Harry's Accident

On Saturday, June 23rd, Harry pulled a cup of hot tea down on himself. It poured down the right-hand side of his face, his right arm and body. It gave him first and second-degree burns and led us to take an ambulance down to the National Children's Medical Center to their Burn Unit. It was the most terrifying experience for me as a mother and one that I hope never to repeat. I have been reluctant to post anything about it up until now. There are so many mixed emotions that go along with the whole experience. On the one hand, there is the relief that he is now healing well and Harry's prognosis looks really great. (At this point his wounds are healed, and we are waiting to see if he will have any skin pigmentation issues - something we will only know in a year.) On the other hand, there is the profound sense of failure I have as a mother to protect my baby in this most basic sense. Yes, accidents happen. But, that is a big part of what I am here for - to stop him from hurting himself with the dangers that he can not predict or anticipate. So in a sense, we are all healing. Harry, who seems oblivious to the whole event at this point, is doing his part in healing his body. We are healing in our role as parents - in getting our confidence back and learning to forgive ourselves.