A Series Of Unfortunate Events

So I’ve been carrying a heavy burden on my shoulders these past 10 days that I wish I weren’t facing. As you may or may not know, Talon was attacked by a pit bull two Friday’s ago. Luckily the owner was right there when it happened and was able to pull him off immediately but not before the dog had a chance to bite deep into Talon’s leg and take out a little chunk. Fortunately, it wasn’t anything too serious. It was a friend’s dog, it wasn’t provoked, it just happened, and I’m not mad because things happen but it’s still unfortunate nonetheless, and has led to a series of unfortunate events.

When you are bitten by a dog (or human), doctors prefer to leave it open to heal and not to stitch it up, because the stitches often cause infections. The bite on Talon’s leg was so deep, wide, and fleshy, the doctor was forced to put in a couple of stitches. One trip to the ER, an X-ray, good cleaning, and a couple of stitches later, we were sent home with a round of antibiotics for him to take for the next 5 days. The following Monday, I took Talon to his family doctor just for follow up on the bite as well as for the doctor to look at the dozens of itchy bumps all over him. The bite looked like it was healing well and the bumps turned out to be bug bites. One week later, we noticed the bite looked like it may be infected. It was red around the wound, swollen, and warm to the touch. I took him back to the doctor Friday to find out it was indeed infected. The doctor removed the stitches then put him on another round of antibiotics and also gave him a cream to put on his leg and we were told to follow up the next day, but until then, if it got any worse, to go straight to the ER. She might as well said, “Check his leg every hour and don’t get any sleep tonight” because that’s what this worried momma did. Luckily we made it through the night.  So Saturday, I take him back to the doctor, by this time pus was coming out of the wound (TMI, I know) so the doctor was able to do a culture swab and send it off to be tested to make sure nothing serious was going on. We are still waiting on those results but in the meantime, I was instructed to keep cleaning it like we have been, keep the cream on it, and keep him on the antibiotics, and follow up Wednesday. By Sunday morning, it already started to look a little better. That was a relief. His next appointment Wednesday will make the 5^th time we’ve been to the doctor/ER in less than 2 weeks.

As if that hasn’t been stressful enough, during all this, I’ve also been faced with a tough, tough decision to make as a parent::

The dog that bit Talon never received a rabies shot. Normally when a dog bites someone in that situation, it’s put  into quarantine for 10 days and observed to make sure it shows no signs of having rabies and if it does show signs, it’s put down and the brain is tested for rabies. For whatever reason, that is not an option to us. 

So here is the dilemma:: 

The chance of the dog that bit Talon was infected with the rabies virus is slim, but there is a chance. Most people assume the only sign of an animal having rabies is it would be foaming out the mouth. Not true. The most common symptom is a change in behavior of the animal, such as they may become aggressive, or withdraw from humans. Everyone can speculate whether or not they think the dog was infected with the virus but without being able to observe the dog or have it tested, no one knows for sure. 

What this means::

If someone is bitten by an animal with the rabies virus then that virus would be passed on to that person. There is no way to test that person to determine if they have the rabies virus. The only way to know is if that person starts exhibiting the symptoms of the virus. At that point, there is nothing you can do to stop it and it’s fatal.  The only option for protection against the rabies virus after someone has been bitten by an animal that may have the virus is for that person is to receive the series of rabies vaccinations. This is a series of 4 different shots over a 14 day period which provides immediate protection against rabies until your body has responded to the vaccine and makes its own antibodies to rabies.

So here are our options:: 

A. Hope and pray the dog was not infected with rabies and just let it go.

B. Have Talon receive the series of shots to prevent him from having the rabies virus. 

Now, this may seem like a no-brainer but it’s actually been a very hard decision, one that’s been weighing very heavily on me, and here’s why:: 

First, I’ve heard the shots are very very painful. They used to give them in the stomach but luckily that’s no longer the case. However, Talon has been through enough this past week because of the dog bite that I hate to have to put him through more pain. Furthermore, I’m worried about the side effects of the shots. From what I’ve read, the side effects are the same as receiving any other type of vaccination. However, it just worries me b/c the vaccine is protecting against something that attacks your central nervous system, it’s some powerful stuff. I just worry it may cause a serious side effect. Lastly, from what I’ve read, these shots are expensive, as in the thousands of dollars. Obviously I’ll pay whatever I have to and even give my own life to ensure good health and a long life for Talon but the question I’ve had to think about this week is:: Are these shots this necessary? 

I’ve asked the opinion of several doctors, nurses, my family, and have also prayed about it. A couple of doctors/nurses have said that if this were their kid, they wouldn’t do it. The odds of the dog having rabies is slim and with that being said, they wouldn’t put their child through that and feel it’s completely unnecessary. But most others have said, without a doubt, if this were their child, they would get the shots immediately, because it’s not worth taking that chance and risking their child’s life over. As one doctor said, it’s like playing Russian Roulette. 

But at the end of the day, this is MY kid we are talking about so the decision is up to his Dad and I. And this is what I asked my son’s dad, and myself:: The dog probably didn’t have rabies, but we don’t know if it did or didn’t, so  what IF it did? IF it did, it would be fatal to Talon. Is that something we could live with? Knowing we could have prevented that?  

That’s not something I even want to think about with that being said, as soon as we pick Talon up from school today, we are going to the ER of HMH and Talon is getting his first of 4 rounds of shots. Talon has no clue. He cringes as the word ‘shot’. He’s been through enough this past week and I didn’t’ want him to have this lingering anticipation of pain that is to come. When I laid in bed last night, all I could do was think about it. What if it is as painful as everyone says it is? What if he has a bad side effect? How am I going to get him back to the hospital (willingly) 3 more times? And then I became mad, mad that we were even in this situation. I shouldn’t have to make a decision like this. Furthermore, Talon shouldn’t have to go through this.

So I ask all my friends, please say a little prayer for Talon today. Pray that it’s not as painful as I think it’s going to be, pray that there aren’t any serious side effects, and pray that it was the right decision for me to make.