Fire Ants

We went to go play sand volleyball last Friday after a lot of flooding here. It was nice to be outside for the first time in a couple of days. Where we get together to play there's a great playground for the kids. We got the kids ready and ran out the door. Nate was in flip flops and had been playing on the playground when he decided he wanted to play in the sand with his friends. He started to slip off his sandals next to the sand volleyball court and by the time he stepped onto the sand he was yelling. I turned around and told him to be tough, not realizing that he was covered with fire ants up to his ankles. He'd taken his sandals off right on top of an ant hill. One of the other moms who's lived here longer than us ran to Nate's aid and started swiping off his feet while she explained to me what Nate was crying about. I felt awful. Maybe I should listen sometimes before I try to toughen up my son.
This isn't his first encounter with fire ants, but it's definitely left more of a mark than the others of the past. To be honest, I'd never actually seen them until this happened. The photos aren't great, but his feet and ankles are completely swollen. If you click on the pic you can see a little more clearly.
He's got about 2o bites per leg and even some on his elbows. They've all turned to these angry red bumps with pustules in the center. Ouch.
Nate's been a trooper through it. He doesn't complain unless he's trying to put shoes on. He's so swollen that I didn't make him go to church with me yesterday. He stayed home with the rest of the sick fam. Scarlett with her pertussis, Robert with his cough, and Nate with his bites. We're a bit of a mess here, but gosh dang it, we're going to make it!