Spelling Bee Success

Liam was selected to participate in the WELS Area Primary Grade Spelling Bee from Risen Savior.  He got 35 of 50 correct on the initial in class spelling test.  We have had a really tough time getting him to practice and were basically forcing him to participate today.  I was worried he would go out in the first round.  Well, he did wonderful.  He was in the top 3 of his room's 16 students and made it to the finals with the top 6.  He was the first one out in the finals misspelling WHERE as W-E-R-E.  Oh well, he had a great time.  Below is a picture of him and his certificate/ribbon as well as a little video of him spelling NAME.

6th Place Ribbon & Certificate

In the finals!

Happy Guy!

All Clear

Owen went to the doctor yesterday and go the "All Clear" diagnosis.  He took the bandages off and the one on his face fell off.  He gave him permission to take a bath which was nice and get rid of the slime.  The Dr. was Japanese which made it nice to hear about how this might effect his skin.  He said there was probably little chance that there will be discoloration permanently. 

Owen smiling... you can see one of the burns on his shoulder. (2.25.10)

Lookin' Good

Owen is being a spazoid tonight.  I had to threaten him to get him to stand still for my daily pictures.  He is looking much better I think tonight.  The biological membrane is beginning to come off a bit and we are trimming it with a scissors.  The pink skin is going away a little bit and I'm more confident there won't be any issues with permanent marks, but we will see.  Owen does go to the burn clinic tomorrow for a check up and we will find out more then on what they think.

A little side note, the boy that was burned in that car crash in Milwaukee last year was back at Children's Hospital the same time Owen was.  Cathy didn't see him, but spoke to a few of his relatives.

Tuesday night (2.23.10)

First Day Back at 'School'

I think Owen looks much better today and today was his first day back at "school".  I still have a few concerns about whether or not he will have any discoloration or scarring on his face, but I'm hoping not.  Pictures definitely accentuate the burns, they are much harder to see in person.  The more distant picture even makes them harder to see.  It seems to have healed nicely around his eye too.

Monday morning (not woken up all the way.  2.22.10)

Monday night (2.22.10)

Monday night farther away (2.22.10)

Looking Better

Owen looks much better this morning.  Another big chunk of his forehead peeled off and the lines around his eye are disappearing.  Hopefully in a couple of days he will be good as new.  Unfortunately he is going to have to miss this coming's week trip to the Country Springs water park that we were planning on.  I think just Liam and I will go as of now. 

Saturday night (2.20.10)

Sunday morning (2.21.10)

Owen - Continuing to Heal

We are in the stage where Owen looks a lot worse but the healing process is moving along.  Some of the skin on his head is beginning to peel off leaving some obvious pink spots of new skin.  The hardest part is keeping Owen from realizing that he can't be running ahead full speed and rolling on his face like he normally does.  Thanks to all the e-mails and obvious prayers that have been coming in.  I will try to keep everyone updated here.

Owen on Friday night (2.19.10) - Still Happy

Owen on Saturday morning (2.20.10) - Always Smiling

Owen Update

Owen got home from the hospital yesterday with an all clear and ready to go bill of health from the Docs.  A nurse came to the house today to take a look and help Cathy change the dressing of the burns and said he looked good.  One thing is for sure, Owie's spirit and energy haven't been damaged.  It is almost scarey watching him run around and not have any regard for his burns.

I was kind of shocked to see him today as he looks really rough and the pictures look a little bleak.  It should all heal fine though.  Amazing how the body works.  I've included a couple pictures below and they may not be for the squeemish.  He is shiny from the lotion that he has to keep on his face.  They all say he will be fine, but we are just praying that there is no scarring, especially on his face.  We will see, I will keep you updated.

Owen & ER Trip #4... and More

I was wondering what I was going to post in February because I've gone three years without a down month.  I didn't want to break my streak.  This, though, wasn't what I wanted to post although things seem to be working out OK and will be fine.

Owen the tank engine, decided yesterday at about 9 AM that it would be a good idea to pull a coffee pot of water off of the counter at Grandma's house.  The problem was that this pot of water happened to be filled with boiling water.  The water and the pot hit him in the left shoulder and splashed up onto the left side of his face.  Cathy said that she had never heard him scream like that.  She ripped off his shirt and put him under cold water in the bathtub and then they ran him to Children's Hospital. 

He spent the morning in the ER where they gave him something for the pain and put some medicine (Silver Nitrate I think) on his shoulder, which is the worst of the burns.  When I got there about noon they were just taking him up to his room to await a surgical procedure later that yesterday afternoon.

They took him into "surgery", and I use that term lightly.  Other than putting him under it really wasn't surgery.  The procedure involved scrubbing all of the skin off that was burnt to prevent infection and scarring and then apply a "bio brain".  Basically a biological bandage or skin that will stay on the burns and allow them to heal in a sterile environment.  There will be no scab because of it.

He seemed to sleep pretty well through the night I was told and will be able to come home today.  It will be about two weeks before the biological bandage comes off and he is back to new, hopefully with no scars.  I've included a few pictures below.

Right after he got to the emergency room...

Owen and Mommy...

Sleeping in the ER...

All bandaged up... waiting to go to his room.

After his surgical procedure, the patch on his cheek is the biological bandage...