Week before last, Bridget found not one, but two, four-leaf clovers. She found one on Friday and another one on Saturday. I was astonished. In all my years of searching, I’ve never even found one! You would think the discovery of two such powerful good luck charms would ward off something as benign as poison oak, wouldn’t you? Wrong! The following Wednesday, Bridget’s face had a small red rash when she left for school. It was bigger when she got home. I went to WebMD.com doing research on the various types of rashes and none of them sounded or looked like what she had. I put some cortisone lotion on her face because it was itchy, but it seemed to make it redder, so I didn’t use it again. I gave her some Motrin at bedtime and she slept all night.
When she woke the next morning, her right eye was completely swollen shut!! The poor dear was terrified. I then noticed some white bumps on her face and had my first inkling that she might have poison oak. I talked to my sister Martha, who had been planning to come spend the day with us. Bridget now didn’t want her to come – she didn’t want anyone to see her swollen face. Poor darling!! Martha asked me if it might be poison oak, and I told her I thought it might because it now had white bumps in addition to the redness.
I took her to the doctor that morning and they confirmed our suspicions. Poor Bridgie had to get a painful cortisone shot. I felt so bad for her and had a heaping helping of mom guilt that I didn’t recognize what it was immediately and wasn’t smart enough to make sure all the poison oil was cleaned off her face. Matter of fact, I didn’t use soap at all on her face that night because I was afraid I would irritate it further. I felt like it was my fault that it got so bad. But, my little Bridgie is so tough and is always a trooper! Once the stinging of the shot had gone away, she was feeling better and decided she wanted Martha to come down after all. We wound up having a fun day on March 29, our 2nd annual Adoption Day (see post below) despite the poison oak.
A few days ago, I heard Bridget crying really hard. I went to see what was wrong and she was scared because her bottom middle tooth was wiggly. I told her I think she is starting to lose her baby teeth and the tears turned to smiles. “That means the tooth fairy will bring me some money,” she said, absolutely beaming, then added, “I think those four-leaf clovers made my tooth get loose.”
The tooth still has not come out, despite lots of wiggling on her part. She even tied a string to it and then the door knob (as she’d seen on an episode of The Three Stooges) and shut the door, but to no avail. I’ve been calling her Princess Wiggle-Tooth the last few days. Hope that tooth comes out soon; the poor dear is currently unable to bite her toenails, and I so love watching her do that!!
1 comment:
Ah, now Bridget and I have another thing in common--poison oak on the face. I think I was a bit younger than her the first time--I don't remember it, but I think I remember stories. The second time I was in the fifth grade and definitely remember it.
Luckily, for Bridget, it seems like the worst part is over.
Post a Comment