Caleb vs. the Man o War

About two weeks ago, we had our first island life incident.  I don't know what to even say about it.  It was one of those parenting moments that make you question.....am I really cut out for this?  Am I, are we,  going to make it through this?  It was tragic for me, to say the least.  And bless Grandma Debbie's heart for having to go through this experience with me.
He was only standing in about knee deep water, and saw what he thought to be a kite string.  So as any curious five year old would do, he reached out to pick it up.  And that is when the sink my heart, frozen in time, something has hurt my baby, blood curdling scream came crashing into my ears up on the shore with Jonah.
I blacked out until we made it back to the car.  I do know, this took some time as we had chairs, and towels, and sand toys, and such.  And I remember a passerby pointing out the man-o-war for me to see in the water to verify what had gotten him.  It was his hand.  His left hand.  I saw the purple ink before I grabbed the hand and held it tight.
My boy was in So. Much. Pain.  And I felt helpless.  My iPhone was now taking seven years to search man o war sting treatments.  Dad was only about 10 miles away.  But is seemed like 10,000.  Caleb was in pain.    There was a difference between these screams and every other scream I have ever heard from his mouth.  Internally, I was in a panic!
Now picture me.  Frantic in 7-11.  Crying through the phone to Eric.  What do I need?  Aloe, vinegar, tylenol, meat tenderizer?  Someone help!   Cashier....speaks broken English.  Aahhhhh!
I settled on some aloe and Tylenol.  We drowned the hand with aloe, guzzeled a full dose of Tylenol.  Now to just suffer through the consistent screaming and moaning pattern from the backseat for the 20+ minute drive home.  (And hope that the pain eases soon.) It went something like this...owww, oowwwwww, SCREAM, owww, It's okay Jonah, it's Caleb that hurts, not you. Oowww, owwwwww, SCREAM!  (And for each inserted scream, imagine the loudest, ear piercing, "you can tell that kid is hurt" scream.)  He was so sweet, trying to calm Jonah, as he was now crying because of Caleb's crying.  Mom was crying in the front seat, and I'm sure Grandma Debbie was too.  You couldn't help but feel for Caleb.  Luckily, Daddy came to the rescue, meeting us along the way.  He had been to a pharmacy and picked up some sting ease spray, and talked to some local friends who reassured him with things to do and what to expect.
Caleb just kept asking me when it was going to stop....and I had no answer.  That was my biggest question too!  How long will this last?
So, if you are like me, and happen to google this in a panic,  I am sorry if you come across this post.  You've hopefully moved on to a more informative page by now.
Here is what I needed to hear/read....
The pain is intense.  It will ease after about an hour.  Most importantly, watch for signs of allergic reaction.  It will take about 3 hours for your 5 year old to fully calm down.  He will then pass out on the couch for the night.  Meat tenderizer is only good if you apply immediately, so don't feel bad about that. (Note to self....Remove baby powder and add meat tenderizer to beach bag.  Because I tried that baby powder trick for the sand, and that ain't happening unless you use one full bottle per leg.)  You should rinse it with salt water right away.  Urine doesn't work for man o war stings.  (Caleb tried that.)  The mark will last for about a week, depending on the size of the sting.  Caleb's was tiny, compared to images on google. :-)  It may become itchy once the pain subsides, so have the cortisone cream handy. (Caleb's never got itchy.)

You can see that his left hand was a little swollen and puffy here.  But thankfully, no real allergic reaction to the sting.  Just one worn out boy.

Looking back now, it was an experience that was bound to happen to us here.  I wish it would have been me and not my child.  We are now better prepared for such an incident.

Once fully recovered, our only fear....that he will never get in that ocean EVER again.  But alas, less than a week later, he was snorkeling with Dad at Hanauma Bay.  (Where we told him there were no man-o-wars.) It may take time, but he'll be in the ocean, full swing again soon.  And if this happens to us again....I may feel like a more competent parent next time around.