Matthew's Jellyfish Encounter

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Matthew's Jellyfish Encounter

Journaling:January 20, 2009On our first day in Waikiki, Matthew had an encounter with a box jellyfish. We were happily playing in the ocean. We hadn’t seen any warning signs for jelly fish. Matthew was playing with a stick in the water when he let out a scream of pain. He ran from the water with me close on his heels. I thought he had stabbed himself with the stick. He was holding and rubbing his arm. He said, “Something wrapped around my arm and bit me.” He was crying hard, but when I looked at his arm, I couldn’t see anything – no bites, no rash, no marks.We ran across the street to our hotel and asked the security guard what he thought. He looked at Matthew’s arm which at this point was covered with white spots. He said, “He’s been stung by a box jellyfish. Let’s get him back over to the lifeguard and have him treat it.”We hurried back across the street, where the lifeguard rinsed Matthew with distilled vinegar. At this point, Matthew’s arm was swollen and red, and his chest was covered with red hives. Because Matthew had rubbed his arm and held it against his chest, he was covered with poison from the jellyfish. The lifeguard told us to watch his breathing and if he seemed to be struggling to breath to take him to the emergency room. He told us to give him Tylenol and Benadryl and to keep ice packs on his arm and chest. The ABC store at our hotel didn’t carry any medication for children, so Blaine literally ran to the nearest pharmacy to buy medication. After about three hours, Matthew felt ready to go to Pearl Harbor. He had cried for a long time, had a bath, a dose of both Tylenol and Benadryl, and was now ready to go do something. He still wasn’t feeling very well, and he told me to hold his arm and squeeze it in pulses to keep his arm from hurting. He struggled to sleep that night because his arm hurt. His arm still bore the marks from the jellyfish for about a week. During the first three hours, he said, “I don’t think the jellyfish was trying to be mean to me. I just think he couldn’t control his tentacles.”The next day, jellyfish warning signs were posted, so we were able to get a picture for the scrapbook.