I gave the kids their Valentine's Day treats, rushed them off to school, did my P90X, and before I knew it, it was time to head to school for my daughter's class party. I entered the school as my daughter was walking down the hall on her way to the nurses's office for an itchy head. This would have caused me some alarm but she'd been in there rather frequently for cough drops, bandaids, and the like, so what's a little itch? She said she wanted to go alone so I went to the class to meet up with the other parents. Yada, yada, yada the nurse calls the teacher, who waves me over and right then I knew. I silently screamed, "Noooooooooooo!" Yup, my daughter had lice.
I could just feel the parental eyes on me as I gathered my daughter's belongings and willed myself to remain calm. I passed a friend who asked what was wrong and I told her. Hell, this was breaking news for our itty bitty school so I may as well face the music up front. I pulled both kids out of school and headed to CVS for the dreaded box of Rid at the nurse's suggestion. My son calmly read the instructions on the drive home while tears poured down my daughters face. While the chemical laden treatment shampoo did its thing, I raced around bagging pillows, comforters, stuffed animals, etc. to toss in the garage. I then ripped the beds apart and threw everything I could into the washing machine. Load after load I washed away any hidden signs of the creepy little buggers but I still had to tackle the hair. Ugh. I called a friend, cried a little, and settled in for the job ahead. After two hours I'd only gotten through halfway through her head, the kids hadn't eaten dinner, and I was beside myself. Did I mention my husband was away on a business trip? Happy Valentine's Day to me!
At this point I would have paid $1000 to make this problem go away so I texted a couple friends to get the numbers of people they'd used, actual professionals, who knew what the hell they were doing. One of these friends even came to my house armed with some of her supplies. Now THAT'S a friend! It meant the world to me. In the meantime I made an appointment with "The Lice Lady of Westchester" for the following morning. She told me over the phone exactly what I needed to do at home and talked me down from the ledge. I went to bed, feeling icky still, but hopeful for the first time in hours.
I won't bore you with all the nitty (pun intended) gritty details but I will tell you that since seeing the "Lice Lady" I am now quite knowledgeable in the field. She checked the three of us and treated Sophia completely so when we walked out of the salon there wasn't a single visible egg upon her head. She charges $100 an hour. It took us an hour and a half. The kids watched Toy Story on DVD while she went to work. It was stress free and WORTH EVERY PENNY, including the hour long drive it took us to get to the salon in Elmsford, NY.
Before concluding with this week's examples of gratitude, I want to tell you if this should happen to you in the future, be sure to call Anna Krosche, The Lice Lady of Westchester. Her products are nontoxic and her services are 100% guaranteed. Then call me because I now know, a friendly, understanding, experienced voice can make all the difference.
1. I am thankful for my dear friends who offered up their sympathies, suggestions, and shoulders to help me through a very rough day.
2. I am thankful for The Lice Lady, Anna Krosche and her associate Emily who were not only kind, but efficient and reassuring beyond words. I would not have been able to get through this so quickly or easily without them!
3. I am thankful for my daughter who endured this trying time without a single complaint, even offering her apologies. which I could only reply, "Oh sweetie, it's not your fault!"
4. I am thankful for one special friend of my daughter's who sent a note to cheer her up and see when she'd be back in school. When girls can be so cruel, it's refreshing to see someone speak with her heart. Kudos to her mom for a job very well done!
5. I am thankful for this lesson which, until it happened in my home, would make my skin crawl with the mere mention of it. It's no mistake lice is a four-letter word, but when you have the right tools (Terminator Nit Free comb and Happyheads nontoxic shampoo, Pantene Classic Conditioner, and baking soda) you quickly realize it's an inconvenience, for sure, but extremely small potatoes compared with what others have faced in my town alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment