A Word of Warning

Last Friday night, Owen and I had yet another late night rendezvous. I assumed his teeth were bothering him because I noticed blood around his gums where several teeth were poking through. I gave him some Tylenol and he returned to bed 30 minutes later. He was quiet for about 10 minutes and then I heard screams. I plopped down on his floor where I remained for 2 hours while I listened to him moan, thrash and throw his head into the side of his crib. He mentioned several times "bug" and "head." I assumed he was referring to a tick a friend noticed on his head several weeks ago. Thanks to her good eye, we were able to grab it and dispose of it before it burrowed anywhere.

I couldn't handle anymore, so I lifted him out of his crib and carried him to the couch. I quickly ran my fingers through his hair to reassure him that the bug was in fact "all gone" when my finger nicked something hard. I still get raised blood pressure thinking about it.

I laid Owen across my lap and began searching through his ridiculously thick hair when I spotted it: a tick burrowed deep inside my guy's head. I grabbed Owen, yelled (and I really mean yelled) for Joey and we began the process of ripping that tick out of his head. We had to pin Owen down while we seriously yanked that tick loose. I got it out with tweezers, but it took a good chunk of Owen's scalp with it. We are fortunate - we got the whole thing in one shot.

Owen was hysterical and shaking. Quite frankly, we all were. If the tick were a person, I would have punched him right then and there. Retaliation would be putting it mildly. I have never been so angry with another thing in my life. I couldn't sleep the rest of the night thinking about it. It makes me sick.

But, I've learned my lesson. Two ticks in one month's time. Check your kids when you come in from the playground. A quick inspection will save you pain and misery. (Oh, I was going to post a picture of the tick, but we flushed it down the toilet. I got too mad looking at pictures online, so you'll have to do a google search yourself.)

One more side note. When I told Joey's mom Kathy about the tick, she just chuckled. I think everyone of her children has had a tick in their lifetime. She's even had one herself. Joey's dad Ted had one burrowed in his leg, but he was too tired to get it out, so he hopped into bed. When he woke up, the tick was gone. It had found a new host - Kathy! I wonder if he found himself sleeping on the couch the following night . . .