Hey, everyone, it's been awhile.

First off, Melissa is doing quite well. Her weight was a concern during her recovery, but I'm happy to say that the last time she was weighed, she was 5 pounds heavier than after her time in ICU. All the open areas finally closed up, so in early October she was able to start wearing burn garments. We're waiting for the next set to arrive (hopefully this week), since her legs are 2 inches longer than when she was first measured for garments. She'll have to wear burn garments waking & sleeping for 2 years. These are custom made in Arizona, so it takes 3 weeks or more for them to arrive once they've been ordered. We are already seeing a lot of improvement in the appearance of the scars and skin graft areas, especially on the fronts of her legs.

We did have some concerns about her facial burns, because the skin in the blistered areas started to rise and become rough. The occupational therapist feared that she might need a garment for her face, but suggested that we try a good quality facial cream and see if that would make a difference. I took Melissa with me to a large department store here, and the lady at the Estee Lauder counter gave me several sample bottles of their "Advanced Night Repair" oil and some moisturizer. She said that she'd burned herself quite badly while cooking and used this stuff. I'm happy to say that the rough areas smoothed out and the discoloration disappeared, It's $60 a bottle for this stuff, but since it's working, I don't care about the cost.

Now that Melissa doesn't have to go in for twice weekly dressing changes/checkups, we've been able to get a lot of stuff done around the house. The bunny palace for my other daughter has been completed, so I have all my cages back. We picked up my rabbits last weekend, and I was so happy I bawled my eyes out. Life is slowly starting to return to normal, and it's a good feeling.

My biggest concern right now is my husband. Now that the crisis portion of this is over, he's having a hard time dealing with his emotions over this. Rather, he isn't willing or doesn't know how to deal with his emotions over this. I hope that at some point he'll be able to talk to me about this.

Anyway, overall, everything is going well.

always good to hear good news . i wish all of you the best

Most exellent! Hang in there!

To be honest, I didn't realize just how serious the extent of her injuries were until reading above about burn garments and what not. My heart goes out to you all for what you've been through, especially Melissa. Is she in much pain? It sounds like she's doing quite well. I hope your husband is able to one day talk to you...but if not, I wouldn't make an issue of it, unless it is an issue and he's changed because of it. Some guys don't know how to deal with emotions and need to keep it on a dark shelf inside.

Best to you all.

And PS - thanks for that super tip on the miracle cream by Estee Lauder.

Frankly, I'm still sometimes surprised by the extent of her injuries. Her burn garments pretty much look like tights and sleeves, so you don't always think about the burns when she's doing normal kid stuff. It's only when I'm helping her rub moisturizer into her skin that it really hits me just how badly she was injured. The backs of her calves and around her ankles are badly discolored, though fairly smooth, and the backs of her thighs are heavily scarred, with ropey-looking contractual scarring. Her upper right arm looks okay so far, but it was the area that took the longest to heal over, so we don't actually know yet how much scarring might remain. Her left arm has slight scarring on the inside of the elbow, but because it's by the joint, it needs to be watched carefully. Thankfully, her joints (knees, hips, elbows, shoulders) seem to have been spared the worst of the burns, so her range of motion should not be affected. (This is probably more than you wanted to know, but it's what we're dealing with.)

Yes, sometimes Melissa is in a lot of pain. She hates taking the medication, which is a neuro-inhibitor called Gabapentin. It's an epilepsy medication that deadens the nerves. She has weaned herself to a relatively low dosage, but we won't let her take any less because she's in a lot of pain if she misses a dose. It's my understanding that she may always have some level of pain or sensitivity because of the nerve damage. Right now the dermis layer of her skin is still healing (thus the burn garments to help keep everything flat), so all the nerves are still healing as well.

You're welcome about the Estee Lauder tip. After this summer I finally look my age, so I've started using it too.