a day without sunscreen

As I type, I'm sitting here in bed watching my son finally sleep. It really isn't a peaceful sleep, the sleep I know he needs and deserves, but this is going to have to get us by for now.

You see... two days ago he went to the beach with 'camp' and his peers, an outing that we all enjoy as children and adults.
I sent him to camp with the requested necessary items for that day; swim trunks, towel and sunscreen.
Later that evening after our normal, "how was your day" discussion, he says, "I think I'm sunburned".
When I had him take his shirt off, I never imagined I would see my child's skin so sunburned!
Boy Child has such fair skin; he's so porcelain and now he shared the same red tone as a cooked lobster.
I am always so cautious when it comes to his skin. I am constantly putting sunscreen on him and keeping track of the time to make sure I don't forget to reapply it.
One application at the start of the day is never enough!

I then questioned him about sunscreen and he says it was never put on him.
I'm so upset. He was in the care of adults all day, at camp, and sunscreen was never put on him.

Wednesday night was hell, a cool tub was torture for him, burn jel wasn't soothing enough and sleeping was damn near impossible for this kid.

Thursday morning when I brought him to camp I questioned them about the sunscreen. They apologized and said the kids all had sunscreen applied, he must have been missed.

MISSED!?!

He stayed at camp for the rest of the day, being cautious about being bumped, touched or having more sun exposure.

That night I get his tub ready because his skin is still fairly warm to the touch and I wanted to get the old layer of burn jel washed off so I could apply a new layer.
Trying to get his shirt off was almost impossible! It was stuck in some places and he was just plain uncomfortable.
Finally able to get it off, I notice some skin has come off with his shirt and he has a small blister.

Friggin' great!

Finish the tub ordeal, which completely and totally sucked!!!
I then manage to get him into something as soft as I could find; his fleece pajama bottoms and one of my t-shirts.

I call the Emergency Room about the sunburn, chills, shakes, nausea and now blister, to make sure I'm not missing anything. I'm told what I'm doing is right, keep doing it.
Get him into bed for another long night of tossing and turning and because he is so miserable I share my bed with him so I can be miserable too.

Today we wake up to find that small tiny blister has grown! It is now HUGE! and the other shoulder that seemed to have had no signs of blisters now has, well MANY!!

I panic and call the ER again, and I'm told, "if you're concerned you can bring him in".

Gee thanks Captain Obvious! You're a fuckin' pal!

I call the family physician, get an appointment for later in the day but until then keep him comfortable.

Ha! They're fuckin' kidding right?
I have a child who has Sensory Processing Disorder, a severe sunburn on his back and shoulders and is an 8 year old boy.
He sits in one position for any amount of time and that begins to hurt, when it comes time to move, that also hurts and then I have to help him move.
Keep him comfortable my ass!!

Appointment time comes and guess what!?!

There isn't a damn thing they can do for this kid!! Keep giving him ibuprofen, cool compresses (if he'll let you), aloe, and all the other fancy shit I've been doing? Keep doing it.

These blisters?

These blisters (which are all even bigger now) are perfectly normal.

Bullshit!

He was going to get a prescription for Silvadene, which works amazingly well on burns, but because Dr. Mom is allergic to Sulfer, Boy Child can't reap the benefits of this.
Ya know, because I have to apply the cream and then snuggle this child, because it seems that's all he wants to do!
So instead, when those nasty bastards pop, its good ol' fashion triple antibiotic ointment. (Pssst...that has sulfer in it too, just a smaller percentage)

Boy Child will go back on Monday for a follow up and will not be going to camp next week.

*Sunscreen. Know it and use it.
*I swear. A lot
*When I talk about this, in real, I'll swear a LOT more
*When your child asks for a pb&j at 9am, make it for him
*A popsicle at 11am? Get 2, one for him- one for you!
*Oh yea... and SUNSCREEN!!! Use it!

show me your teeth

Boy Child has a loose tooth.

Now to you and me this doesn't sound like a big deal but to him; his world is falling apart. Being an(almost) 8 year old boy you'd think this would be second nature to him and he would be excited to yank out those suckers at the first sign of a wiggle.Nope. Not my kid.

In this house we take good care of our teeth. Brush twice a day. Floss and rinse once. Sometimes more. I am very particular about teeth. Very. I have stopped dating guys because of their hygiene habits or their teeth in general.
Hey! If you can't take care of your teeth, what else are you NOT taking care of?

Due to our oral hygiene habits, Boy Child has healthy teeth that are holding on for all they're worth and they do not want to be replaced by their adult counterparts. I hate to tell you this Miss Tooth Fairy, but you're going to have to wait for his goods!

He has only lost 2 of his sweet baby teeth. Two. By the time I was his age I was yanking out my teeth once I felt that jiggle. Maybe that explains the need for 4 1/2 years of braces.

Taking that first tooth out was a HUGE ordeal. I had to do it. There was blood. There was tears. He had to put his head down because "his tummy felt funny". The poor child was going to pass out! He's been traumatized. Miss Tooth Fairy left him $10.
Yep... she felt very bad for his first time experience. He thinks she's rich. Ha! He has no idea.
2nd tooth... different story. He lost it at The Mailman's (his father's) house while eating a cream roll. He took a bite into it then starting chomping and to his surprise...it was crunchy! That tooth was barely loose! And... there was no blood; no big deal this time. Miss Tooth Fairy left him $1. Cheap Bitch.
Now this 3rd tooth is loose. I mean incredibly loose. The adult tooth has his poor gums all swelled up and he just doesn't realize it.

Background info on Boy Child: he has what is called Sensory Integration Disfunction or Sensory Processing Disorder; the terms are interchangeable. It is not something that is easily understood. I knew there was something "different, unusual, wrong" (I really dislike those words because there is nothing "wrong" with him) and bringing it to the attention of his doctor when he was 2 years old was an incredible challenge. The Mailman is still in denial. People just don't "get it".
If you want to read more about it you can here. Educate yo' self!

So tooth is loose... I'm telling him it should come out. He starts to tear up. (he is a little sensitive at times, ok a lot of times.)
I'm tucking him into bed last night and I offer to pull it out... again.

BC: "Mom, I just don't know"
ME: "What don't you know?"
BC: "I can't explain it."
ME: "Well try."
BC: annoyed face "Mommm! It will hurt."
Me: "The pain goes away."
BC: "It will bleed"
ME: "You didn't bleed to death last time. The 2nd time it didn't even bleed. You bleed when you pick your bug bites and you're ok. It always stops bleeding. You can drink cold water when its over"
BC: again... very annoyed "But Mom!! I don't taste the blood!!"

He rolled over and showed me his back. Conversation over.

Miss Tooth Fairy never made her visit last night. He goes to the dentist for impressions on Thursday to get a mouth guard for karate and if that wiggly pearly white doesn't come out by then he is in for a big surprise when that gawd awful slurp and suction pulls it out for him.

Ohhh... that is going to be an adventure in itself!