Monday, October 01, 2007

There is no guilt like a Mother's guilt

There is good news from the doctor's appointment Friday.

The hardest part was the anticipation. I about lost it on the drive to the doctor's office - mostly because I didn't know what would happen. It all turned out for naught - they were as gentle as could be with my girl.

First they unwrapped her hand and the nurse took a look at it. They soaked it for a few minutes, then she came back and tried to debride the area with gauze. The doctor came in and cut away some of the dead tissue. Both times they worked on her hand, each one said, "If anything I do hurts, tell me and I'll stop." That had probably been my biggest fear. She just sat and watched.

As the exam went on he said that he thinks her hand is healing well, there is no sign of infection, and in six months you won't even be able to tell. First though, they had to throw out that, "It doesn't look like she'll need skin grafts."

Most noticibly, rather than having her hand wrapped in a mitten, she now has a glove. The mitten (where all four fingers had been separated by medicine and coated gauze then wrapped together) really kept her from using that hand. She would tuck things under her arm, but that was it. Now with each finger wrapped separately, she's regained the range of motion they're looking for. After the removal of the mitten, she could barely bend her fingers - due to both the injury and having been wrapped up. Now, it will be hard to have her keep her hand dry for the rest of the week. Within the first few hours after having the glove on, there was a noticible difference in how she used her hand and arm. Her only homework for the week was to be able to make a fist - and she can do that now. The bandaging was supposed to say on for a week, but fortunately they sent home extra supplies as I've already had to re-bandage it once.

He also mentioned that a high protien diet would help her heal better - meat, eggs, and Carnation Instant Breakfast. Fortunately, I had all on hand and she's eating really well, and more importantly, sleeping better.

As you can see, she's well on the road to recovery.

Thanks for all your kind thoughts and wishes in both comments and email. It means so much to me!

5 comments:

Dan said...

Excellent news Gretchen, really happy that everything went so well!

Hope the guilt slowly starts to ease darlin, even though you have nothing to feel bad for!

joansy said...

I'm so glad that it went well. If the picture is an accurate reflection of her mood, she seems to be handling it especially well. What a cutie.

Anonymous said...

Don't be too hard on yourself.
I am glad it all turned out well for your little one.
Believe me, I have had a mishap or two with my kiddos. It happens, it just is hard to take when it does.
You are human. She will survive.
Godspeed to her hand :)
(((HUGS)))

Unknown said...

Hugs, girl.

Joe said...

Oh my goodness.

Wow.

Other people have commented, but accidents happen. It is pretty clear from this blog you are not Mommy Dearest...

Godspeed to your daughter's healing. Kids are resilient, and I am sure she will be fine in no time.