"Don't Run With That... You Could Poke Your Eye Out!"

We have probably all heard or said this at one time or another. But really... could it happen?

Well, yesterday, we approached this unlikely scenario and spent a bit of time with the pediatric ophthalmologist at U of M.

After breakfast yesterday, Jack was doing his normal morning crazy-man exercise routine: running circles through the house, chasing Shergar. I generally use this time to clean up from breakfast, unload the dishwasher, etc., while pausing a few times to slow down Jack & Shergar or to remind Jack to stop teasing Shergar and to just give her the ball that he's using to taunt her.

However, yesterday, after about ten laps or so, I heard Jack's feet stop and then he started screaming. It was one of those cries that tells you something is actually wrong, as opposed to a normal bump or collision. Mick ran down from upstairs, I ran in from the kitchen, and we scooped Jack up trying to figure out what had happened. His eyelid was a bit red as was the side of his cheek so we figured he had run into the Christmas tree while playing "chase." After soothing him for a few minutes, Mick put him down for his nap.

He took a nice, long nap, but when he woke, he seemed very sensitive to light, kept rubbing his eye and crying, and his eye would sporadically start tearing. So, I called my dad. He had me check the basics (is the white part of the eye red, are the pupils the same size, is he tracking things with his eyes the way he should, etc.) and we established that probably what had happened was that he'd scratched the surface of his eye.

I was able to get Jack in to see the pediatric ophthalmologist at the Kellogg Eye Center (about 3 miles from here) and, after a few tests and eye drops that Jack did not appreciate, he established that Jack did indeed have a corneal abrasion. He was able to show this abrasion to me and Mick and it was just a small circle on Jack's eye. This has led us to believe that a pine needle from our lovely tree stabbed Jack in his open eye, causing the pain.

It will heal on its own and there won't be any permanent damage (thank goodness) but we do have to give Jack drops in his eye four times a day (NOT fun... poor guy hates us for doing it) and we have to put ointment in every time he goes for a nap or to bed at night.

As we were sitting with Ed & Yvonne last night once Jack was in bed, I just started laughing about the whole situation. I mean, really, a run-in with a Christmas tree?