Well, last week wasn't far behind. We had a lot of preparations for our Easter weekend, one of the elders in our church had a mild heart attack, a family in our church lost their grandmother (the grandmother did not go to our church) and Matt was asked to do the funeral (he also spent a lot of time with the lady and her family in the hospital before she passed away), quite a few of our church members were very sick, and we had several dr. appointments for our family (more on this in just a minute). Whew! I made the joke that I thought I was married to that man who kept flying in and out of the house everyday, but didn't see him long enough to know for sure!
But, we made it through, had a wonderful Easter weekend with record attendance at our church, and are now enjoying a slightly more relaxed week! My mom is coming in just a couple days, which we are all so excited about (got lots of laundry for you, Mom! Ha!). Monday we had the warmest and sunniest day so far this year. We were able to be outside a lot and start working on the yard and getting garden prepped for planting, etc. It was SO nice to have the windows open and be able to enjoy the sunshine and warm, fresh air!
So now, on to the dr. appts. Matt and I had our usual chiropractor appointments, which was nice. I love going to the chiropractor! Also, we had to take Libby to the dr. for some issues she was having. But the biggest thing we were dealing with was a situation with Liam. Let me explain...
Over the past couple months, Liam has off and on complained of his mouth hurting. I would always check it out, but never found anything so we just kind of shrugged it off. If you have young kids, you know that sometimes they make stuff up. Anyways, I, unfortunately, didn't pay a ton of attention to it. At one point we thought he might have something wrong with his tooth, but when we looked in his mouth, nothing looked out of the ordinary. Well, last Wednesday night he just started crying and crying at bedtime, complaining of his "tongue" hurting. I looked in his mouth, and noticed his back, left molar looked very strange. I wasn't sure if it was broken or what, but I knew it wasn't right.
The next morning I got up and called a dentist right away. They weren't able to get him in until the next day. But, he wasn't complaining of it hurting anymore, so I didn't know what was going on. Well, the next day, Matt took him to the dentist (who, by the way, just happens to be a man that Matt and his dad were able to lead to the Lord just a few weeks ago! And we didn't even request that dr. - that is just who we were assigned to! Cool, huh?). I was home cleaning and stuff. After about an hour I texted Matt to check on the status. The following was our text messages that day:
Me: How's it going?
Matt: 12 cavities.
Me: What??????? Are you serious?
Matt: Going to try and fix the worst ones.
Me: Are they all over? How's he doing?
Matt: Top, bottom, and front. So far so good. We will see how it goes.
Me: Are you serious he has 12?
Matt: Yes
Me: Now I feel terrible!
I was shocked, in disbelief, sick to my stomach, terribly upset, and mad at myself. I seriously thought Matt was joking at first. But he wasn't. My little 4-year-old boy has 12 cavities! I cannot tell you how terrible I felt. I literally thought I was the worst mother in the whole entire world. I called my mom and Danielle on Skype and they did a good job of comforting me. In reality, it wasn't my fault, but I still felt SO upset about it.
The dentist thought the work would be too extensive and take too long for Liam to sit still, so we made the decision to have it done while Liam is under general anesthesia. That way they all can get taken care of at once, and he won't have any bad memories from it.
That night I had the ladies Bible study, and I shared with all of them how upset I was and they were all so comforting (mind you I was the youngest woman there!). Then, as ladies tend to do, they all went into their stories of their kids and cavities and how it happened to them, and they know so-and-so that had more, etc. It made me feel a little better. You see, I am very particular about what my kids eat. And candy is a rarity for them. The don't even know what gum is, and they actually don't like suckers and stuff like that. We brush their teeth every night - with them brushing and then me brushing after them. And yet, still, Liam has 12 cavities!
