Hunter's 6 month birthday didn't exactly go as planned...

It is hard to believe that 6 months have already gone by since the day that Hunter was born. We can still remember it so clearly...leaving Memorial Regional with mommy riding in the back seat with our little bundle of joy as he grabbed onto her finger while daddy drove as carefully as possible to make sure that we all made it home safely. We knew at that moment that we would always do whatever we could to make Hunter happy and we never wanted to see him have to hurt. Unfortunately, the reality is that all parents only want good things to happen to their children, but life happens and it doesn't always work out that way...

We started out Hunter's 6 month birthday (Saturday) just like we start many other Saturday mornings. We loaded up in the car and we were going to hit a few yard sales and run some errands. Daddy talked to Gram and Grandpa and they were eating breakfast at a restaurant in town, so we decided to stop by and see them!

We hadn't been there long when the day turned from normal to a nightmare. A large styrofoam cup filled with extremely hot coffee got knocked over on the table and poured into mommy's lap and onto Hunter's face, his hand and his legs. It all happened so fast and mommy jumped up as quickly as she could from the booth and we put cold compresses on Hunter's burns. He cried a cry that no parents ever want to hear and it was apparent that he was terrified and hurting and we were too.

We took him to Memorial Regional Hospital's ER after we tried to call his pediatrician, but their closest office was closed. They saw him right away and immediately told us that he would need to be transported to MCV for advanced care. They wanted a pediatric burn specialist to see him. They told us that the burns on his face and his hand were 2nd degree and the burns on his legs were 1st degree. Because the burns were so close to his nose and mouth, they started monitoring his oxygen intake and his heartrate right away. They also told us that they needed to start an IV so they could give him morphine for the pain and so they would have easy access in case they needed it in the ambulance. After trying to get the IV to go 5 different times (and we felt as helpless as we have ever felt in our lives), they finally gave up and said that the nurses at MCV could try when we got there. After what felt like an eternity, they loaded us into the ambulance and we were on our way...believe it or not, once they stopped sticking Hunter, he stopped crying and was acting like his normal self! He even smiled for us and was playing with his giraffe, "Stretch", on the way to MCV. Talk about a trooper!!! We definetely have a tough boy on our hands!! See the video and picture below of his ride in the ambulance...

Once we arrived at MCV, we started to hear a little better news...Since they were familiar with working with children and burns, they were very calm and kept telling us that he would be alright and he would heal nicely. It also helped that by this point, Hunter was all smiles and was taking in all the attention of the pretty nurses and his family that had come to be with him. He was also fascinated with the ID bands they had put on his ankles. (See Photos)

We had to wait quite a while since the doctor was in surgery on another burn victim, but other than them not letting us feed Hunter, everything went very smoothly. They said that if he had to go into surgery, they would have to aspirate him in order to put him under anesthesia and we didn't want that. So, the tough little guy went 6 hours without a meal and only got mildly fussy...we were pretty impressed! Once the doctor came in and looked at him, he said that Hunter would heal up nicely and we would just need to keep an antibiotic ointment on his burns and check back in with them so they could monitor the healing. Hunter got his bottle and we were able to go home! We went home, played a little, gave Hunter a lukewarm bath and a nice big bottle for dinner and he went to bed early. He was extremely tired from having no naps all day! This picture was taken Saturday evening...

Today, everyone is feeling much better...Hunter even ate green beans for the first time! The little man is acting like himself and although the burns look worse today, we know that they are healing and scabbing over. Mommy only has a little area on her leg that has a 1st degree burn and she is feeling fine. We had the support of family and friends to get us through this scary time and it meant the world to us. We are so thankful for our health and that the situation wasn't worse than it was. Below are some pictures of Hunter today...