Day 3

June 13th 2017 Time to bathe!

On top of the inescapable pain, the smell of burnt hair kept me in a constant state of nausea. We had two options: wash it or shave it. I was so desperate to escape the smell that I insisted they bring the clippers in and remove it all. My mother and nurse insisted that I had plenty of hair left and warned that I would later regret that option. I am grateful they were there to be a voice of reason.

We had to keep my burns from getting wet, so my hair had to be washed separately. These nurses get an A+ for creativity! A large garbage bag was attached to my back to catch all the water (and hair).

The bathing portion was a bit of a challenge. It was an odd game of twister in the handicap shower. My nurse and I were at least able to laugh through it.

After I was cleaned up and back in bed, mom suggested we phone my dad.

I hadn't had the chance to talk to him yet. I knew hearing each other’s voices would be a much-needed dose of medicine...for both of us.

He answered, expecting it to be my mom's voice on the line, and got mine instead.

"Hi, Dad,” I push out through my sore, tight throat.

I hear a glitch in his breath and an emotional sigh of relief.

"Hi, sweetie."

We sat in silence for a few moments, exchanging tears.

Over a thousand miles away, but I felt his arms around me at that moment.