Damn that Playground!

I have been so busy that I haven't had a chance to post about Kennedy's hurt feet. The good news is she is on the mend and seems to be dealing with it quite well. But the first hour after she burned them was extremely difficult. I'll start from the beginning.


This past weekend, we went to Brownlee Park to soak up some sun and cool off with a dip in the sprinklers they have. Kennedy loves this park because her school takes trips there in the spring and summer. Brady was having a blast, too. Poor baby didn't understand the concept that if you put your face in the fountain, you suck in water through your mouth and nose. Chris and I had a hard time not laughing at his gasps.
So after about 30 minutes of playing in the fountains, Kennedy decided that she wanted to play on the playground equipment. Brady was still having a blast putting his face in the water. So Kennedy wandered off to get on the slides. A few moments later, she was running straight for me screaming like I'd never heard her scream before. I thought she had been bitten by a bug or was scared of a stray dog. But she lept into my arms and screamed, "PUT MY FEET IN THE WATER. THEY HURT REALLY BAD!"


I cradled her and put her feet in the water and wondered what on earth could have hurt her so bad. When I looked at the bottoms of her feet, I could see they had already bubbled up into a blister that covered the entire ball of each foot with small blisters on her heels and toes. The poor child screamed to the top of her lungs and this was not a "diva" cry. The sweet baby was in serious pain. She was crying so hard that I couldn't understand what she was saying when I asked her what she had stepped on to burn her feet so badly.


Other parents came over and asked if they could help, but we didn't know what to do. She would not stop screaming (not crying... screaming) in pain. So we loaded the kids in the car and I sat in the back seat with Kennedy, trying to keep the bottoms of her feet wet. I poured water on them catching it with a towel in my lap.


When we got home, we put her in the tub so her feet could soak. She eventually started shivering so we moved her to the vanity where her feet were submerged but she could sit on the counter wrapped in a towel. The pediatrician's office advised us to take her to Quick Care, so off we went. Diagnosis: second degree burns on her sweet little feet.


Kennedy was such a trooper (AFTER she was able to calm down). It took an entire hour of soaking for her feet to finally help them feel better. The doctor told us to keep Kennedy off her feet for a few days so the blisters wouldn't pop and get infected.


Really? Keep a four year old from walking, jumping, running, playing? Have you met my daughter? Have you ever had a toddler?


Yeah...... that worked for about 24 hours with movies and and us waiting on her hand and foot (pardon the pun). But the next day, she was ready to walk and said it didn't hurt. I eventually got her to tell me what she stepped on - the metal walkway to get up to the slides. METAL!! On that 100 degree day, I can't even imagine how hot it was.

Moral of the story? Always wear shoes to play outside!