boys and girls and books (and an injury!)

The title here may be misleading. This post is actually about books I have just finished reading about boys and girls (injury is at the end).  If you have little or even medium aged little people, James Dobson's books, Bringing up Boys and Bringing up Girls are must reads.  He not only validates the job that parents do, but reminds you of the huge  responsibility you have and the high bar you must set for yourself as parents and your kids as little people.

I like these two particular books for several reasons.  First,  he celebrates the differences between boys and girls.  God made them different for reasons we can only begin to guess at and (as every parent will tell you) that they act different and thus need to be handled differently.  It's not all give your boys trucks and mud and give your girls baby dolls and brooms though. It's more about raising your boys to be good men and your girls to be good ladies. 

I had planned to write more about the books, but I only have a few minutes... Luke has injured himself again.  This may be the biggest one yet.   These pictures are reminding me that he is a little boy full of energy and spunk and personality and will be this boy again.  Sorry for all the details that follow.  Skim if you like.

Friday (yesterday), at lunch time, we were at the food co-op building to buy some dried black beans.  It's an old downtown house turned artsy hippy granola shop.  The bathroom is neat and artistically tiled and the kids wanted to go visit it.   When Lou went to wash his hands, he pulled the soap bottle towards him and pumped it.  Instead of shooting down into his hands, it shot him straight in the eye. It was Dr. Bronners castile soap with peppermint oil.   He screamed like he had been stabbed.  He shreaked.  Blood curdling screams.  I tried to help him wash it, but it was really hurting.  He was shaking and screaming and really in pain.  I tried to wash it, tried to calm him down unsuccessfully for the next half hour.  I asked him if he wanted to go to the Dr and he said "YES!  Help me mama, take me to the Dr."   So we left the shop, got in the car and drove to the eye doctor.  The entire trip he's crying crazyily (new word) and yelling, "Help me mama,  make it stop!  Hold me!" 

At the eye doctor, they weren't able to get him to open either eye and he was very scared.  They decided that the crying was doing a good enough job washing out the eye.  We were sent home assured that in the morning, he would probably open his eyes.  He was in a panicked crying pain for about three hours until he wore himself out and he essentially passed out.  I gave him two baths trying calm him and to rinse out the eye more.  At bed time, he still had not opened either eye, was still in extreme pain, wouldn't eat, and insisted on being held (while I was standing, I could not sit). 

He had to sleep with us since he was blind and did not know where he was.  This morning, I was sure he'd be fine, but woke to him crying.  His eye was swollen and discharging crazy yellow stuff.  He still couldn't open them and seemed to be in more pain.  I called the eye Dr after hours care and we went right in. It took three adults to hold him down with him kicking and screaming for the doctor to get little peeks in his eye.  They died the eye ball to check for abrasions.  He has a chemical burn over the entire surface of his eye. The goop is from the infection he now has.  He lacks the muscle coordination to open one without the other, so both eyes are shut tight.  It was so severe that it will be 3-4 days before he will be able to open his eyes and hopefully will have vision when he does.  It will be a week or more before we know where the vision stands, but the doctor is hopeful. I have several days of a blind son up ahead.  He is mopey and lethargic. He doesn't want to talk, to play, to hear stories, etc.  He's a sad boy.

Bottom line, Dr. Bronners castile soap is a natural cleaner, but the essential oil (peppermint oil) makes it very caustic.  Very -burn your eye- ball caustic and should not be handled by children.  

So, the plan for the next three or four days is that we go see the eye Dr each day to check for healing, we have antibiotic drops, oral antibiotics, and we are to piggy back Tylenol and Motrin to take the edge off and dose him up with Benedryl so he rests. We try to get him to eat and let him listen to videos.  Poor guy.  Good thing it's the weekend. 

good news:  he has agreed to eat a happy meal.  

Part 2 on the eye injury

Part three- 2012

The follow up (2014)