Yesterday, was one of THOSE days. The kind that you can't wait for the kids to go to bed, just to let the day's events soak in. It's not that they were bad or unruly, but more that the day was long and stressful. And all over the most freak thing in the world!!!
Most parents have seen it, a stray string or hair wrapped around their little one's finger or toe. Without a second thought, the string or hair usually gets easily unwrapped and the parent and child go about their business. In the odd case of yesterday, it's not always that simple! Who would think that a person could possibly lose their appendage to such a simple thing!
The park sounded like a good idea, with how wonderful the weather was. The kids and I were going to meet our friends at the park to play. All was going well, and we were almost done getting ready. I get Catelyn, and start undressing her to put her play clothes on. Normally, I never think to check, but I happened to look at her toes, and noticed they had some fuzz on them. I start removing it and notice that her middle toe was completely wrapped around by a string or hair. I start trying to mess with it and pick it off, but it was on ridiculously tight. She was screaming and kicking and carrying on the more I touched it, so I decided maybe calling in the professionals would be a good idea at this point. Called her pediatrician and they said to come in in an hour. Then about this time a million and one bad thoughts start racing into my head, will my baby lose her toe, will she be ok, will they get it off, I'm a bad mom for not noticing sooner, etc. etc. etc. To help ease my mind a bit, I decide that we'll meet up with everyone at the park still. I just grab the few essentials I thought we'd need.
We get to the park and I tell the ladies what's going on. I'm quickly relieved a little to find that 2 of them have had a similar experience with their children. Though neither had to go as far as take their child to the doctor, they did say they had it bad enough that the string/hair made the baby bleed. I figured this much was going to happen. In that time, I had talked to Nate and he decided to leave work, to help me out with the whole thing (Thank God he did!). After about half hour at the park, Nate shows up. He talks to the kids for a few minutes, then we decide that he can take Catey to the doc, while I stay and let the bigger kids play at the park longer.
Then time starts to c-r-a-w-l. I know I checked my phone every 10-15 mins just to see the time and if Nate had messaged me. Being the jumpy, spazzed out, worried about my baby girl mom I am, I text Nate after 15 mins, then 30, then right about the time I was going to call him at the 45 min mark, I receive a text.
"Just got it off"
Was all it said. At least I knew my baby girl was doing better. Then within 5 mins later, he calls me with the details. Apparently the pediatrician sent him to the Emergency Room. When the pediatrician took one look at her toe, he started freaking out and thought they were going to have to amputate her toe. He gave her a shot to numb it, and tried working on it to no avail (and without the help of a flailing baby), so off to the E.R. they went. Nate said it took 3 nurses, plus him, to hold Catelyn down so the E.R. doctor could get it off her toe. He said she was one of the more severe cases he had seen, but that this happens all the time! Fingers, toes, even on little boys' winkies! He had to cut around her toe to get to the hair, but thankfully, he got it off and saved her little bitty toe! Turns out, it was one of Catelyn's own hairs off her head. The doc said it was too fine to be an adults hair, which I guess is a little easier to remove. Somehow she got the hair worked down in her jammies and kicked enough to get it wrapped around her toe, tight!
Her toe looks a bit gross right now. Looks like a swollen toe with a red ring round it where the hair had cut into her skin. The doctor told Nate that the hair was trying to cut her toe off! Thank God the doctors helped her out and prevented that fate. We have to change her dressing periodically, press her toe to make sure it bounces back with circulation, give her antibiotics and Tylenol for pain and infection. Amazingly, my baby girl is in excellent spirits. Once she was home and settled in last night, she was all smiles, giggling, and just carrying on like the happy baby she is! After all she had been through yesterday, she didn't forget how to smile and be her happy self!
It was quite the experience! I'm sure from this point on, I'll be obsessive about all my kids toes, but especially Catelyn's. I had never heard of such an odd thing happening as this, but it is something that I won't soon forget!
