My biggest fear has always been Ethan being injured, and well last week, that fear became a reality. Every Saturday, a bunch of us get together. The mums (and few dads) have coffee and a bite to eat, and the kids play. There's a bouncy castle, and a climbing structure. Suddenly it started to rain. No pour. So we ran for cover. I saw Ethan still in the climbing structure, and decided since when it pours here, it tends to be short lived, so maybe he was better off there, where he was dry. Within 3 minutes of deciding this, I saw the Ayah (child-minder) carrying Ethan who was screaming like crazy.
Ethan's mouth was bleeding. It took a bit to clean it out, and when I finally did, I could see there was something wrong with his tooth. I couldn't quite tell if it had been chipped, or broken, or pushed back into his gums. We knew Ethan needed to see a dentist, but the problem with Dar, is there are no child-friendly dentists, and who knows who'd be available on a Saturday. We finally decided we needed to get an X-ray, and I called a dental clinic I've used. I was still a little nervous, as I wasn't sure how well they'd do with someone so young. I call the clinic as we walk towards the car. Not even seconds after I hang up, a man walks towards us. He introduces himself to us as an orthodontic surgeon from the US and offers to take a look at Ethan. He tells us that there's no permanent damage, and describes it like jamming your finger. His tooth was jammed into his gums, but he would be OK, and the tooth should make it's way down again.
That's when I first believed Ethan has an angel looking after him, and my sanity.
Well, you'd think that would be it. But no. Saturday night, actually 3am to be exact, Ethan woke up screaming. His gums were bleeding, his mouth was swollen (which it hadn't been the day before), and now we could hardly see his tooth. Had it moved further into his gums we wondered?
Sunday morning came along. And we debated for hours what to do. We could take him to the hospital, where we would wait for hours, and after my experience with the casualty ward a few years ago, we couldn't be guaranteed they'd call a dentist to look at him. There's a new Trauma Centre that's opened. We knew we'd get serviced right away, but again, we didn't know what kind of dentist they'd have. We finally remembered there's a local doctor that's seen Ethan before and his clinic is open on Sundays.
So off to the doctor's we went. He said what we already knew. Ethan needed to see a dentist, but assured us, that Ethan was fine, and we (and I mean me) needn't panic. We asked if he knew any dentists that specialised with children. Of course not! (Any kiddie dentists - want to start a practice and make tons of money, come to Dar!) But he knew a dentist that has children as patients. So we grabbed his number, and decided to call 1st thing Monday morning.
Well Dr Shivji is our 2nd angel. Knowing that I'd probably have a heart attach if had to wait till the following morning, he called the dentist. And our 3rd angel made his appearance. It just happened that he was at his clinic on a Sunday, because there was some painting being done, and he agreed to see Ethan right away.
So off to the Dentist's we now went. He took a look at Ethan and announced that Ethan's tooth was dead, however he didn't recommend pulling it. There was nothing seriously wrong. His main concern was infection, and told us to watch for further swelling, or signs of infection.
Over a week later and Ethan's doing great. He's adjusted to having half a front tooth, and doesn't notice it. I still feel guilty but am so glad Ethan has great angels looking after him and his mother's sanity!
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