Birthday weekend with 2 parties 2 days apart! Rebekah (11) and friends, followed Timothy (13) and friends. Thankfully I mowed the knee-high grass for water balloon fights, easter egg hunts and ice cream sundae bar. April is always a big bash with 2 kid parties back to back.
The night before of party 2, Ben (15) and some friends made a fire in the pit out back. A little after 10pm he appeared at the kitchen door with shock and pain on his face. We all gasped when we saw he was holding his left hand out in front. Skin on every finger was just hanging off! It took a second to decide what to do.
I grabbed a large metal bowl and filled it with cool water, to put his hand in. David called his brother, a fire fighter in Birmingham. I then remembered the liquid Aloe Vera in the refrigerator for burns and swapped aloe for the water. We had no burn gel or silvadine creme. I remembered neighbors we carpooled with who were pharmaceutical reps, they had just mentioned a revolutionary burn treatment, being marketed for the military – they had something to do with its promotion.
I called and they came over quickly, medicine in hand explaining it was not for sale yet. With Uncle Toby giving instructions, David and our neighbor wrapped Ben’s fingers using sterile bandage supplies from David’s wound care days and a new antiseptic military burn liquid. I sat beside them and prayed. We would go to Urgent Care first thing in the morning… before the party.
The story of what happened slowly came out. The boys were playing with the fire. Ben had seen a video using Axe Body Spray to make shooting flames. How it got on his hand is a mystery, but the foolishness of the experiment was certainly self evident. Such a hard and painful lesson, which lasted for days. Cleanings and repeated cuttings of dead skin followed. The liquid which ben continued to paint on even though it stung terribly, worked like magic. His hand was healed in 12 days! We were all amazed.
Oh the mercy of God! He helps us even in our foolishness…
ForGlorySake! -Anna
