Spring break: or rather, What happens with skin infections, colds, potential pinkeye, etc.

Viggo is having spring break this week. We kicked it off by having the kids spread the common cold amongst themselves.

But we had plenty of fun finding free books on amazon.com and downloading them onto the kindle I won. Never underestimate the joy of getting a FREE Bobbsey Twins book. (Or getting a free Kindle, for that matter.)

So Elin has a callous on her thumb as a result of her daily thumb-sucking routine. Yesterday Nate and I both independently noticed that the callous had a small white head on it, but didn't think much of it. But as I was wiping Elin's hands off after lunch today, I noticed that the callous had turned an angry red and had a large, bright green head. It looked like something out of a creepy medical textbook. I called the doctor.

We went to the doctor's.

Then I heard the doctor say words I've never heard before in relation to my children: "We'll have to lance it. It will just require a small scalpel." I figured that was coming. But rare is a visit to the doctor when something outside of a shot happens right there in the office. If there's dirty work, we go to the lab. But for a procedure to happen right then and there, with the doctor doing it and not the nurses, that was something new.

While waiting for the doctor to return with the scalpel I sat there with Elin and pondered how we are so blessed with health it's practically embarrassing. I mean, this was really not a big deal at all.

The doctor reemerged with the scalpel. I held Elin's hand and the doctor washed it with brown liquid and then did what was necessary. It wasn't a pretty sight. Just imagine a repulsive mess and an unhappy baby. Poor Elin was a little stunned. Viggo and Svea watched with apprehensive, disgusted fascination.

Then cream and a bandaid. Then all the instructions:

1) Bathe hand twice a day for several minutes to allow for drainage. Apply bactroban and a bandaid. Do this for ten days.

2) Oral antibiotics, twice a day for ten days. (Because the skin infection was present over a joint, the doctor wanted Elin to take antibiotics as well. I don't know what it means when a skin infection is over a joint. I'm an English major, not a doctor.)

3) Elin has to bathe alone for ten days. No tub buddies.

4) After she is bathed I have to disinfect the tub.

5) She needs a follow-up appointment at the end of the week.

6) Curious George bandaids are a must.

7) After disinfecting the tub and when the moon is full we have to turn counter-clockwise and recite the Pledge of Allegiance backwards.

8) I might be making up that last part.

In addition, I also had to make a Wal-Mart run at 7 this morning to get pinkeye drops. I woke up with a red, yucky eye. I don't think it's officially pinkeye, but there's no doubt that something is not going well. But I wanted to get some Similisan Pinkeye drops right away (they are AMAZING) and just get that taken care of.

So really, when we went to the doctor's today, we were a coughing, sneezing, runny-nosed, runny-eyed, skin infected mess.

Welcome to spring break!