I thought about posting the short hand version of our past few days on Facebook, but didn't have a signal at the hospital and then time passed, so here I go finally capturing it for posterity.
The Facebook (and preview) would have looked something like this. "Tuesday night 20' container with our household goods arrived. Wednesday ER visit for stitches. Thursday Dentist to rebuild teeth. Still unpacking.
I have to set it up properly, so I'm going back in time a bit. We had an invite to join a couple of families at a waterpark an hour north on Wednesday. Matt had the day off, so we decided to go for it. There was also a homeschool group going ice skating Thursday. Why not!
Monday, on the way home from soccer and kickboxing I got a phone call from the local end of the shipping company. Our stuff would be delivered between 3-4 the next day. Hmm, nothing like less than 24 hour notice. We did have YM for Isaac and a mother daughter activity day activity that night, but those weren't until 7. I though they should be able to unload a container in time.
Tuesday at almost 5, the truck shows up and takes another 15 minutes backing into our "driveway". It was a ridiculously long truck for one container. Isaac was picked up for YM (because it started at 6 this week) and later the girls were picked up for their activity that I no longer could go to. There wasn't a crew of workers, it was just one guy and me unloading everything and it took a couple hours. Matt came home that night to a maze of boxes. The girls were in high heaven being reunited with animals and dress-up clothes. I had made a dent, but we had to just leave it because we had to wake up early to go to the water park the next morning.
The park was good. It wasn't as polished as Aquadenture, but had plenty for the kids to do. We quickly learned that wearing your flip flops is a must due to super hot sidewalks. The workers were fine with letting us take them off at the tops of slides and hold them on the way down. It was almost completely empty. It was over an hour before we saw other visitors. It felt a little odd, like they opened up Wally World just for us. But the kids got to down their favorite slides 10 times in a row with no waiting. During a late lunch break, the adults got into a discussion about doctors and hospitals, where to go and where not to. Then 5 minutes later Jess comes running to us crying with a mouth full of blood.
The next bit was all confusion and I don't want to go into the initial terror, then relief, then terror again when we saw the blood was from her lip, then that her top front two teeth were mostly missing. We made a hasty departure. I sat in the back with Jess while Matt sped to the hospital we had just been talking about.
The short version: She got two stitches in her lip because the cut was so deep it wouldn't heal smoothly on it's own. The doctor is hopeful that there will be no scarring because lips regenerate so quickly. She got more basic first aid on her well scraped up right knee. They gave us 4 recommendations for a dentist for her teeth. Her lip hurt worse than her teeth, which was a huge blessing. The first dentist we called advised us to come the next morning rather than right away since she wasn't in tooth pain, and because she had just gotten stitches and didn't need more trauma. Jess took it easy for the rest of the day while Matt, Makenna and I unpacked. Isaac went babysitting and didn't get back till after midnight, then had to wake up for another early morning to go to the dentist.
We all went together because it was so close to the Dubai Mall where the older two kids were going ice skating. Jessica was very fortunate that her nerves were visible but not exposed. The dentist was able to seal the stubs and then rebuild her teeth. They look completely normal again. We know that the roots may die soon, or in a few years. It's just something we will have to watch. If that happens down the road, we will deal with it. The x-rays look good and don't show any more damage under the gums. She's going back in a week to check for sensitivity.
We finished at the dentist just in time to head all together to the ice rink. Matt dropped us off and then went to run a couple of errands. Isaac and Makenna met up with friends and happily skated for a couple hours (no blisters this time!!) while Jess ate a croissante and a big mug of hot chocolate--the first real food she had eaten since the accident--at a coffee shop next to the ice rink and enjoyed watching. Matt met up with us and we had lunch with the ravenous skaters.
Now, a couple of days later, eating is easier, but we are sticking with soft foods for now like pasta and waffles. Drinking is still a challenge. Her lip is still tender and fat. She uses straws at the side of her mouth.
News traveled fast. Before going to church Friday I had three concerned phone calls offering help, two texts and two emails. The best offer was from a mom offering to have one of her kids give the junior primary talk. Jessica's speaking is still stiff because she tries not to move her lip. But she's not lisping like she was for the hours before her teeth were fixed. Jess was a little embarrassed (but a little pleased too) by the attention at church the next day.
We have asked what happened, how did you fall, a few times, but the best we have gotten is something like this. "I was going up by the two blue slides, but I wasn't on them yet. And then I slipped and was going backward, but then I bounced on the volcano and fell forward and hit my face." Okay! It was a clumsy moment that could have happened anywhere. I am so glad Matt was with us. And we have saved the hospital location in the GPS. I think Jess needs to practice falling and using her HANDS to take the impact rather than her face. Hands heal much easier than teeth!
I'm going to include two pictures. One we took at the hospital on Wednesday. It's a bit gruesome, so be warned. The other I took 10 minutes ago.
The Facebook (and preview) would have looked something like this. "Tuesday night 20' container with our household goods arrived. Wednesday ER visit for stitches. Thursday Dentist to rebuild teeth. Still unpacking.
