A Kat Tale Part 2

...I tried and tried to get my mother, who was in Albany, GA for the weekend, but was unsuccessful. The mother in me wanted to be mothered....needed to be mothered. About six that night I caught them as they walked into their house. Small talk eluded me, so I dropped the bomb and heard the connection break between us as the hum of the line replaced our voices.

Prayers continued. People heard the news and came. Kathryn slept. With the help of the medication the weekend slid by with ease for her. She needed to rest because the hard part for her was just beginning. Sunday and Monday we returned to the ER for dressing and debriedment(removal of the dead skin). Sunday was hard for us all. We had to take turns being with her for support as the treatment process took place. I lasted no more than ten minutes, Ronnie lasted even less. My cousin, Amanda, who is a nurse, was a real blessing. On Monday I felt at peace, so I stayed in the treatment room the entire time they were dressing her legs. Tuesday we had to see our regular doctor. Dr. Harrow was quasi-optimistic as he touched, sniffed, and then dressed Kathryn's legs. A million questions ran through my mind. Would there be scars? Would they be grotesque scars? How long would her legs take to heal? Dr. Harrow finished his examination and turned to face me. His comments left me feeling hopelessly hopeful. In his calm, reassuring voice Dr. Harrow shot straight from the hip. "Karen and Kathryn, I won't lie to either of you, this is bad. There is a great deal of damage, but Kathryn is young and the young heal faster than someone older. There may be some scaring and there may not be. Hopefully the burned areas will fade, but it will take a long time. Kathryn is such a fair-skinned individual. She will have to be kept out of all sunlight for the rest of the summer and you will really have to watch her sun intake for a long time. Anytime she goes out into the heat, protextion will be a must. You are one lucky young lady, Kathryn. I know you don't see this now, but in time, you will definitely see how fortunate you are." Dr. Harrow felt that physical therapy was a definite plus, so he scheduled us for ten days of whirlpool therapy and wanted to see us at the end of the ten day period to decide a further course of action. We left the office quietly. Kathryn and I had wanted Dr. Harrow to tell us that this would be better soon, and we didn't exactly get what we wanted.

When we got home I called the Physical Therapist to make an appointment for our first visit. The Therapist told me to make sure that Kathryn was well medicated when we came because the treatments would be very painful at first. I would not understand the full impace of these words until the next afternoon when we showed up for our bath and dressing....