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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Gratitude- Our first ER visit.

I will spare you details that at this point I find unncessary, but last Thursday went from a beautiful day, with the bluest skies, to one of the worst of my life in under one minute. My sweet baby girl's face was bitten by a dog. A family dog. All I will say is that in thirty seconds horrible things can happen. I have never felt more panicked and anguished than I did when I picked up my little girl and saw blood on her perfect face and purple plaid dress. The ER doctor assured us we were very lucky, that her wounds are superficial and would quickly heal. No stitches or shots were needed and we were sent home before too long.

I went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to blog about this. Guilt and sadness still lay heavy in the pit of my stomach. I know now this wasn't my fault, but she is still my child, and anything that happens to her is devastating to me. As soon as the shock wore off, Olivia acted completely normal. Goofing around and smiling, trying to get the attention of ER nurses with a huge smile on her bruised face. I decided to post about this, however vaguely, to let other mamas know that these things HAPPEN. They happen to even the most careful and doting parents. Though most people have dogs as a part of their family they are still animals that can be unpredictable, especially around a curious and excited baby girl like ours. The dog that bit Olivia was put to sleep the next day.

I also write this with a heart full of gratitude. Olivia's face is healing even more quickly than I expected, and I know that this could have been so much worse. No permanent damage was done, and she is as vivacious as ever. She is a little weary of dogs, which breaks my heart because she used to love them so much, but I am hopeful that since she is so young this will eventually go away. If you want to see photos of Olivia's wounds from the day of, click here and here.

Here are some photos of baby girl now, as lovely as she has always been. Thankfully, she has a kick ass guardian angel.

The next day, took her to Pigtails & Crewcuts for her very first professional bang trim to keep the hair out of her cuts
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Sweet girl
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Now, complete with strawberry juice from her morning berry breakfast
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Me and my heart
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*If anyone can recommend any oils, lotions, or creams that are natural and work to help diminish the appearance of scars please share!

6 comments:

Aralena said...

I am really sorry to hear your little sweetheart was bitten. What a relief the wounds are superficial.

Not sure if you have access to it, but breast milk is an amazing scar-healer. And obviously it doesn't get more organic than that.

Unknown said...

oh my gooodness! This breaks my heart, the picture :(

plus it hit home a little for me because this weekend we let our 9 months old roll around on a bed with two dogs.. luckily he did just fine and there were no mishaps, but yes, in just a split second, everything could change!

i am so glad your baby lady is doing well! she's too cute for her own good.

The Garlick's said...

Oh poor sweet baby! She looks so sweet, though, in all the pictures.

I use calendula on almost anything--rashes, bites, cuts, etc...I love it and the smell. I've read lemon juice is great for lightening scars, but OUCH if there's still an open wound in any way. Also lavender oil, tea tree oil, onion juice (i think that's the active ingredient in Mederma?)
Good luck!

Eliska Bobeeska said...

I am SO GLAD that you posted about this!!! My husband is always so paranoid when our daughter is around dogs, he will never set her down or let her be face to face with them, and I always feel like he is being over paranoid....and now I know that he isn't. Poor poor baby! She is so adorable with her new little bangs. I can't imagine how hard all of that must have been for you as a mama. I always use homeopathic arnica (montana) for any kind of trauma like that...I really think it helps tons with brusing and swelling etc. You can get it to take oral, and they also make gells etc. I also second the opinion about Calendula oil. That is what we give to new moms at the birth center who have torn. I think it works wonders. xox

Kelsey said...

Vitamin E and lavender. Also, I just want to say that I have a very large scar on my face. When I was 14 I was in a car accident and had over 100 stitches in my face. Today if I wear makeup, people don't even know I have a scar. This was accomplished by a very wonderful doctor who stitched me up, Mederma, and taking very good care of my skin. Make sure she wears lots of sunscreen. A sunburn can make scars much worse.

Anonymous said...

Wow! That sounds terrifying. I'm really glad your beautiful little girl is okay. Emu Oil is good to treat scars.

Apol

(Also: I found your blog through Mar & the Peej Boss Lady Feature.)