I got out all the information that the ER had given us the night before, and started reading through it. First was the diagnosis.
Third degree burn - scarring is expected.
Contractures. This is what the ER doctor told us would be our biggest worry. The burns were over the top joint of his middle two fingers, and he was worried that as it healed, the contractures would limit his mobility.
Third degree burns are always medical emergencies. Just in case Scott was having any second thoughts about our trip to the ER.
And this explained why Owen wasn't in any pain. He had burned through all of his nerve endings!
The doctor had told us to change his bandage daily. Scott had taken some of the kids to church for me, and left me with Owen, Kate, and Sara and Josh (they wanted to help care for Owen). Owen was feeling really good, and wanted to go out and ride bikes. I figured if I sent Sara out with him to watch out for him, he'd be fine. A few minutes later, Sara opened the door and yelled for me to come fast. Owen's bandage had come off. He was pretty freaked out about it. Josh was assuring him that it was ok because the doctor had told us to take it off every day, and that mom would be able to fix it.
I brought Owen in and assessed the situation. I wasn't too excited about having to do the first bandage change without Scott there, but I had no choice. I had helped the nurse do it the night before, so I knew exactly what to do, but it was a lot trickier doing it with him awake and moving. I got him all bandaged up, but first I got some pictures of his fingers. They aren't pretty.
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