Mackenzie's Accident and Progress

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Last Thursday afternoon as we were getting ready to have lunch, we experienced one of the most difficult situations we've faced as parents.  A bowl of boiling broth fell on our 18 month old Mackenzie burning the right side of her body: face, ear, shoulder, chest, stomach, parts of her arm and leg.  It all happened so quickly and we were not prepared for something like this.

We live in an area that does not have a full-time Doctor.  The Doctors that come here are students working on their degree and have very little experience; they're here to get their experience.  The Doctor in Cofradia was not in town, so we drove to the town before Cofradia called, Las Pilas.  There, the student Doctor, who seemed more like a kid, bathed her with an IV solution to clean her and applied sulfadiazina cream to all the affected area and wrapped her in a non-stick material that actually did stick to her.  After injecting her with morphine, he sent us home and said she'd be fine and to have the Cofradia Doctor continue with the next three injections he prepared.

We returned to Cofradia with Mackenzie sleeping and Geña watching over her.  I went back to Tuxpan (a city ½ hour away) for the second time that day to get some medication the Las Pilas Dr. prescribed.  No one could read his writing and I couldn't remember the name of one of the items and no one had heard of the other item he prescribed.  As I went from one Pharmacy to the next, it seemed like I was at a road-block.  I stopped and prayed again, "Lord, lead me to do the right thing."  As soon as I finished that simple sentence I saw another Pharmacy and thought I should at least give it one more try.  As I showed the man behind the counter what I needed, he figured it out and said, "All I have is this big container."  It was perfect, exactly what I was looking for…sulfadiazina!

When I arrived back in Cofradia, the Doctor was walking by the Mission Base so I stopped her and told her what happened.  She was happy to help with the injections even though we were to wake her up at 2am, but would not be able to treat her until Monday.  It was a long night of tossing and turning, praying and continued watch over Mackenzie to help her when needed.  We did not have peace about waiting until Monday for her to be treated so we decided to take her to Tepic (the capital city of Nayarit; 1 ½ hours away).  My prayer all night was that the Lord would guide us to the right place (I had no idea if there were any burn experts in Tepic).

We found a Pediatric Doctor who immediately sent us to the hospital around the corner.  San Rafael is one of the best and most expensive Hospitals in Tepic with excellent Doctors.  When the Pediatric Surgeon arrived, he and the Anesthesiologist got right to work.  They gave her an anesthetic, cleaned her, and took off the material that was stuck to her as well as all the dead skin.  Geña and Mackenzie stayed the night in the Hospital so the Doctor could see her that evening, the next morning, and afternoon.

Since bringing Mackenzie home, we've followed the Doctor's instructions of bathing her, applying the iodine spray, giving her her medicine, and we'll continue with the sulfadiazina as the healing continues.

Yesterday, Tuesday, Mackenzie got her appetite back and began eating again.  Which means today she's had enough energy for all of us as she runs around the house, making messes, laughing, playing, singing, and dancing.  She's definitely back to her normal self and we are so thankful for the Lord's guidance as we really believe that He did guide us.

We are still praying for a quick and complete healing with no scars.  Part of the layer the iodine formed on her face has peeled off and left a new beautiful rosy red cheek.  She's doing very well now and we thank all of you for your support and prayers during this time.  It has been a definite roller-coaster ride of emotions.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.  His love endures forever!

UPDATE 4/9/14
We went to the follow-up visit today with the doctor who treated Mackenzie at the Hospital.  He recommended some creams for her skin and took her off the Sulfadiazina.  He also said the damage will be minimal and she looks really good; we just need to try to keep her out of the sun until mid-May.  His diagnosis was a 2nd degree burn.

Thank you for your continued prayers for her recovery.