April was the worst month ever!

I'm sorry that I have not been able to write for the entire month, but once I describe my month you will surely understand.

It all began with the weekend of the 1st. Andy decided to go to the mountains to make sure the family cabin was okay since it has been since December since anyone was there. It is a basic place, but needs maintenance. I decided to go to IKEA to get a corner cabinet so that we could put the heavy, older model TV on it instead of the table it was on. BJ had been working on rocking the TV table so much that I was worried that he would pull it over on him. My exchange student's husband (another story!) came over to put it together for me on Sunday morning so that when Andy got home, it was done. Marco put it together and moved the TV onto the new corner unit. It was great! Marco worked cheaply too, just for several cups of coffee.

Which leads me now to how horrible a pot of coffee can be...

Before Marco left, I made a fresh pot of coffee since we had finished the first one. However, Marco was running late, so he declined another cup. I decided to make scrambled eggs for the children after Marco left. So, while I was making the eggs, MM was behind me on a stool, across the kitchen, playing kitchen. She was there to keep her away from the hot stove top. Unfortunately, she was near the pot of coffee, though it was still about two feet away from her. I put the eggs onto a plate, went into the dining room, walked back into the kitchen when I heard the scream. BJ had climbed up onto the stool behind MM, had reached across the countertop, grabbed the pot of coffee, and spilled it all over himself and his sister. I do not remember seeing him on the stool before going to the dining room (10 feet away), but he must have been there. I pulled BJ down from the stool, stripped his clothing, stripped MM's clothing and took them upstairs to the bathtub. I ran cold water on them, using a cup to pour it on BJ while the tub filled. They were screaming and crying and shaking, and so was I. I called my sister who is an EMT and then called 911.

The police officer was the first to arrive. The paramedics arrived moments later. Because BJ's burns were so bad, they called in a helicopter to transport him. MM was not as bad so she could be transported by an ambulance. It took four adults to hold BJ down so that he could be given morphine. The inflight nurse made the call that BJ could be taken to the local hospital so that I could ride from the hospital to the Crozer-Chester burn unit in the ambulance with him. Andy luckily had decided to come home early so when he got the text (I thought he was still in the mountains which has terrible phone service), he called. I was hysterical so handed the phone to the police officer. Some how, Andy, who was 14 miles further away from the hospital than I was, got to the hospital before the ambulance carrying MM got there! Once the helicopter arrived, Lancaster General did triage. It took them over 15 attempts to get an IV into him because he was in shock. MM meanwhile was given a shot for the pain, was wrapped up and watching Disney. My oldest sister, Cheri, came up from Maryland with her husband to take care of MM so that Andy and I could go to Crozer-Chester with BJ.

I stayed at the Burn Center from Sunday until Wednesday with BJ. He had a combination of third degree and deep second degree burns on 7% of his body. The worst was his left hand which was where the third degree was. After the first night, he would not sleep unless I was holding him. I figured it was the least I could do to hold him whenever he needed me to hold him. Each day they had to undress the wounds, clean them and redress them. He was in loads of pain and miserable because he was not allowed to run around. Once he was cleared to leave, he has had to go back each week to have his wound redressed. There is a special material used by the burn unit that is amazing. It helps the healing process and allows the burns to be covered for a week at a time. MM was also taken to Crozer's outpatient burn unit for her wounds.

MM is now making a full recovery. We will have to keep her right thigh and upper calf covered whenever she is out in the sun for a year, but her burn looks amazing. BJ's tummy looks super as well. To date, his left arm is healing well, but his left hand is still in dressings. We are hopeful that he will make a full recovery. For some perspective: had the same burns been done to me, I would still be in the hospital on my third operation. Youth was on there side.

Special thanks goes to my sister Cheri who cleaned my house for me while I was in the hospital. Believe me when I say it was a huge undertaking.

The burn unit had the following advice:

DO NOT LET YOUR CHILDREN IN THE KITCHEN TO HELP UNTIL THEY ARE AT LEAST TEN!