Eldest had a party with her dance team, the last of the season. It was a pool party, the first of the season. This was the last activity shewill have as a dance team member for at least a year so it was important to her.
I could not attend, as I had to work.
Six mothers of the seventeen girls DID attend as chaperones. What is YOUR definition of CHAPERONE? Is a chaperone not supposed to keep groups of youngsters from causing harm to themselves or their surroundings? Would that not extend by default to any natural force that might cause them harm?
Of the six moms attending, NOT ONE mentioned or supplied sunscreen. Not one of those teenage girls had any for FIVE HOURS in direct sunlight in the pool of the resort they rented for their private party. Of the seveteen, four, I believe, did not get badly burned. (The melanin content of their skin protected them)
Four girls were burnt so badly they required medical attention. Including Eldest who has second degree burns on her face. Forehead, cheeks and especially her nose and the tops of her ears are all covered is scabbing wounds where the flesh not just blistered, it fell off.
She was horrified and more than a little freaked out when her skin began to peel away. By morning, her eyes were swollen shut. Ice packs helped her regain the ability to see, but I took off work to take her to the doctor where she recieved her first painmeds ever and topical antibiotic to spread over the open wounds. As well as a steroid shot and other stuff.
Both myself and grandma chastised her for forgetting the sunscreen but in truth... she IS a kid. What were those chaperones for if not to protect the girls? By all reports, those women stayed huddled under the only shade and pretty much left the girls to their own devices.
I'm feeling just a little miffed at those "chaperones".
But mostly I just want my daughter to heal quickly and without scars, though we were warned that scars are a very real possibility. She has to stay out of direct sunlight for the rest of the summer, and it only just began! Poor baby. She's taking it well, all things considered. I think it helped her that *I* freaked out a bit about her glasses being so close to the burns. It let her feel strong and a little more in control.
