As most of you know by now, Nolan had an accident this past week and had to be hospitalized for a couple of days after grabbing some hot tea that was left on the kitchen counter. We are so grateful for all of the kind messages and phone calls, and apologize for not being able to get back to everyone. I thought it would be best to write a blog post with some pictures so that everyone can hear, from us, how it all happened.
After a fun afternoon at the pool we headed home to make dinner and tea, as we have all been fighting a nasty chest cold that seems to have infected 90% of the kids at Adella's school. Anyway, I am upstairs and hear "Oh no, no, no, no.." (typical when the kids are running around and anxious to be fed) so I thought nothing of it, but then Tim yelled for me, in a concerned tone that I knew wasn't good. So I flew down the stairs, literally never have run so fast in my life. Tim was holding Nolan, who was still in shock from it all and not quite crying yet, and then I saw the burns, and his delicate skin peeling back. We immediately put the kids in the car, and thankfully Chrissy was home at my parents house (THANK YOU CHRISSY!!!) and able to take Adella while we headed for the ER. The waiting room was empty and we were brought in with Nolan immediately. They put some gauze with saline solution on his burns, which he wasn't happy about, and then brought us into a room at CHOC. They had an Elmo movie on for him and the Child Life Specialist came by to help entertain him and keep him calm while doctors and nurses examined him. After a quick exam they decided that he needed to be transfered to the Burn Unit at UCI, where they could better determine the type of burn and watch him closely over 48 hours. I guess it can take 24-48 hours for burns to blister and really show how deep they are. Then it was time for an IV... a few nurses came in the check his veins, and one didn't even want to attempt to get a line on him because of his little veins. So a brave nurse came in and failed at 2 attempts and on the 3rd managed to get a line in his foot. This was probably the hardest thing I have ever been through, far worse than child birth or any other injury. Holding my baby screaming in pain and fighting to get away from the needles as they were fishing around was the WORST. After they finally got a line on his foot, they gave him some morphine, I could feel his whole body relax and he pleasantly fell asleep to Elmo on TV. (Thank god for Elmo, those people against allowing their kids to watch TV are weird) Within minutes of him falling asleep, some other nurse came in to start examining him, and then lights were being turned back on, decisions were being made, and all I wanted was for my baby to get a little bit of sleep (it was close to 9 at this point). We did a lot of waiting until finally they got us a transfer to UCI, I was strapped into a gurney and held Nolan during the ride in the ambulance. He fell asleep again, only to be woken up in another 20 minutes. We were brought right into his room at the Burn Unit, and the night nurse did a quick evaluation and explained what was to happen the next day. Finally I was able to put Nolan to sleep in the crib they brought in, at this point it was close to 12:00. Tim drove home to get some things knowing we would be there for a couple of days. Nolan woke up a few times throughout the night, so it took a lot of comforting to get him to sleep.
The next morning he was able to sleep till about 7:00, and seemed to be in good spirits. He wanted to get down and play, so the nurses told us about the play room just a few steps away. It was a miracle. Tons of books and toys for Nolan to get into and toss around, he was having a blast and didn't even notice the burns or struggle with the IV in his foot. Around 9:00 the doctors came in to do a procedure to clean the burns and apply dressings to help with healing. Nolan was heavily sedated and pretty much out during the whole thing, which only lasted about 15 minutes. He was pretty fussy the rest of the morning, and just needed to sleep. He managed a couple of naps throughout the day, and we took advantage to catch up on sleep ourselves. In the afternoon a nurse in his unit brought a big red wagon over, so we cruised the halls and waved to all the people, it provided some great entertainment. As bed time approached we thought it would be a good idea to give Nolan some good pain medication to help him sleep, so he got tylenol with codeine. Big mistake! He was WIRED!! I have never seen him so crazy, and happy and giggly. It ended up having the reverse effect on him, rather then getting sleepy, he got crazy. 2 hours later he finally fell asleep, 9:00 pm!!! Thankfully the night nurse let him and us sleep. She didn't bug him in the middle of the night to check vitals. He needed the rest, and woke around 8:00 am the next day.
After breakfast and more playtime in the playroom, the nurses came in to show us how to change his dressings, something we will need to do for the next 2 weeks. He has a special patch that acts as a scab, to allow for healing underneath, and we need to change the dressings that are over it everyday. He can't take a bath for 2 weeks and needs to stay inside. He's at a risk for infection, so we really have to be careful. We were discharged around 9:45am, and happy to head home. Nolan took a nice long nap in his bed when we got home and was thrilled to be allowed to run around on the floor again.
Right now he is needing a lot of love, and Mimi. He wants to play, but needs me to be with him all the time. He doesn't seem to be in any pain, just a little more fussy than usual, which is expected. We'll have follow up appointments at the burn clinic for 6 months, and the burns should fully heal in about a year. Nolan was such a great, and cute, patient. Everyone was wonderful at the hospital and we are so grateful for that. We plan to donate a bunch of new toys to the Burn Unit and if anyone is interested in contributing, let us know. Their toys need a little updating, and some batteries ;o).
*Nolan had to wear a mask when out in the halls or playroom because of his cold.
**Happier posts of Halloween will come soon...
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