I have to set it up properly, so I'm going back in time a bit. We had an invite to join a couple of families at a waterpark an hour north on Wednesday. Matt had the day off, so we decided to go for it. There was also a homeschool group going ice skating Thursday. Why not!
Monday, on the way home from soccer and kickboxing I got a phone call from the local end of the shipping company. Our stuff would be delivered between 3-4 the next day. Hmm, nothing like less than 24 hour notice. We did have YM for Isaac and a mother daughter activity day activity that night, but those weren't until 7. I though they should be able to unload a container in time.
Tuesday at almost 5, the truck shows up and takes another 15 minutes backing into our "driveway". It was a ridiculously long truck for one container. Isaac was picked up for YM (because it started at 6 this week) and later the girls were picked up for their activity that I no longer could go to. There wasn't a crew of workers, it was just one guy and me unloading everything and it took a couple hours. Matt came home that night to a maze of boxes. The girls were in high heaven being reunited with animals and dress-up clothes. I had made a dent, but we had to just leave it because we had to wake up early to go to the water park the next morning.
The park was good. It wasn't as polished as Aquadenture, but had plenty for the kids to do. We quickly learned that wearing your flip flops is a must due to super hot sidewalks. The workers were fine with letting us take them off at the tops of slides and hold them on the way down. It was almost completely empty. It was over an hour before we saw other visitors. It felt a little odd, like they opened up Wally World just for us. But the kids got to down their favorite slides 10 times in a row with no waiting. During a late lunch break, the adults got into a discussion about doctors and hospitals, where to go and where not to. Then 5 minutes later Jess comes running to us crying with a mouth full of blood.
The next bit was all confusion and I don't want to go into the initial terror, then relief, then terror again when we saw the blood was from her lip, then that her top front two teeth were mostly missing. We made a hasty departure. I sat in the back with Jess while Matt sped to the hospital we had just been talking about.
The short version: She got two stitches in her lip because the cut was so deep it wouldn't heal smoothly on it's own. The doctor is hopeful that there will be no scarring because lips regenerate so quickly. She got more basic first aid on her well scraped up right knee. They gave us 4 recommendations for a dentist for her teeth. Her lip hurt worse than her teeth, which was a huge blessing. The first dentist we called advised us to come the next morning rather than right away since she wasn't in tooth pain, and because she had just gotten stitches and didn't need more trauma. Jess took it easy for the rest of the day while Matt, Makenna and I unpacked. Isaac went babysitting and didn't get back till after midnight, then had to wake up for another early morning to go to the dentist.
We all went together because it was so close to the Dubai Mall where the older two kids were going ice skating. Jessica was very fortunate that her nerves were visible but not exposed. The dentist was able to seal the stubs and then rebuild her teeth. They look completely normal again. We know that the roots may die soon, or in a few years. It's just something we will have to watch. If that happens down the road, we will deal with it. The x-rays look good and don't show any more damage under the gums. She's going back in a week to check for sensitivity.
We finished at the dentist just in time to head all together to the ice rink. Matt dropped us off and then went to run a couple of errands. Isaac and Makenna met up with friends and happily skated for a couple hours (no blisters this time!!) while Jess ate a croissante and a big mug of hot chocolate--the first real food she had eaten since the accident--at a coffee shop next to the ice rink and enjoyed watching. Matt met up with us and we had lunch with the ravenous skaters.
Now, a couple of days later, eating is easier, but we are sticking with soft foods for now like pasta and waffles. Drinking is still a challenge. Her lip is still tender and fat. She uses straws at the side of her mouth.
News traveled fast. Before going to church Friday I had three concerned phone calls offering help, two texts and two emails. The best offer was from a mom offering to have one of her kids give the junior primary talk. Jessica's speaking is still stiff because she tries not to move her lip. But she's not lisping like she was for the hours before her teeth were fixed. Jess was a little embarrassed (but a little pleased too) by the attention at church the next day.
We have asked what happened, how did you fall, a few times, but the best we have gotten is something like this. "I was going up by the two blue slides, but I wasn't on them yet. And then I slipped and was going backward, but then I bounced on the volcano and fell forward and hit my face." Okay! It was a clumsy moment that could have happened anywhere. I am so glad Matt was with us. And we have saved the hospital location in the GPS. I think Jess needs to practice falling and using her HANDS to take the impact rather than her face. Hands heal much easier than teeth!
I'm going to include two pictures. One we took at the hospital on Wednesday. It's a bit gruesome, so be warned. The other I took 10 minutes ago.
This is after the doctor had cleaned her up, but before she pulled a piece of tooth from her lip or stitched her up. We were waiting for the insurance to go through. We had been there long enough that she wasn't freaked out anymore, and of course the liquid pain killer helped improve her spirits too.
New lovely teeth and a healing lip.
Yikes! Was it a trip and fall?
ReplyDeleteJess, we are so sorry! Aren't dentists wonderful? Kate had her tooth rebuilt last Saturday too and it looks like new. He even shaved off those "bumps" on the other front tooth too, so they match. I hope you get all the attention and soft food you need.
ReplyDeleteOuch!
ReplyDeleteWe are so glad you are ok, and soo BRAVE!
Remind your mom you need lots of ice cream!!