I had this saying come across my Facebook feed not too
long ago, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.
See, we have been dealing with some drama we never
would have even imagined we’d be dealing with. Now, a couple
weeks later, I feel like I can tell the story as more of a public service
announcement.
My parents and I took the kids to see A Christmas Story at the 5th Avenue
Theater a few weeks ago in Seattle. It was the final dress rehearsal so we
had some waiting to do. It was cold and there is a big covered area and
the kids were sitting just to the side of us playing with dice they had
brought when one said, “Mom, look what we found” as he held up
a dirty hypodermic needle. My heart skipped a beat or two and as calmly
as I could I took the needle away from him. I went up to the box
office to have them dispose of it and had to wait for security to be called
(because nobody wants to touch a dirty needle!). I took a minute to talk to
the kids about needle safety, which I assumed they knew since we had a
diabetic foster child with daily injections but clearly not enough because they
had picked it up.
We went into the theater and it was inside that I learned that one of the boys
had poked his finger with the needle just to see how sharp it was. Really!?
Panic struck and I spend the majority of the show texting Dee to call the
pediatrician and another friend who was googling info on what we needed to
do. We made a dr appt for the next morning. At the dr there was a blood draw
and talk about concerns of Hep C, making sure his Hep B vaccination was current
and if we needed to start any anti-HIV medications. Scary stuff.
Round one of blood tests was negative, but have to be repeated every 6 weeks
for the next 6 months.
In my 42 years I have never found a hypodermic needle. I never would have
thought to have a conversation with my kids about what to do if they found one.
I wish I had. I hope you talk with your kids.
Three Scurvy Dogs a Wee Lass (and their Mamas) 