One brave little girl
On October 30, 2007, Lauren had a horrible accident. She touched a moving treadmill which resulted in numbness to the skin and 2nd & 3rd degree burns to 3 fingers on her right hand (palm side.)
We immediately took her to the doctor and Children's ER, where they told us that the closest plastic surgeon that could treat her would be at Shriner's in Ohio or in Atlanta, GA. I was flabbergasted that of all the plastic surgeons in our area, none would treat pediatric burn victims! Well, we chose to take her to Georgia where we had to make weekly trips for a period of time. She had a total of 3 surgical procedures, one involving a full-thickness skin graft to replace the damaged skin. I asked if the donor sight might be somewhere that a swim suit would cover or hide, and they chose her right groin area.
Everyone at the hospital absolutely adored Lauren's spirit and remarkable sense of humor. The ER nurses were so sad to see her go after her 3rd opperation. They had nicknamed her the "Chick-a-lay Lady" because Lauren would always wake up mentioning how hungry she was and told them exactly what her Mommy and Daddy would buy her to eat at "Chick-a-lay" as she pronounces it (Chickfila!) You could just imagine how hungry the little thing was since one has to fast before a surgical procedure. I don't think that the nurses are use to seeing such perky/talkative people as she in the recovery area, usually groggy people in pain, etc!
Our dear, sweet Ladybug has been so brave through all of this and is recovering remarkably well! She has been released by the doctor's office to go back to school and dance class. She has to wear a burn garmet all day-every day to basically flatten the skin and make it not so noticable of a scar. Naturally, being as feminine as she is, Lauren choice a pink glove!
It has taken me quite a while to get over the scare and shock of all of this drama. All though I have chosen to keep my feelings quiet, I now feel that I have "recovered" from this experience as well. Lauren's strength has been a true inspiration to me, and I know that her guardian angels have been watching over her during this time.
Thanks to everyone for they prayers and concerns during the past months.
