Hello again Emergency Room...

Today we had big plans to hang with the grandparents in a quaint little town nearby. JimPa and NeNe had it all planned out and we were along for the ride. Plans? HA! So, J wakes up at 8 AM, after he finally went to sleep at 3 AM, complaining that his finger hurts. Ugggghhhh! It's not just any swollen finger...it is HUGE and has nasty green and white pus pockets all over it (I know that is TMI). Anyway, it was disgusting and he was really complaining about it.

So picture it...It is Sunday morning. We are hours away from home and can't find any type of urgent care in the phone book that will see children. NeNe is an RN at the local hospital so where did we end up...the Emergency Room. The MD knew immediately what it was when she saw it...a FIRE ANT BITE! What? He played in the yard briefly after we arrived last night but he never complained about being bitten. You would think he would have known he had been bitten by several fire ants but apparently not. She was certain by the looks of the bite and the fact that they are common in their area so we went with it. J was back in business after a couple hours and a prescription for 7 days of Amoxil. The best part? Small town ER's have their perks...in and out the back door without a copay to show for it. If you have to visit the ER, free is always the way to go. :-)

And for your viewing pleasure, I found a photo online of cellulitis from a fire ant bite. J had four of these on the inside of his middle finger. Just add a little green to the middle and you'll get the visual...