Dan the Man

He looks like an ordinary boy, but . . .

Daniel has had a hard-knock-life. He seemed to enter the world ready for action and pain. He was introduced into mortal-life with the umbilical-cord wrapped around his neck, cutting off his air-supply, causing him to struggle to take his first breath. It was as if someone was declaring, "Get ready for it, kid. Life is rough. Can you handle it?" Daniel fought for air and his life, and he won his first battle. And so it began . . . Daniel's' test of strength.

Of all my children, Daniel wins for the most visits to the doctor, hands down, no contest.

Score so far: (Doctor visits NOT including illness/wellness visits)

Sammi = 1 (only needed glue, not stitches)

William = 0

Daniel = Too many to keep track of!

I thought I would make a list of all of the injuries (not including illnesses, just wounds) that Daniel has had throughout his young life . . .

• Born with cord around neck, was purple and alien-like. He was not breathing or crying when he came out. I remember screaming. "Breathe baby, BREATHE!" Luckily, the doctors were able to get him functioning properly.
• Discovered his Cashew allergy after strapping him in a car-seat, and offering him a cashew. He started choking on his swollen throat, lips puffed, eyes closed, and he struggled to breathe. Went to ER, got medicine, made him throw-up.
• Day after immunization he had a bad reaction. His whole body was swollen -- from head to toe. His hands were double the size. He screamed and itched and we ended up back at the doctor.
• He dislocated his arm at Albertsons. He did the "drop down" move and "POP!" went his arm. I did not know he was really hurt for awhile, until we got to the park and he would not move and just whimpered. Took him to doctor, x-ray showed arm out of socket. Doctor popped it back into place.
• Hives from head to toe from bunny-food reaction (cashews in bunny food!)
• Warts on fingers -- cured with vinegar! :-)
• Large splinter in his butt -- had to go to doctor to remove (It was deep!)
• Sliced head open on plastic corner of bucket -- doctor put staples in back of head
• Sliced head on corner of chair
• Sliced head on corner of Door
• Rash and scabs on his tummy from iron in his jean buttons -- cured with covering buttons
• Heat rash that comes and goes
• Sliced open his gums on the chain-link bridge at the school playground -- oral specialist stitched and repaired gums.
• etc, etc.

I have spent many hours tending to Daniel's injuries. He and I have spent many lovely nights rubbing ointments and powders, using vinegar, placing ban-aides, and riding to the doctor's office. It is rough being the mother of a Super-hero. :-)

As strong as Dan is, he is also very sensitive.

(He gave me the little flower for my hair.)

He has a very good heart.

Some pictures for viewing pleasure . . . (I do not have pictures of everything!)

Wound from running into the corner of the door

On the same day he had some weird puss-filled blister on his toe that caused him great pain, it was swollen and gross, like nothing I had seen before.

Reaction to mosquito bite, this was after it had calmed down a bit (his face was huge and puffy!)

Staples in back of head -- ouch!

Rash from head to toe

Warts. (They are ALL gone now! Hooray! Thank you vinegar!)

Stitches in his gums from playground chain-bridge

(that bridge was removed shortly after his experience!)

And the most recent injuries from just a few weeks ago . . .

He landed on a corner of his bunk-bed and he came out screaming . . . "Mom, am I bleeding?" Yes, he was, all over the place. It was deep! I thought it was pretty bad . . . to the doctor for stitches we went. He was amazing and did not even cry. He just laid still as they stitched him up. We got ice-cream afterwards.

I thought that was bad, until I was called to go to the school to get Daniel -- just a week after the first incident! I walked into the nurses office and she asked me if I was OK. I was fine. (I could not see the wound, it was bandaged up.) The nurse looked nervous, and worried. I found out why, after we got to the doctor. Daniel had run into a pole on the playground, and it looked like a bullet-hole with wood chips stuck in it. You could see down to what looked like his skull. It was a BIG hole! It was the kind of wound that makes my stomach churn and causes me to feel light-headed.

Luckily, Charles' office is right across from our Urgent Care (that has proved to be very convenient!) so he came right over and sat with Daniel the whole time (I had William, too). After waiting a long time the front desk lady had me go in with Daniel, but they were just starting the stitching process! We walked in (me and William) at the WRONG TIME. Daniel was lying under blue plastic paper with a hole placed over the flesh wound. William was shocked, as was I! I had never seen something so big and deep before . . . it almost beat out the gruesome-sliced-gums experience -- almost! (The mouth aspect made the gums seem worse!) But this one, this new wound, will leave a visible mark -- probably forever. So it made me feel nervous for Dan and anxious to see the final result of the repair-work. They did a pretty nice job turning a hole into a slice.

Because it was a round hole, they actually had to cut slits off of the side of the hole, so it would be able to close properly. The doctor put stitches on the inside, and out. It is a fairly pretty scar . . . almost Harry Potter-ish. Daniel was actually thinking he should have requested them to add a few slices to turn it into a lightning bolt. :-)

Notice the fresh scar from the other stitches, they were removed the same time they were sewing him up again. The doctor thought it was pretty comical: stitches out, stitches in. When finished, Daniel leapt from the surgery bed and landed in a spider-man pose -- the doctor looked at me as if to say, "No wonder!" Yes, I agree! No wonder!

(Neosporin is our new best friend, everyday, for 6 months.)

Daniel is a special kid. He did not cry for the last injury, at all. Not right after it happened, not during stitches, nothing. I think most kids (and adults) would have been horrified. He is a rock. (Thank goodness!) I love my Daniel. The doctor recommended football with the kind of pain-tolerance and physical strength that he has. NOT A CHANCE! All of the things that have happened so far happened during normal life! Football = NEVER!

Daniel has endured a lot of pain in his short little life, starting from day one, poor thing. Luckily, it would seem that Daniel is equal in strength to the pain he has had to endure. I pray that is true throughout his lifetime. His middle name, Evan, means "Warrior of God". I suppose it is hard to be a warrior, without showing some battle wounds. ;-) And battle wounds my Daniel Evan DOES have! I know he has learned a lot from his experiences with pain, for that I am grateful. If only he could learn to slow down!

I think part of the reason for many of the injuries is because Daniel "goes all the way". He is a super-strong kid physically (it is kind-of a genetic thing) and just the raw force of his motions and movements are intense. Especially now, as he grows bigger. I am just saying, I want him on my team if super-human strength is required. :-) However, he does need to watch out for Kryptonite . . . and chain-linked bridges, and poles, and door jams, and toy bins . . .

Be careful out there, my Super-Dan!

Spread your wings and fly safely little man!