E comes inside whining, "There is a black thing in my thumb." The thumb he sucks. He tells me it hurts. I take a look and I see a pretty healthy splinter. From the looks of it, I might be able to grab a tail end and pull it right out. Upon closer inspection, this thing is in there. Not one little edge to grab with my magic tweezers. I ask him if I can try to push it out with my fingers. He obliges. "OOOWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!" After the ringing in my ears stops, I tell him to go play and we will try again after bath once his skin is real soft. Fortunately, for him, his thumb doesn't hurt so much that he can't suck on it. Unfortunately, for us, he doesn't care enough to let us try to remove the splinter.
That evening, Dad is able to convince him to let him try with a needle. E is terrified, but puts on a brave face, clutches me tightly, and lets Dad go to work. Our neighbor might think that we were torturing this poor child. Understandably, needles are scary and his thumb already hurts. After a few minutes of this torture, his tears break my heart and we decide to stop and try again tomorrow.
With that experience still fresh in his memory, E won't even let us look at it. He goes about the next day like he doesn't even have a splinter. That night he lets me look at it after bath and agrees to let me try to push it out. One try was all he would allow. I failed. This sucker was headed towards infection and he didn't really care.
Later that night, when we checked on the boys before bed, my husband tells me to grab a flashlight. He meets me at E's bed with tweezers and a needle. E was passed out, his thumb resting comfortably on the bed. My husband had that splinter out in two minutes. The kid didn't even flinch.
That evening, Dad is able to convince him to let him try with a needle. E is terrified, but puts on a brave face, clutches me tightly, and lets Dad go to work. Our neighbor might think that we were torturing this poor child. Understandably, needles are scary and his thumb already hurts. After a few minutes of this torture, his tears break my heart and we decide to stop and try again tomorrow.
With that experience still fresh in his memory, E won't even let us look at it. He goes about the next day like he doesn't even have a splinter. That night he lets me look at it after bath and agrees to let me try to push it out. One try was all he would allow. I failed. This sucker was headed towards infection and he didn't really care.
Later that night, when we checked on the boys before bed, my husband tells me to grab a flashlight. He meets me at E's bed with tweezers and a needle. E was passed out, his thumb resting comfortably on the bed. My husband had that splinter out in two minutes. The kid didn't even flinch.
No comments:
Post a Comment