Thursday, October 2, 2008

Rant: Fire Ants:500; Avery:0

If anyone every asks for one good reason (or several hundred billion, tiny, vicious, segmented, disgustingly poisonous ones) not to move to Texas, here it is:

Avery managed to find a hidden ant mound and got seriously attacked by them. By the time I managed to get to him, he had sat down in them and was trying to wipe them off without much luck. I grabbed him up and ran inside and stuck him under running water in the sink. He has way too many bites to count from his knees down, one on his bum, and about 10 between his fingers and on his hands from when he was trying to get them off. The video doesn't really do justice to how messed up this kid really looks. (Note that Aidan just couldn't stand that Avery was getting all the attention. He kept trying to invent ouchies to show the camera for some sympathy.)

The poor little guy's feet and ankles have been so swollen and the skin is stretched so tight that it's sorta pale. And if you don't know about fire ants--the next day is the worst. They swell, get itchy, and then get all pussy and disgusting. He's been a super-trooper and only complained a few times so that I could put more numbing spray on them. (He's also been heavily drugged on Benadryl and Motrin since the incident.) I have to lift and carry him to his chair or the couch like a little invalid because it hurts if anything presses against his legs or if he climbs on anything. Luckily, after tonight's cool oatmeal bath, the swelling and pain was definitely down. He could walk without sort of limping and crouching like last night and this morning (as you can see by the video--he was jumping and spinning feeling the love from his Benadryl high).

I am maniacal about walking the yard about twice a day with my fireant killer so that the kids can play without getting eaten alive, but I still feel guilty about the little guy's attack. I had walked the yard five minutes before he went out and hadn't seen the one he found hiding in a puffy section of grass under a tree. Hopefully he'll forgive me, but if he doesn't, he'll probably have hundreds of little scars to use against me whenever he wants something...

10 comments:

Kris said...

Yikes, poor kid. That's one of my fears as well. At least you were there when he got attacked. I have a friend that has to rush to the hospital if she gets bitten by 1 ant. Sounds like you're taking good care of him.

Chris and Dianne Clan said...

OUCH!!! That poor little guy! You're such a good mommy and you can tell, he's such a trooper. I can't get over how bad his legs and feet look. I hope he feels better soon!

Shaela said...

Ickkkkk. I have goosebumps all over after watching that...
Hope they get better fast. That looks painful!

Jill said...

don't you guys have pest control? kidding...fire ants are the absolute worst. Hope little avery is doing ok.

Jessica the Jacked LDS said...

oh my ouch, i just wanna cry and hug that baby boy. i hate that, i hate when my babies are hurt. poor poor avery.

S Palfreyman said...

OH poor kid. I rememeber living in MS and Hailey sitting in an ant hill. Luckly it wasn't that bad. One (among a few) why I hate living in the south. I can feel his pain through the screen. It sounds like you are doing a good job making up for that poor parenting:) by catering to him. Just keep telling yourself it will be over in a week. Best wishes to Avery.

Travis and Jamie said...

Poor little buddy. I do NOT miss fire ants. Trenton got black ants on him one time, and I freak until Trav told me that they rarely bite and that if they did it was NOTHING like fire ants. Hey, I will be in town in a couple of weeks, the 16th-19th. Are you busy? I will be visiting my Grandparents, they are in town while Mana goes through threapy after major heart surgery. Emily is getting married on the 18th and I will be in Dallas that day for the wedding. That's saturday, if you and Andrea aren't busy I thought it would be nice to get together and catch up. Email me and let me know.

brentandkashann said...

Sad, sad, sad.:( Kids handle these things so much better than adults though. I would be complaining every single second if that happened to me.

Kimball and Marianne Larsen said...

That looks awful! Poor little guy! True, that is one thing I do not miss. That and the June Bugs that hit your windows at night when your lights are on. That's sick.

Marnie said...

Oh, poor baby! He is so tough, I can't believe how happy he was on the video.