2005 - SUMMER





IT'S A NEW WORLD

 

Summer was a long time coming this year.  There were a few days after I moved in that were sunny and brought thoughts of balmy temperatures, but a weekend of snow followed and then several weeks of damp, chilly-breeze days.  When weather was miserable, Brandon and Sophia played in the sunroom; when warm, they played outdoors.


One evening toward the end of May, Brandon was on the treadmill at their home and Sophia put her hand between the moving belt and housing.  The result was a third degree friction burn about three inches long and one-half inch wide extending from just above her wrist toward her elbow.  She was seen by a burn specialist at Akron Children's Hospital the day after the accident and Dawn received detailed instructions on caring for the wound.  Sophia, the little trooper, has been an excellent patient and was stoic every evening as Dawn cleaned and redressed her arm.  Short of putting her in "time out", nothing has slowed Sophia down.  It hasn't particularly bothered her, but the adults in her life have suffered major cases of angst.


Sophia was not allowed to get her arm wet, so was diligent about playing in water with only her left hand or wearing a plastic bag over the bandage when running through the lawn sprinkler or participating in throwing water balloons with my neighbors' grandchildren Christian and Kelsi.
On the climbing wall
On the slide




















Finally, a little under two weeks after the mishap, the doctor recommended skin grafting, saying that her arm would heal faster and with less scarring with intervention.  And so it was done.




Sophia came home from surgery the same day it was performed.  She spent the afternoon sleeping on the couch with her arm elevated.










The morning following her surgery, Sophia was back to being her regular self. Wearing the gold medal awarded to her by Brandon, she rode her blue big wheel and explored ways to accommodate her Michelin-Man forearm.







The summer's been filled with busy-ness. Christian and Brandon, although a year apart in age, are very similar in interests and spend their days here in the complex in each other's company.  Sophia is a year older than Kelsi and is intent on coordinating their time together.  One July morning Grandma Sherry and I took the four on a walk along a nearby towpath of the Ohio and Erie Canal.  While we pushed the girls in strollers, the boys pedaled their bikes.








Summer heat was overcome with frequent visits to the wading pool or the sprinkler.





























On a mid-July Saturday, Dawn and I visited the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo with Brandon and Sophia.  Sophia didn't like riding the camel and cried as the animal slowly made a circuit of the ring.  Later, tears gone, Sophia declared, "I not like that camel," but she also had a look of pride on her face.  Fortunately her fright had been overcome by her spirit of adventure.


Copyright ©2005  Kitty Park