely going to the creche for an hour while I visited the gym for the first time in far too long.

I think spring is finally on the way. The leaves are popping out on the trees, weeks behind the daffodils which are long gone. The sun is out more, and it's not as bitterly cold in the morning. Hooray!!!

Now off to enjoy some peace and quiet. Jack was worn out by the swimming and has taken to his bed. Now, let's see, do I pursue my legal education with Judge Judy or my medical career with House? So many decisions....

The United States, in Bullet-Point Form

So I'm a little behind on blogging (thank you, concerned blogger in Kirkwood, for pointing it out). I had actually started on a blog entry for the trip to the US, but bronchitis (Jack), fevers (both kids), vomiting (Mia) and nosebleeds (Mia) have made what was SUPPOSED to be my first week of all kids in school into a week of round-the-clock nursing care.

Here's what I started:
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I'm not sure how coherent this will be, still suffering from jet lag and from child-induced jet lag (that is: kids waking up at midnight, ready to play, and me staying up and begging them to go back to sleep). So this may be in bullet-point format. Excuse any jumping around in my timeline ....

• Jack came down with a stomach virus right the day before we left. He threw up in the opthamologists office (where it was determined he doesn't have to have tear duct surgery!!) and had the most disgusting smelling poops EVER. So we trundled into the pediatrician, where we got some "good bacteria" for him to take. Luckily, it cleared up before we got on the airplane. Not so luckily, Amelia came down with it on Easter and took it out on poor Pete and Jerry's couch (this is after she had a nosebleed all over their carpet). Can you believe our luck? Luckily, we had no urgent care visits and no real illnesses. Jack did have a lingering cough and congestion, which I'd had him checked out for multiple times. I took him in yesterday, where he was diagnosed with acute bronchitis. Lovely. Doesn't seem to bother him at all, though. Many thanks to Jerry and Pete who took the violation of their carpets and couch in stride and who should now invest in Spot Shot stock.
  
• The weather was nice enough in Maryland for the kids to ride on a motorized car around the Ritzel's driveway and circle. They had a great time with that. Poor Jack had to stand up to get enough leverage to push the accelerator down. So funny! The kids loved using the "fast" setting.
  
• Jack had a great time with the motorized airplane in St. Louis. He learned how to give the thumbs up and to salute. It was hysterical. Then when we got to the St. Louis airport to return to Brussels, we were waiting in line for security, and Jack saw one of Charles Lindbergh's airplanes overhead. Jack started saying "Me fy airpane. Me get yadder. Me cimb up" (translation: Me fly airplane. Me get ladder. Me climb up.). Everyone in line was getting a kick out of him, cause he just kept repeating it over and over, louder and louder.
• Airplane trouble. On the flight from Dulles to St. Louis, we taxied toward the runway, then turned into the "airplane parking lot" where we waited for a few minutes. The the pilot came on and announced that, basically, he had gotten lost and was unable to find the right runway. (In his words, "they moved around the airport on us.) Then on the flight from STL to Dulles, they couldn't find the key to start the plane (who knew there WAS a key??) and the pilot (co-pilot?) came out, looking all of 25 years old!
• The flight from Dulles to STL was amazing. It was just the kids and I, and we were on a small airplane, with one seat on one side and two on the other. The kids insisted on sitting next to each other and behaved PERFECTLY all flight. I even got to read a magazine.
• Amelia is very into "Littlest Pet Shop" right now. Luckily, they all get along with her ponies, so it's a happy melding of animals. Unfortunately, they're the perfect "losable" size. We've been searching for a missing hamster for 2 weeks now. He must not have made it through customs. :) Although I must say, I'm very grateful that I'm looking for a FAKE hamster. I fear the day when I have to look for the real ones.
  
• It was great to get a taste of all our favorite US foods. Though luckily, I was able to moderate my intake and I arrived back in Brussels at about the same weight I did when I left. The Ritzels had a great path by their house that I walked on, and the Neunreiters have a few exercise machines in the basement (and a Starbucks/Barnes & Noble and Walgreens within walking distance that I frequented).
• T.J. and I got to visit our old houses (Alexandria and Fairfax Station) while we were in town. All is well, though it did make me miss home more. Our tenants just found out that they are being transferred this spring, so we have to try to find another set of renters. They've been great, and we'll really miss them.
  
