R had his first major accident today. I needed to lay down for a little while, so A took R to the playground around the corner. Within minutes, R fell and hit a metal bar with his mouth. I woke up to the sound of our phone ringing over and over again. The first time I heard it, I ignored it (as we always do). When it immediately rang again, I thought, "That's weird." When it started ringing again, I ran downstairs to grab it, but was too late. I saw that A had called, so I called him back right away, but while it was ringing, I heard the horrible sound of A yelling my name from down the street. I ran to the back door and saw him running towards me, carrying R in his arms. Both of them were covered in blood.
I am so thankful for our next-door neighbor who saw everything and basically busted into our house to help. She's raised three kids and she adores R. She took control of the situation, told A to call the hospital, got R to show her his mouth, and calmed him down. It was really hard to tell, but it looked like two of his teeth were missing - one completely, one partially - and one was pushed backward. His gums and lips were swollen and purple. I ran and got ice and paper towels and held R on my lap. After A talked to the doctor, he ran to the playground to find R's teeth. I'm never squeamish, but for some reason, I started getting lightheaded and knew I was going to faint. I told my neighbor, and she flung her arm around me, led me to the couch, put a blanket on me, checked to see if I wanted any water, then went back to tending R. R got upset again because he was worried about me, my poor sweetheart. So he came out of the bathroom and sat with me on the couch. Within a few minutes, he was smiling and laughing, although he couldn't really talk.
When A got home, the first thing R said was, "Let's go back to the park!" So I think he's going to be okay.
God bless our amazing pediatric dentist who met us at his office within 10 minutes after we called. He was fantastic with R. The x-rays show that one of R's canines may be shoved up into his gums, he definitely lost one tooth completely (which A found at the playground), and one of his front teeth is bent strangely. We have to take R back once a week for the next couple of weeks and keep an eye on him for potential infection. He has to eat soft foods for awhile, but other than that, we just have to see how it goes.
I can't begin to express how badly I feel about being home napping while this happened. And then to almost faint on top of that. Ugh. But I am so thankful to God for R being pretty much okay. And for our neighbor who was a real-life angel. And for the dentist who was so kind and gentle with R (and us!).
R fell asleep within two minutes tonight. His last words to me were, "Mommy, when are my teeth going to feel better?" because he couldn't suck his thumb. We prayed together to ask God to heal his mouth quickly, and then I cried softly while I watched my baby sleep.
I know putting R inside a giant hamster ball to keep him safe from now on isn't the answer. But I can't help thinking about it.
6 comments:
OH honey. The poor Boo! Please give him hugs from us. As for you not being there - poo! Remember that Liam lost his front two teeth at just a wee bit older age (not much) than R is now. And he fell on the asphalt AT CHURCH. You can't be there 24/7. God made sure A was there with him. And made sure your amazing neighbor was there.
If Liam were awake, I'm sure he'd want to send some love to R. Solidarity and all that.
Love you...
Oh, Sweetie, I'm so sorry-that's really really crappy. And I don't mean to sound like "I've seen it all" but my "ex step " grandson Wes knocked out his front teeth when he was three.(Remember "We're going to Friendly's!!!!!) And Wes's teeth are totally fine now. Please don't feel guilty for taking a nap. The exact same thing could have happened with you standing right next to him(Calvin broke his arm falling 18 inches out of a chair onto the carpet while I was in the bathroom).What a freaking awesome dentist you have!!!!Mandy (Wes's mom)had to go to the ER, and the Dr. yelled at her, she was 17 at the time. The hamster ball seems like a good idea, I remember like 15 years ago these women, a grandma and great grandma were arrested in Bridgewater for locking their ADHD grandsons/greatgrandsons in dog crates-they were big fat loads but at the time I thought they were horrible, and the third time Mike got away from us I thought"Hmmm, I can see where they came up with that idea.....". Not really! But there is no absolute protection, just prayer and Dr. gratitude. I hope he's ok, and I love you guys.
Sweetheart, Rix is going to be fine. He is a boy and those things are going to happen. How are you? The thought "Oh God. why coudn't it have been me instead." must be running through your head. I know the thought. His secondary teeth will grow in straight and true.
Do you remember your two front teeth? A dentist told us that your needed braces to compensate or your teeth would be crooked. He wanted six thousand dollars to do it, up front and your teeth would be perfect in six months.
We didn't have the money at the time and started saving but after six months your teeth had straightened themselves. I am just thankful nothing more serious happened to Rix. Any wound to the face bleeds horribly and is frightening. I used to get them regularly, usually from my "little" brother's big fist. My Mother was horrified but my Father used to chuckle. He had the same problem when he was younger. His brother Paul was a giant. Hmmm, sounds familiar.
How is Alan doing? He must feel very alone. Carrying his bleeding son home must have been scary and lonely.
Does Rix know that a second set of teeth is on its way? That might be reassuring. I foresee a big "NO" when he brings home the permission slip to play football. I had to forge the note, luckily my Father and I had almost identical signatures. That came in very handy for absence notes. My high school sweetheart was horrified at that practice as she always followed all the rules and never did anything wrong. Hmmm, that sounds familiar.
There are going to be other incidents like this and no matter how careful you are they are going to happen. Do you remember Johanna's hockey helmut? Dr. Gormely was incensed with us for keeping her awake on the way to his office. He said that with any injury like that there was a danger of neck injury and keeping her awake could make things worse.
You just do the best you can and somehow things work out. The day is going to come when poor Alan will have to run down the street, holding the back of the seat of a two wheeled bicycle, telling himself that if anything happens the first place he should go is to a camping store to get a tent and a sleeping bag because he is going to need them. He could probably use a great big hug now.
My Father had one big rule "NO MOTORCYCLES!". Please remember that. Also remember that the first thing my brother and I did when we turned eighteen was to get a motorcycle. We both learned the hard way that my Father was a very wise man, my brother by hitting a german shepherd at sixty miles an hour and me by having a blowout at eighty.
Things are going to happen, you just do the best you can and your best is very, very good. There is no way you can control everything, just offer the best guidance you can. Rix loves and trusts you and will accept everything you say in that spirit. When he turns twelve the best thing to do is find yourself a village and get yourself the job as the idiot. I have done that and the Chamber of Commerce in this town has listed me as a local attraction. The local bank has a special window to accept my deposits of twigs and leaves and I have a nice cushion for sitting on the wall.
I am not trying to make light of your tragedy. Rix is going to be fine, I am just worried about you,
all of my love, always, daddy
My Dears,
Please don't feel bad that you were napping or that Rix got hurt while you were with him. I've seen your attentiveness when you take him to the playground. You set him loose to just play on his own. You play with him, always a step ahead or behind him. You are wonderful parents, truly engaged with your child. Don't feel bad, don't blame each other. Children do fall down, get hurt, cry, bleed. Thank God R was not seriously injured. God bless your neighbor! I'm sorry I couldn't have been with you, but I'm not sure I would have been much help. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. God bless. Love you
Praying that your boy heals fast and fully.
Blessings, Bob
I hope he feels better. My kids did almost the same thing and after some braces they are doing ok.
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