Sunday, September 27, 2015

There Is Always Someone...


FrenchFry and his dad after a night in the ER.



A few nights ago, FrenchFry (2.5 year old) fell and landed with his mouth on a small wooden table.  There was a horrible, horrible sound and then the silence of a kid in shock and pain before the loud screams and cries.  I held him as his mouth filled with blood and we immediately knew this was a bad one and that his teeth were likely damaged.  After just a few moments of holding him, we jumped in the car and drove the excruciatingly long drive to the Children's Hospital.  (Why do we not live closer to the hospital?!)

By the time we got there he was mostly calm and watching videos on my phone.  The bleeding had stopped and he would only cry intermittently. We saw the ER doctor who couldn't find any damage to his mouth except for the clearly bent back front teeth.  She consulted with the on call dentist and we had an appointment for the next day at the dental clinic.

That night we had FrenchFry sleep in our bed so we could stay close and monitor him.  He woke up moaning a few times and we gave him some Tylenol.  The next day I stayed home with him and we cuddled on the couch and he watched way more TV than I'd care to admit while I took care of some work before his appointment.

Holding hands while he watches Umizoomi and I get some work done.

The dentist appointment was more traumatic than the actual ER visit for both FrenchFry and us.  He screamed through the exam and then had to get x-rays and since I'm pregnant I couldn't be in there with him. I feel bad for the other kids in the waiting room having to listen to him scream bloody murder for ten minutes.  Not exactly a great introduction into going to the dentist.  And then the dentist came back with our "two options:" either pull both his front teeth right then and there or wait a week and most certainly have to pull them then.

That's the point when I lost it.  I know they are only baby teeth but the news that they wanted to pull them was shocking.  I said no way to pulling them onsite, asked a few more questions and we left with an appointment set up for ten days later.  I've since come to terms with the idea that they may need to remove his teeth and it will be okay, but in the meantime we are also going to get a second opinion just to make sure it's really necessary.

So it's been a rough couple of days in the Ketchup house... but through it all and certainly now that we've had some time to see that he is going to be okay and to adjust to the possibility of losing the teeth, I know that it could have been way worse.   It can always be worse.

It was scary and hard, and it is sad to see his swollen little face right now, but he is okay.  There are parents who go through much worse with their kids.  And there are people who have tried to become parents and would give anything to be in our shoes with a healthy, normal kid who is going to have some accidents in his life and at worse might be without his front teeth for a few more years than we expected.

It's good to remember that there is always someone who would love to have your bad days....
 

Cuddle Fairy




My Random Musings

6 comments:

  1. Awww that must have been an awful experience for you all. I hope he is feeling better. I love the quote, that's a good way of looking at it :)
    Thanks for linking up to #AnythingGoes
    Debbie

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  2. This is so sad to read, I know where you're coming from, yes people suffer worse, but there is such heartbreak when you see your baby in pain, our children are so precious and it is so painful to see them hurt. Hearing your story makes me hug my little boy a little tighter! Linked up after you #candidcuddles

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  3. Eeek. Poor Frenchfry and poor you. Tyger has a chip out of one of his front milk teeth and I felt bad enough about that so I can imagine you feel awful. I have a horrible feeling Baby Bear will do worse since he climbs everything (caught him up on his highchair tray this morning and he can easily get onto the dining table, various shelves, the TV unit and once even the kitchen counter). I had to take him to the doctor last week with a suspected concussion.

    It's emotionally exhausting being a parent! But you're right, these are still problems others wish they had.

    #AnythingGoes

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  4. Oh, poor little pickle. That must be very painful, sounds like he was very brave. I think if we are all a little bit honest, of course we don't want our little ones to lose any of the things that make them beautiful, but once you get used to the idea you can ground yourself and realise its only superficial. And thank goodness for that - this post reminds me a bit of how I felt when TG was told at age 1 she had to have glasses. Now, we wouldn't have it any other way.x #anythinggoes

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  5. Popping over from #candidcuddles =) We should be grateful for those that would accept our bad days/pain. It takes a special person to care that much about others over themselves.

    Come share your crafts, DIY's, recipes & up-cycles at #2usestuesday (Mon PM to Fri PM) & your pinnable images at #Pinbellish (Fri AM to Tues AM) over at Sarah Celebrates if you don't already!

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  6. Ah the poor thing. The dentist is traumatic even for an adult so it's really terrifying for a child. My son had to have a lot of x-rays done & it was just awful. This quote puts everything into perspective & is a wake up call when you complain or are feeling bad about your day. I haven't heard it before but won't forget it! I hope french fry is back to himself soon. Thanks so much for sharing with #candidcuddles x

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