She Made It

Well, today Leah experienced something that even I have never experienced. I noticed a spot on one of her bottom molars so took her to the dentist. Since she would barely open her mouth for our family dentist to get a glimpse of the tooth in question, he referred us out to a pediadontist. That appointment was last week. After an exam of her teeth, the pediadontist recommended a possible crown. Along with that came having to give her an antihistamine/anti-anxiety med two hours and one hour before her scheduled appointment.

Basically after that appointment, I was a mess. First of all, I was devastated that our 3 year old has cavities. (All of our girls' back teeth have such deep crevices.) Secondly, the thought of what she was going to have to go through was gut-wrenching! I called a friend of mine and she read scripture (in Luke) to me where Jesus warns about worry. I was reminded that whatever God is doing in Leah's little mouth, He is doing it for her good. Then she ministered to me in prayer as she prayed for me, our family, and little Leah. By that evening, both Alex and I felt more peaceful about what we were going to have to do.

Today was the appointment day. Soon after Leah woke up this morning, I had to administer the anti-anxiety drug. She did very well, considering its bad taste. Even before I had to give her the second pre-appointment dose, she was looking very tired. We didn't sit in the waiting area long before the assistant opened the door and said, "Leah." Leah wrapped her arms around me and clung to me. I had to pry her arms from around my neck and hand my baby over to the lady. Then Leah started to cry. After the door closed, I turned my chair around so I didn't have to face the front desk gals and sat there, looked out the window, and cried. After a bit, I pulled out my Bible, which I took along fully knowing I'd need it to get through the long 30 minutes.

I read in Psalm 91, a chapter that I memorized last year, but had actually stopped the habit of reciting it to myself. My Mom reminded me recently to meditate on the truth of those words and the promises contained therein.

5-10 minutes later: An assistant came out to me and handed me a piece of paper that discussed child restraining, basically a papoose looking board with straps at the ankles and wrists. I couldn't help it -- the tears started to fall all over again. I asked how Leah was doing and if I could go back with her. The lady didn't say no, but stated that there were already three assistants in the room. I guess holding a child's hands down constitutes "child restraining" and they apparently needed permission to do so. The other option was to go to the hospital and have general anesthetic done. Knowing this was not an option for us, I told her to do what they had to do. (I'm actually surprised she could understand what I was attempting to say between all my crying. Kind of funny now that I think about it, she did have to ask me to repeat something.)

Anyway, I continued to read on into Psalm 92 and just after reading vs. 4b-5, "I sing for joy at the works of your hands. How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts...," the assistant came out to me once again and said that Leah had calmed down quite a bit, the nitrous oxide was working, and they were getting things done quickly.

Probably not even 10 minutes later, the original assistant that took Leah back came out and told me, "She's all done, that I could go on back, and the dentist would talk with me about what they did." The dentist was waiting for me when I got back there. He asked how I was doing. To this I answered, "Not good." This has probably been one of the hardest things I have had to do as a Mom! He was a very compassionate and understanding man; he explained to me everything that they did and assured me that Leah did great.

The tooth was as bad as he thought it would be. When the decay was cleared away, the nerve tissue was exposed. They did a therapeutic pulpotomy and put a stainless-steel crown on her tooth. I am thrilled to report that Leah has done great since the appointment and seems to have no side effects from the meds she had to be on this morning. As we were leaving the dentist's office, Leah said she was hungry. Her appetite has also been good the rest of today. Leah has taken pride in opening her mouth wide and showing us her "new tooth." The first time she looked into the mirror and saw the color of it, she had a look of slight surprise on her face.

So, that's where my heart is this evening as I reflect back on this day. Allow me to share the words that ministered to me this morning once again to you ~~ "I sing for joy at the works of your hands. How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts...."

She made it....and I did too!
~Wee

Edited to add the following: When I was brushing Leah's teeth tonight before bed, she once again pulled out her mirror to check out her tooth. I then showed her my lovely teeth with all the silver fillings, and she said, "Oh, you have one right there like me. Me have big one like this (demonstrates by putting one arm way above her head and one arm down below); you have baby one."