First Visit to the ER

We went to dinner with our besties on Wednesday evening, leaving the girls at their house. While we were out, their dog, Peanut took a bite on Mya's face. Apparently, Mya was sitting on Peanut's pillow and I can only assume, bothering him. He most likely became annoyed and responded the only way he knew how. It just so happened they were eye level with each other.

We cleaned it up, bandaged it and went home. As we drove home, I began to wonder if we should bring her into the ER. The bite wasn't that bad, but there was one spot that was a bit deeper than the rest. It was about the length of a fingernail. I wondered about the possibility of having that glued. I emailed my Mom and sister Lisa who supported the ER visit, so off Mya and I went. It was 8:30 pm. Mya hates doctors, etc. Not sure why. She has been pretty fortunate to have loving ones, but I suppose it is rather scary. Anyway, she cried. We made it to the ER, checked in, met with the triage nurses, sat in the waiting room awhile longer and finally found our little room in the ER. We met with some nurses and finally the doctor. She shared they do not close dog bite wounds for fear of infection. Instead, they leave them open, treat with antibiotics and apply bacitracin to help minimize scarring. She said there will be a small scar and if we really want, we can have a plastic surgeon do a revision to repair the scar. We left after midnight.

The bite about an hour after it happened.

All smiles as we get ready to leave the ER--3 hours later. This was at midnight.

2 days later after faithfully administering her augmentin, cleaning the wound, applying bacitracin, this is what it looked like. Yellowish, puss like stuff dried on top, her eye swollen, and very red. She was a great little patient, never complaining about the wound, just didn't like us touching it. I debated and wondered if it was infected, but having been with her constantly for the 2 days, it was hard for me to remember if it was worse or if in fact, swelling would be normal? I don't know. Clearly I am not a nurse. Chris got home and we came to the consensus that we should bring her back. I again, sent pics to my sister (who is a nurse practitioner) and mom, both who have had far more experience than I, and they confirmed infection. Off we went at 6:15. The whole family this time. Same procedures followed though much faster this time. We were in the ER room about 15 minutes after arriving. The ER doctor came in, took a look and said it was infected and he'd recommend admitting her. He said he'd call a pediatrician and have her take a look first. She came and looked at Mya. Coincidentally, she was the mother of one of Mya's school friends, which helped immensely with putting Mya at ease. She poked and prodded and determined there was an absess underneath. Blood work showed the infection was isolated and had not spread yet. She offered the option of having Mya admitted as well or simply doing a round of high powered antibiotics intravenously and then returning to the hospital for a check up the following morning. We opted for the latter. Mya got the antibiotics and we waited for 30 more minutes. We finally left around 9:30 pm.

This is what it looked like 2  days later--red, swollen and infected.

Such attitude. Every picture I took, she was making faces or doing something with her hands. Here she is getting her 15 cc's of antibiotic through the IV.

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This is what it looked like in the ER light.

Fun family night hanging in the ER.

Oh Mya! You are full of life.

Smiles again as you get ready to leave! Yahoo!

We followed through with the check up on Saturday morning. The doctor said the scar will be larger than it should have been due to the infection. The exact size will be dependent on how quickly the infection is healed. I am hoping it will fade with time and become smaller as she becomes larger.

What an ordeal! The funny thing is that she still has a love for animals like no other. While sitting in the ER the first night, Mya was busy telling me that she wanted a bunny and a dog. :) Gotta love that love for life. This kid is definitely a lover of all. We are so glad that she is okay and on the mend.