The Dangers of Summer

Well my son's summer has officially gotten worse.

He went off to a kids activity camp several days ago. The camp had planned activities like swimming, sports (tennis, soccer and softball) and the occasional video movie. On the second day of camp they went swimming at an OUTDOOR pool with no water bottles and no sunscreen. And the organisers never bothered to tell me to provide said items.

My son came home that day with very red skin - both on his chest and his back. He was obviously in a lot of pain. His shoulders developed blisters. One blister was particularly large (over 1 inch across at least) and there were quite a few small blisters as well. These indicate that he had second degree burns.

He could not tolerate the aloe vera I applied. So we had to use moisturiser instead. The next 3 nights were quite hard to get through as he couldnt sleep in any one position for very long.

Fortunately the large blister has now gone down and the peeling has begun. The pain has gone and he has slept right through for the last 2 nights.

From now on we will remember sun screen and T-shirts if he ever goes swimming again. Obviously my son has not returned to this particular camp and he wont be going back again either. I will be complaining to the director of the centre next week about the incompetancy of their staff.

I remember one summer long ago (25 years at least) when I fell asleep in the sun and was burnt all down my back and the backs of my legs. I was on a working holiday and I still had to continue working outdoors picking fruit, even while my back and legs blistered and peeled.

Too hot to read and blog - and the dentist doesnt help

Yes I know - another whole month and I haven't posted anything new.

Sorry but the high humidity and high temperatures we are getting this summer are just so draining. I am too drained to read and too tired to concentrate on what I am reading. I am still reading books, but I am reading in small bursts, and not spending 6 hours reading all the way through one entire book like I usually do.

Temperatures have been constantly around 30 degrees celcius for most of this month. This last week they have dropped and temps have been around 27 & 28 degrees, definitely cooler.

I took my son to the dentist yesterday to get a couple of baby teeth removed. They were causing problems for the adult teeth trying to come up underneath. This meant he had to have a needle to numb his gums so the baby teeth could be pulled out. The dentist tried twice, but both times my son screamed and fought and wriggled and kept his mouth firmly shut and refused to allow the needle anywhere near his mouth.

The dentist had to give up because he couldnt do anything safely. So now my son and I will have to go to another dental office for him to have a general anasthetic so that all the work that needs to be done on his mouth can be done - thats 2 baby teeth pulled and a few fillings done as well.

My son has sensory issues and a very sensitive mouth. He even hates brushing his teeth. The dentist has previously mentioned that my son will need orthodontist work done on his teeth eventually. I have no idea how my son is going to cope with braces.

I hope that my reading and blogging will go back to normal when the weather turns cooler and my son goes back to school. Having him around 24/7 uses up a lot of energy as well.