In reality, I should not be surprised. I've always known that the Sealy side of the family has very soft enamel. And I mean soft. Matt's dentist used to joke that all he had to do was look at sugar and he would get a cavity. But my side of the family has very strong enamel. And I actually have prayed many times that my kids would inherit my teeth. But, I suppose, at least for Liam, God gave him Matt's teeth. But now we know that and will be able to take the extra precautions from now on.
Anyway, we went last week to another dr. in Fredericton (45 mins. from here) to have them do the work. We got there only to find out that they have to do the work at the hospital (because of the anesthesia) and only they get about one day a month for them to be able to do it. So Liam was put on a list and they sent us off with these words, "Hopefully we can get to it this summer." I was SO upset! I was mad that they couldn't just get it done and why was my son put on a list? And how long was that list, anyway??????
Well, I finally calmed down and we decided to search elsewhere for another dr. who could do it. We don't have dental coverage, so we were even looking in Maine since we have to pay out of pocket anyway. But we hadn't found one yet. Then, on Saturday night, Liam was in terrible pain. We were both up with Liam until very late. He was complaining of an ear ache, and his mouth hurting, and on Sunday night he had a slight fever. Since it was Easter, everything here was still closed on Monday and poor Liam was in so much pain! At times he was inconsolable and just sobbing. Matt texted the dentist that we saw here and he told us what to do for now and to call the office in the morning.
First thing yesterday morning I called them and they were already on it, trying to find someone who could so it now. The reason they hadn't tried it is because they didn't have any sedatives or anything here. They just use the needle that freezes you, and that doesn't usually go too well with kids. But, because of the pain Liam was in, the dr. here decided he would work through lunch and try to help Liam. We took him in, and Liam did fine at first, when they were doing the freezing, but for some reason started to flip out when they put his chair back. So they could not do anything. But, they did get us an appointment today with the same dr. we saw in Fredericton the week before. She uses a mild sedative that makes them sleepy, and we thought we would try that.
So this morning Matt, Liam and I headed off to get this done. Liam did great - at first. But once she tried to have him hold a big rubber thing in his mouth that would keep it open, he would have none of it. So, rather than terrorize him, we decided it best to just wait and do it in the OR. But, God worked it out so perfectly that they had a date for May 9th, and they were moving Liam to the top of the list! So, Lord willing, Liam will have everything taken care of in just over a week. Until that time he is on an antibiotic that will help with the pain and keep infection from setting in. Now all we have to do is come up with A LOT of money to pay for it - which has to be paid up front! We are not sure how that is going to happen, but I am excited to see how God will provide for us. Because I know He will!
I still am very upset about this, and was even embarrassed at first to tell people how Liam has cavities. But, I have realized that it does not really reflect my parenting. Tooth decay is a fact of life. And as hard as we try to keep away from candy and sugar, it is more than that which can cause all this. Milk, fruit juice (even the 100% kind - which is all I buy), crackers, bread... the list can go on that can be bad for the teeth. And the dentist told us that if a person has soft enamel, than having that stuff sit on your teeth for even 5 mins can do some damage! So, Liam is going to brush his teeth a lot, lot more now! Ha! Actually, the dentist did have Liam show him how he brushes his teeth and he said that Liam actually did a very good job - better than most 4-year-olds! That made me feel like I had done something right!
Whew! If you are still with me and still reading - go you! I know that was wordy, long, and involved, but again - I use this as a family journal and I wanted to record all that down! You think you will always remember stuff, but I am already finding there is stuff I forget so quickly!
We would appreciate your prayers for Liam. Please pray that his pain goes away and that we will be able to come up with the money so we won't have to postpone the procedure. I am also a little nervous about him being put under anesthetics, but remind myself that he will be okay and this is for the best. I don't want him terrified of the dentist for years to come! Although, I would say that with this being his first time ever to a dentist, and he did very, very well. I was proud of him! I was planning on starting him on his yearly check-ups this fall, anyways! Guess we needed to "get ahead!" Ha!
Well, that's it for now! Hope your week is going spectacular!
Until next time...
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