The Verdict

We think.

So, it looks like our little guy is going to probably have to have surgery after all. After today, our plastic surgeon said that he's still not 100% sure, but two or three times he said "probably," whereas last time, he said he was "hopeful."

The concern is that we are going into the 3rd week of healing now, and there is still a patch on two fingers and the top of his palm that is still raw and hasn't healed over with new skin. It WILL heal but with scar tissue which will cause pulling and possible contractured fingers. We asked if it was just something that Jesse could learn to adapt too seeing as he's so young and won't really know the difference anyway. But, they said that this is something that will cause him pain for years to come and could affect things he may want to do - sports, piano, full range of motion things etc.

The plan now is to let it completely scar over for the next two months. We'll go back in April, and from there we'll probably be looking at dates for surgery. The doctor wants to break up the scar tissue with new skin. If he feels that he'll need a lot of skin, he'll take it from Jesse's groin; if only a little, then from his inner elbow.

It was such a weird visit - we feel like we went through the full gamet of emotions in just an hour. The nurse came in, looked at it, and declared that she felt "cautiously optimistic." So, we were like: "Okay. This looks good." Then, the first doctor came in, looked at it for two seconds, and said: "Oh, this looks great. There won't be any need for surgery." So, we were THEN like: "Oh yay! Let's go celebrate!" And just a few minutes later our main doctor comes in and says: "Yeah. He's probably going to need skin grafts. But, we'll still give it a couple of months." My word - I almost cried! I still love this doctor. He's not quick to rush to the operating room, but he seemed pretty sure that Jesse will need them because of the tightness the scars will cause. He's just not in any rush because Jesse's still so young.

So, we're trying to keep perspective. In the big picture of life, we know that there are FAR larger and MUCH more painful things that parents have to go through with their children. This isn't life threatening - it's not like we're dealing with cancer, or tumors, or emotional trauma or anything like that. And I fully expect that with two boys, we'll be visiting the ER several times throughout our season of parenthood. I expect broken bones from riding bikes or from sport injuries etc. I don't expect those times to be fun, but, I think I'll roll with them more easily. I think that this has been so hard on us because he's still just a baby and it wasn't from anything you would EXPECT, you know? I EXPECT my kids to get hurt playing outside and especially if they're involved in sports. That comes with the territory. I didn't expect any of my babies to have to have surgery and to have scars for the rest of their life from something that took place in their first year of babyhood.

Anyway.....big picture - it's not a major thing. I know that. Right now it's just hard.