Are you kidding me?

Some of you may recall me posting about the adventures of being Caleb's mommy. We just returned from an afternoon visiting the doctor AND dentist. Let me flash back to about 3 1/2 weeks ago...I was getting ready for the day while the boys played in the family room. As is so typical with 2 little boys, they started chasing each other around the house. Well, this particular morning, again, like most others, I hear KK start to scream. You see, Caleb has no volume control. His trademark scream is the same volume and intensity whether Trey has just touched his balloon or shut his hand in the front door. Because his hand HAS been shut in the door and I am embarrassed to say I ignored it thinking Trey had just touched his balloon again, I went to check on him just to make sure. Unfortunately Caleb had plowed face-first into the CORNER of the family room wall. I could see immediately the point of contact going from the top of his nose, all the way down to his already-swelling chin. He was  starting to bleed, but I couldn't really tell the significance of the injury because he wouldn't let me look in his mouth. I tried giving him popsicles, but he said they hurt, and even Spiderman ice packs were terrifying to him. His little face swelled up to the point he was almost unrecognizable. I called his pediatrician to see if we needed to come in, but they told me that if his nose were broken, it would be crooked (which it wasn't), and if his teeth weren't loose (which they weren't), there wasn't much they could do. The next morning I could better see the extent of his injuries. He would let me barely lift his throbbing lip to see what was going on in his mouth. He had pushed one of his front teeth completely up and in, and his gums looked like hamburger. He was even still occasionally bleeding even 2 days later. This photo was taken the next day, and if you look close, you can see the lovely red line down his sweet face.

Fast forward 3 weeks later... The tooth that has been displaced is now gray and dead. I remembered that his dentist had told me if this happened, we would need to pull the tooth to prevent infection. I call the dentist and they don't have openings for 2 more weeks. Argh...this tooth is quite ugly inside his adorable little mouth. I don't want to wait 2 weeks, but even more pressing, he's developed a cold which I'm nervous could be a secondary infection from the tooth. I decide to err on the side of caution, and I take him into the doctor. She sends me right downstairs to another pediatric dentist AGAST that my dentist wouldn't take him immediately. After spending an hour at the doctor, poor KK isn't thrilled about walking right back into another waiting room. Well, after x-rays (and another gasp as I mention my experience with previous dentist), Caleb's injury is apparently MUCH worse than even I thought. The tooth is obviously dead, but he has actually BROKEN a bone inside his mouth. The bone that holds the root in place on his front teeth has been cracked. I about started crying. My poor baby has been walking around with a broken bone in his MOUTH and I didn't even know. They told me to put him on a soft food diet for the next few weeks. After the bone is healed - about 8 weeks - they'll basically do a root canal without taking out the tooth (the only good news of the day). 

This humbling experience brings back horrible memories of spending a Sunday in the ER with Caleb nearly 2 years ago. He wouldn't walk, had a fever, and we were nervous he had another urinary tract infection. After a few days of tests, we were referred to a orthopedic surgeon who does x-rays of KK's leg and tells me he's cracked his knee cap. This is at least a week after his injury. I felt like such a horrible mommy. Most kids break arms and sprain ankles, mine breaks his mouth and knee. 

Needless to say, today was a very sobering experience as a mother. After we got home and I checked my messages, I notice my house is dead silent. Those of you who are parents know - this is NEVER a good thing. I walk into the entry hall, and here I find Caleb right where I left him when we walked in the house. Poor Caleb. Trey at least found his bed to crash in...