...gabe was bitten by a dog. a pomeranian to be precise.
initially we weren't too concerned...the dog had clamped down on gabe's wrist, but doug (my sister-in-law's bf) seemed to receive the brunt of the bite (he was bleeding) when we separated the 2 of them. gabe wasn't bleeding (he had bite imprints) and he recovered after a quick hug and kiss from me (moms CAN fix anything!). so we carried on with the evening and headed home for gabe's bedtime.
that's when we discovered the blood :(
in the panicked moment of the incident, no one thought to check for bite marks from the dog's bottom teeth. seriously, we were 4 adults in that kitchen and no one thought of it. right after discovering the cm long wound i called the bc nurses line for advice, especially since the initial bite imprints were looking more like pin-prick puncture wounds. the nurse and i both agreed that none of the wounds were emergency-warranted especially since gabe wasn't displaying any negative side effects, plus we
thought the dog's vaccinations were up-to-date. the nurse did suggest seeing a doctor in the morning just to get the all-clear. chris and i concurred. then i had to call my parents and break the news they wouldn't be babysitting in the a.m. since gabe and i would be heading to the doctors office. seriously, as if i didn't feel bad enough for gabe, my mom freaked out over the phone.
at the nurse's suggestion i checked on gabe before i went to bed and he was sleeping soundly. but at 12:30 a.m. gabe's sleep-shattering cry woke me up and i went running to him. i've never seen him so upset before...he was standing in the middle of his crib, arms extended and shaking, and his little face was all covered in tears. on a normal night, i would've let him cry-it-out but i truly believe he had a nightmare and relived the bite incident :(
this a.m. my parents came over and we went to the walk-in clinic to get gabe's wrist looked at. i can't believe how much guilt i was getting from my mom - she was barely speaking to me! it was an accident that happened before anyone could react. her big issue was we weren't 100% sure the dog`s vaccines were current...the 6 year old dog had been adopted by my sis-in-law from a family friend. that was just adding fuel to the fire my mom was building. not once did i trivialize what had happened to my son, and i was getting upset at my mom for trying to make me feel worse. at that point, we just stopped talking to each other.
the doctor looked at the wound and said because it was a superficial wound and we
thought the dog`s vaccines were current, he didn't want to put gabe on antibiotics. he sent me off with warning to keep an eye on it and make sure it wasn't bruising or starting to look infected. heck by this morning, everything was almost healed up! so off we went with a semi-clean bill of health :) my parents dropped me off at the skytrain and they went home with gabe.
then it got worse.
15 minutes later i got a call from my mom...gabe threw up. that was the final straw...i was starting to lose it, and 2 tears welled up in my eyes. i called chris and yelled that he needed to find out about this dog's medical history. i told my mom to call our family doctor and see if he would see gabe right away and i'd meet them there. i didn't know this but if you see a doctor during the day, you cannot see another doctor the same day. msp won't pay for the 2nd doctor's services. so i had to call the drop-in clinic we had just visited and the receptionist directed me to the bc nurses line. the nurse reassured me that the vomit could be a completely separate issue from the dog bite. phew, what a relief (even thought i wasn't pleased it could be a virus)!
our doctor's office also called and agreed that it was probably
not related to the dog bite and just keep an eye on gabe. after lunch i finally got the last piece of news that the dog's vaccines are all current and he's a healthy boy. thank goodness! i was able to relax and breathe a sigh of relief. it's still strange that gabe vomitted, but he's been fine the entire day. so it's just a one-off incident.
me and my mom however...we still weren't exactly on talking terms by the end of the day. we don't have that kiss-and-make-up relationship, rather we just stew for awhile and eventually get over it. i do see why my mom was so upset, it's a terrible thing to have happen and it was somewhat preventable (gabe and bobo won't be playing together again!). but on the other hand, it was an accident...just like when gabe rolled off the change table; just like when he dove off the couch and bruised his cheek; just like when he fell and bruised his eye on the coffee table; and just like all the other injuries he'll sustain in the future!
but for now, gabe's acting like his normal self, i've stopped blaming myself for the incident, i'm letting my moms comments roll off my back (because damnit, I AM A GOOD MOM!), and we're ready for life's next lesson, whatever that may be and whatever form it comes in!
BRING.
IT.
ON.
