A few weeks ago I came home after a long day of work to Megan having dinner ready. It was simple – pasta with spaghetti sauce – although these days we both try to keep dinner as quick and easy as possible. This allows us to spend as much time with Ella as a family in the evening.

Like most nights, I sat on the floor next to Ella’s play zone so I could be near to her while Megan and I eat and she played. Megan handed me my bowl of piping hot pasta and sauce which I placed on the floor in front of me.

Unknowingly I placed the bowl of lava like pasta sauce in the zone…

I’m not really sure what exactly happened next. I know I didn’t start eating right away, I think I played with Ella for a few seconds probably allowing the lava to cool down a bit. At this point everything is going great – happy baby, happy wife and dinner – yum. Not for long…

I looked away for what seemed to be two seconds to grab my drink and during that short period of time Ella managed to dunk her cute little hand into my bowl – directly in the lava sauce!  Once I realized what happened I immediately pulled her hand out of the lava and right into my mouth. Looking back, this probably wasn’t the best thing to do but I wanted to get the lava off of her hand as quickly as possible. At first Ella was fine, I don’t even think she realized what excruciating pain was, but a few seconds later the crying began followed by screams of pain. What have I done!?!?!?

Megan and I tried soothing Ella for about an hour and finally decided to call our family pediatrician who directed us to the Emergency Room. Megan and I both quickly changed, packed Ella’s bag and with empty stomachs off we went.

By the time we arrived at the ER Ella was no longer crying.  Actually, she was basically back to her happy-go-lucky self. Her cute little hand had gone from bright red to one single huge blister ((this blister had a few friends join him over the next few days)), but she didn’t seem to let it bother her. After about an hour and a half her little fingers were treated and she was discharged. After a quick bite to eat and a stop at CVS for first aid supplies, we were back home with Ella who was sound asleep. Over the course of the next few days Megan made sure to wrap her little fingers every morning and coat them with Vaseline to help with the healing process. During these few days Ella’s hand became her sock-puppet friend as we kept her hand covered to she wouldn’t try to eat it. 😛

Now about two weeks later her hand is almost completely healed. There’s a little scare remaining but we’re certain it will disappear after a few months. Our little Ella handled her first boo-boo perfectly – she was a real trooper. I’m just not so sure about her Mom and Dad though – I think they were more worried then she was! 🙂

Hopefully we won’t be visiting the ER any time soon!!!

BTW, George Clooney played Dr. Doug Ross on ER many many years before Ella was born.