What a Week!

The good news is that as I write this, we are all okay... However, it has been a pretty wild week! 

Last Wednesday, July 27 (Abby's birthday), I had to have surgery on my right lower eyelid.  The doctor had to cut a wedge out of my eyelid to remove squamous cell carcinoma that appeared rather suddenly.  Not knowing how much he was going to need to cut before getting clear margins was scary. I was also a little nervous about how it would look when he was done.  He had to cut more than he originally thought he would because the tumor had a tail, but he was able to get it all the first time.  I had a patch on for one day.  As soon as the patch came off, I started ice packs (20 minutes on, 10 minutes off).  That's a lot of ice!  I have quite the black eye, but it looks like it is going to heal amazingly well!  Tomorrow is my first post-op appointment.  I'm hoping to get rid of a few stitches.... we'll see. :)

Last night, we had to have our dog put down.  Sydney has been my little four-legged companion for a little over nine years, so it was a pretty emotional experience.  I tried (rather unsuccessfully) to limit the tears because my eye is still so sensitive from the surgery.  She was becoming increasingly aggressive.  (We have several stories to tell.)  Then, Saturday night, Abby dropped one of her new birthday toys on the floor.  When Sydney decided to eat it, Abby tried to take it away.  She nipped Abby, leaving marks for several hours.  When Coley tried to pick up Sydney to remove her from the situation, she bit him and drew blood.  Coley talked to the intake coordinator at our local Humane Society and another lady who has a small dog pet rescue for quite awhile to see about the option of trying to rehabilitate her.  Neither person felt like it would be a successful option in Sydney's case.  As much as I love that crazy little animal, I have to think of the safety of my family first.  It was not a "happy" decision, but it was the right one.

So... last night after saying our tearful goodbyes to Sydney, we decided to have some comfort food for dinner.  Coley had to return to the hospital for a meeting while I made waffles for Abby and me.  Michael thought they looked pretty yummy, so I broke some up into little pieces for him to eat.  Not even an hour later, I was calling for an ambulance because he was having an acute allergic reaction (probably to the milk).  His eyes started swelling and it was all red around his lips.  Coley called about that time to say he was on his way home.  When I told him Michael was having a reaction, he calmly asked if his breathing was okay.  As I said, "Yes," Michael started coughing.  Coley asked if Michael was the one coughing and if that cough was new.  When I indicated it was Michael and that it was new, he worried that his airway might close.  At that point, I called 911 to hear, "We are experiencing a high volume of calls....... Please stay on the line....."  I think I waited at least a minute, but it seemed like an eternity.  When I told the dispatcher what was happening, she immediately had the paramedics on their way.  Coley arrived before the police and ambulance, so he was able to take Michael and assess the situation.  By the time paramedics arrived, we thought his airway would be okay, but we all thought it was best to transport him by ambulance.  I rode in the ambulance (my first ambulance ride) with a very frightened baby boy while Coley followed in our vehicle.  Our sweet neighbor kept Abby at home.  We were at the hospital for a couple of hours while they gave him Benadryl and a steroid to calm things down.  By the time they let us go home, Michael was sleeping very comfortably.  His eyes are still pretty red and swollen, but he is doing okay.  I am now armed with an EpiPen and Michael will be doing some allergy testing very soon.  My poor baby!

Here's hoping we have had enough excitement at our house for awhile!