• I cut off all my hair. It was at collarbone level. Now it's super-duper short. It's been wonderfully easy to take care of, and it looks better than always being in a ponytail.... Some people didn't even notice at first that it was cut, since it did look pulled back!
  
• We missed the one snowfall in Brussels while we were gone. It would've been nice to see, but I'm glad spring is coming. The sun is now up when we wake up and up when the kids go to bed. Hooray! (Unfortunately, Jack will now yell "Not nighttime, DAYTIME" when we get him ready for bed."
• Amelia has a new response for when her answer is along the lines of "zero," or "nothing." I asked her to go up to her room and put on the socks that were laying on her floor. She came back downstairs, gave me the death stare and drew a big, dramatic "0" with her finger, indicating there were no socks on her floor. It's kinda funny, but also a little insolent. Makes me fear the teenage years.
  
• On the plus side, Amelia has really become outgoing. Even her teachers say the same. In St. Louis, she wanted to walk around the neighborhood to see what neighbors we could visit.
• Amelia had her assessment with the speech therapist this week. For the most part, Amelia is right on track with age-appropriate sounds and will even do some combinations beyond her age. But there are a few that she should be doing that she isn't. So we'll probably do a few 1/2 hour sessions with the therapist to bring her up to speed. Luckily, the problems are minor. Did you know that the "th" sound may not develop until age 8? So it's not a problem that she can't say it, but the therapist did say it's unusual that she will pronounce "th" as "l" (so instead of "the" it's "la").
• Amelia is becoming increasingly curious about the concept of dying, angels and heaven. She sprung it on us after getting off the plane from Brussels to Dulles, and T.J.'s and my brains were simply unable to try to formulate jet-lagged explanations about God and death and all the other questions (does hair die?). She's been very accepting of our answers, but it makes me realize that I'm going to have to be ready for a bunch of questions that I never dreamed I'd have to answer! She's also saying whatever comes to mind -- telling people that their hair or names are funny (or, her favorite word, "kooky"). I've been trying to encourage her to whisper ME these comments instead of saying them out loud while pointing.
• T.J. took us to a baseball game in St. Louis, and despite the impending rain and the brisk weather, we had a great time. We overindulged in ballpark food (hot dog, cotton candy, hot chocolate, nachos, chicken fingers and toasted ravioli....) and we were sitting in the bleachers next to the Rockies' warm-up pen. There was a super-nice lady sitting next to us, and she took Amelia over to the pen and begged and pleaded for a ball. They did end up throwing one to Amelia, and she was SO proud of it. She kept a death grip on it to show T.J. (he was in the batting cages when this happened) and wouldn't let go of it even in the car. A great souveneir.
  

BIG thank yous to our families, who put up with our nonsense while in town and put on a brave face as we left a path of destruction (or at least clutter) in our wake. We had a really wonderful time, and look forward to our next visit!!

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And now back to the current stuff....

The carnival has arrived back in town. It showed up last Friday and will be here until Sunday (the 20th). Thankfully, the kids' illness has stopped the money hemorraghing, and we haven't had to go every day. Jack begs all the time "Me ride a ride." If I say the carnival is closed (which it is in the morning and in the rain), he will say "Yet's go check." Clearly he doesn't believe me. There are 2 kids rides (2 euros a ride), the trampoline/harness combo (5 euros), the game where you spend 5 euros to catch 9 ducks and win a cheap prize that barely makes it home before it breaks, and the obligatory french fry/croustillon (beignet) stand.

I'm going to try to get more involved around here, as my social network is pretty much limited to Tammy. I'm going to volunteer at the Belgian Childbirth Trust's "Nearly New Sale" (consignment sale) on Sunday. Partly to be able to shop early, and partly to meet some folks. They have a lot of activities for kids, and they're close by. I might also try to volunteer at the American Women's Club in the video room. Lofty goals, perhaps, especially if the kids are always sick!

Today (April 17), Amelia is sick with a fever (and has been having bloody noses -- I guess due to the dry air -- which is then causing her to throw up from the blood in her stomach). She's been upstairs sleeping, and Jack and I are puttering around downstairs. For lack of anything else to do, I put Jack in a pair of "big boy panties" (as he calls them) and am hoping for potty training progress in advance of our cruise. It's been an hour, and we've had one successful trip to the bathroom, and Spiderman remains dry. Keep your fingers crossed!