A lump on his back
Blood sucking tick
I am a horrible mom. This lump was on Samar’s back for at least 2-3 days. I didnt see it until yesterday. Since I had a annual visit scheduled this morning(6 months late,again fantastic parenting right here) I made a mental note to show the doc. It looked like a mole or a skin tag. It was dangling and even NK said it looked like a mole and not to touch it.
We get to the appt. The boys undress and I show the nurse the scab/wound. She looks at it, and says show it to the doc when she gets here.
The doc comes, I show her and she asks some question. She stares at it longer and then we both saw the legs twitching. Eeek.and she informs me its a tick. And then she goes and gets tweezers and pulls it out intact. She gives the tick to me in a ziploc back to bring to the county health dept to test for Lyme disease. Luckily in our part of Americaland, its not a carrier of Lyme. He will be fine. But I again feel so guilty for not realizing what it was.
In other news, I have an English placement test tomorrow for the community college. Wish me luck
Don’t be so hard on urself….it happens…for me ,ur a super mom…taking care of four kiddos is not an easy job….gud luck with the exam
Me: Thanks… We spent some cuddly time today. He had 2 shots and was feeling lethargic as well.
dont beat yourself up! could happen to anyone – but how come it did not hurt him? i always argue that i will worry about it if she complains enough…
Me: Apparently it doesnt hurt. They just suck your blood and engorge and then fall off and lay eggs or something like weird like that.
don’t be hard on yourself…
good luck for the exam too
IMO the great thing is that he was somewhere he could get a tick and you let him. I think all kids should pick up weird things in Nature. My afternoon was successful because my kid got scratched in brambles and got wet in the creek. Maybe next time she will get poison oak and ticks…
Me: You know where he got it. Every afternoon, they go down to the grassy treaa area off the parking lot of the church. There is a bunch of calla lilies and they each pluck one for me. They call that their woods exploring. There is also a deer family that lives there. I stand on the top and watch them all smug that I let my kids play in the wild. See what smugness got me.
I know how you are feeling, but be assured that it is not your fault. You are really a fantastic mom. How are you supposed to know what it is, even NK did not know. With 4 kids, I applaud that you noticed it quickly and mentioned it to the Doc.
Hey…dont worry it could happen to anyone and i really like what jacqueline said!
dont be so hard we all know this is a part of parenting
and all the best
Alllll the best !!!!!! Sending you loads of good luck. Btw, how are you supposed to know it was a tick ? I’d never seen a tick and remember NK did not know either so dont feel bad !!
It could happen to anyone, not your fault S.
But ewwww grossss!
Look you are not a bad mother..you spotted it na?how were you to know,its a tick..next time,you will know!
dont be too hard on yourself.
BTW,so cute about the lilies.
I am so glad that you don’t live in an area where ticks carry Lyme disease. But again, both you and NK looked at the “wound” and both agreed that it looked like a mole. Good thing that you took him to the dr when you did
Best wishes on your English placement exam! I’m curious as to what sort of questions they ask you!
Don’t be so hard on u’rself, the same thing happened to me sometime back. I tried to squeeze it then the wicked thingie moved, i screemed and had to pull it hard to get from my hand and the incident was quite scary.
Good Luck.I am sure tat you’ll pass the test in flying colors
Hi Sunita. This post forced me to de-lurk. I am a mid twenty daughter to a pretty fantastic mom. On some occasions, I have given her useless grief about non 100% hands-on parenting, and on some occasions…she has done that herself. Although I understand the fact that a mom strives to make a 100% success…..as someone’s kid I can corroborate that please don’t beat yourself over the small stuff. Parents do too much for their kids….a bruise here, a wound there….it happens.
Give yourself credit for the wonderful job you’ve done. My mom is there for me whenever I need her, that is more important to every kid…..the small stuff, just tides over…..
Me: waves hello. Thanks for such a nice comment. And mid 20s sigh.. so young..:)
Delurking for the first time.I had a similar experience sometime back.Came back to civilization after a wonderful trip to the jungle and noticed a little mole on my toe.2 days later had the shock of my life when I noticed that the mole was moving and was actually a tick.So don’t be too hard on yourself. Didnt realize that the mole was a living thing even though it was right there on my own skin:)
And all the best for your test.
Me: Really and it didnt hurt? Do you have scarring? He has asort of pimple thing.
It hurt a little bit.Not too much. and no scarring. dont even remember which toe it was on now
Hey,don’t beat yourself up about this-happens to all of us including the doctor parentals!My son,as a toddler, developed a rash on his back which was sort of doubling /spreading like a wild fire while I was looking at it!Rushed him to a derm who diagnosed a very easily treatable infection-I felt kinda silly:p
My 2 cents worth,literally-keep an eye on Samar for a couple of weeks-he can get tick bite fever-fever,headaches,enlarged glands,skin rash,lethargy-(the bite area will turn black.-eschar)..treated with antibiotics but MUST be treated-in other words,if he falls sick over the next couple of weeks,keep this in mind.
Me: Okay I feel better now. Thats what the doc told me as well. He got 2 shots and was lethargic that evening. Went to bed early but woke up fine. He seems okay now. The oldest has started coughing though. Argggh
It looks so tiny it’s entirely possible someone will miss it. So be ok and smile, congrats about the test!
Poor boy! THe tick sounds disgusting. Did u check the other kids? Congrats on ur test..good for u..am proud of u
God…can’t imagine how you feel…I mean I can…but don’t beat yourself up…you couldn’t have known. Glad it wasn’t a carrier.
Hey girl! don’t be hard on yourself. We can’t be with them 24/7 and we can’t keep them inside for the fear of getting hurt.
Good that it didn’t turn worse. Hope he is doing fine.