About two weeks ago Jamie was at school while I was making dinner at home. Matthew loves to help cook with us. We have taught him multiple times that the stove is hot. He has done very well understanding what hot means and not to get too close to it. That night he was sitting on a stool next to me by the stove. He would help me stir the chili and point at the stove and say hot. I let my guard down for a few seconds when I turned my back for a few seconds while I added some water to the chili. All of a sudden I hear Matthew screaming and crying saying hot, hot, hot and holding his left hand out to me. I believe when I picked up the pot he saw the glow of the cook top which has always been obscured by the pot before and was fascinated by it. I grabbed him immediatly, put both hands under cold water until he couldn't handle it any more. I could tell by looking at his hand that it was burnt pretty bad. I took him down to his doctor's office to have it evaluated. He had second degree burns on each of his fingertips. The nurse practitioner applied silvadine cream to the burns and wrapped his hand. He was really calm except for the occasional whimper when he showed me his hand and cried hot. I would run it under cold water again and he woluld be happy again for another 10 minutes or so. Once we put the bandage on he wouldn't stop screaming until I finally put him to bed about an hour later. He was just so mad we had confined his hand. The next day I took the bandage off, put more cream on and bandaids along with a glove. He was MUCH happier that way. He never complained about it again. Each night I would take them off for his bath and replace them after. He walked around looking like Michael Jackson with his one glove for a couple weeks. Once the blisters broke we had to cut the dead skin off. That was horrible. Matthew screamed and cried like he was dying. I felt like such a horrible mother.
Matthew's had at the doctor's office that first night after the burn.
Matthew's hand about 5 days after the burn after we had cut the dead skin off.
Another view of his hand that same day.
After a few days of putting bandaids on his fingers he didn't mind it at all, in fact, he almost enjoyed it. He liked to help. As you can see, he is showing off his bandaid covered hand.
Matthew with his one Michael Jackson glove.
Exactly one week later just before Jamie left for school we were finishing dinner while Matthew played in the living room and hallway with the dogs. Matthew is a very strong and energetic 2 year old. Has a hard time being gentle with other people let alone dogs. Matthew has been pulling Paige's tail (our lab). She was not too happy about it so she growled at him and snapped at him but did not bite. He learned and moved to Toby who is very passive. He was out of my eye shot but I knew he was playing hard with him. All of a sudden we hear a growl and Matthew started crying really hard. I ran in to find him right in front of Toby on the floor clutching his face. Toby had bit him in the face. This was the second time he had been bitten by Toby. The first had been this summer while Matthew and the dogs were outside. Again we didn't see exactly what happened but we believe Matthew was being really rough. He ended up needing some glue above his right eye. This time it seemed somewhat worse. He had two bleeding holes, one on his right cheek and the other on his upper lip. I rushed him to the ER while Jamie went to school to take his Spanish oral exam. I had learned the hard way that Matthew would not stay still for the doctor to do anything. They ended up having to place an IV in order to sedate him. It was really not easy to do but luckily the nurse was good enough to get it the first time after a little fishing. He didn't secure it very well so it nearly came out when they went to access it to administer the medication. His hand looked like a ball of tape when they finally were done securing it. He got 3 stitches in his cheek and two just above his upper lip. While he was sedated we cut the remaining dead skin off of his hand so he could finish healing. He was really funny to see after he came out of the sedation. He was so groggy and out of it. Just as he was almost back to his normal self he vomited all over himself and me. They gave him anti-nausea medication but later that night he vomited 3 more times. He got two baths and three sets of pajamas that night. He woke up about every couple hours and for the first time since he was an infant he fell asleep in our bed for about an hour. I found out later that he had caught a virus at my sister's house. I ended up sick too. That was a really hard night.
Matthew in my arms just as the sedation was wearing off.
This picture shows the mess of his IV. A few of his fingers were even taped down because they were having such a hard time getting it secured they were just taping everywhere they can.
Matthew in my arms just as the sedation was wearing off.
This picture shows the mess of his IV. A few of his fingers were even taped down because they were having such a hard time getting it secured they were just taping everywhere they can.
This was just before he vomited.
This is the picture from the first dog bite. The wound is on the nose bridge above his right eye.
This is Toby. This week I have been frantically trying to find him a new home with no small children. I truly believe he is a good dog and was just protecting himself. I believe his previous owner abused him and he learned to bite. Jamie wanted to have him put down the night it happended and I begged him to give Toby another chance, a chance for me to find him a new home. I have hit multiple dead ends this week. I have one more avenue I am still hoping will take him but there is not guarantee. The lady who fostered him before we adopted him we are hoping will take him back. I hope to hear back tomorrow. If she can't we will have to put him down. I don't want to put down a healthy happy dog. I feel like I am killing him needlessly. I pray we can find him a new home so that he can live out the rest of his life happily.
