We immediately left the park and called Alexis' Dr. Her Dr said that squirrel bites are very common and it was very unlikely that it was rabid because apparently squirrels have short life spans and if they do contract Rabies, they show signs right away such as dragging hind legs, acting erratic, foaming at the mouth...We were still concerned that she would need Rabies shots and the Dr recommended us to call Poison Control and the Hospital if we wanted a 2nd and or 3rd opinion. Dane talked to Poison Control who said basically verbatim what Alexis' Dr had said. We were also informed there is a nationwide shortage of Rabies vaccines. Apparently only 1 of the 2 hospitals in Athens had it. St. Mary's is out. ARMC has some but not many so they only administer it if there is a high probability of catching Rabies such as if the squirrel seemed symptomatic or if it were higher risk animals such as a Raccoon or Bat. We started to contemplate whether to lie to the hospital and tell them the squirrel acted erratic just so we could get the shots for Alexis. Because if you catch Rabies, once you show symptoms it's too late and you die. Dane then called the hospital who confirmed the same info as the Dr and Poison Control and we concluded that we need to trust the advice we were given and put our trust into God. This is really hard to do at times especially when it comes to our kids!
Alexis is as healthy as a horse. It's a funny story now that will definitely make it into her baby book. On a separate note, I recently asked Alexis what she wanted to be for Halloween and she said a Squirrel. I took it a step further and thought that I should put Cool Whip around her mouth to make her a rabid Squirrel. Unfortunately, 5 local stores later, Squirrel costumes are not available and I did not feel like ordering online. We went to Party City and Alexis saw the Cat in the Hat so that is what she'll be this year.
Sigh...It's always an adventure with kids!
(FYI...she is not foaming at the mouth. It's pink cake frosting) See the little pink dot at the bottom of her finger? That's the infamous bite.
Here she is not only showing that she is 4 years old now, but also a squirrel bite victim.
1 comment:
That story was hysterical. I just read it to Adam and we laughed and laughed. Of course, it's only funny because Alexis didn't get rabies and because it didn't happen to me. As everyone knows, rabies is (are?) simply not funny, and neither are when these things happen to oneself.
Not entirely off-topic: I once got bit in the same location Alexis did by my own, domesticated house cat. My finger swelled to three times its normal size and I ended up hospitalized! I expected that would be nothing, but it was definitely something. So it just goes to prove you were better to be safe and call everyone with a medical degree than to not.
Loving your blog!
Post a Comment