The Dentist and Kidney Update

I used to love going to the dentist when I was kid. When I was in first grade, I loved all the Paddington Bear adventure stories. I wrote one about Paddington going to the dentist. Back in first grade, however, I didn't have cavities.

I had a cavity filled back in May, but it immediately began giving me a lot of pain whenever I hate something hot or cold. I've been chewing all my food on the right side of my mouth for two months in an effort to avoid that face searing stab of pain that shoots through my jaw, ear and chin whenever something cold hits the nerve.

Last week when Evan and I had our checkups, I mentioned to my dentist that I was having trouble. He did his thing and poked around. We decided to have the filling removed. The thinking is that a silver (metal) filling is going to be more likely to transfer heat or cold. He filled the space in with some sort of compound that will help "scare" the nerve away from the area.

All that is fine and dandy except for the fact that I get myself worked up into such an emotional frenzy thinking about the numbing and the drilling, that I end up exhausted when the appointment is over. Even Dr. M knows that he has to handle me with kid gloves.

I also have a funky nerve ending in there that was making me jump whenever the drill hit that spot. Dr. M ended up giving me three separate injections to make sure I was completely numb. Then I had to go and cry because it was hurting. I hate being such an idiot patient.

My dentist is great. I have no issues with him. He was bound and determined to figure out what was causing me so much pain. I just wish that I wasn't such a coward.

The numbness has finally worn off. I haven't tested the tooth yet with hot or cold food. I'm too afraid. What may have been causing the problem all along was what looked like a sesame seed buried under my gum. Ewww. At least Dr. M said that it wasn't something I could have even gotten to with floss. Hopefully I'll get some relief. I was getting tired of constantly popping pain pills.

My little tooth drama is not nearly as dramatic as Eric's news. We both went this morning to get the results of his CT scan from last week. The tumor in his kidney absorbed some of the dye, which leads the doctor to believe that there is an 80 percent chance of this being cancer.

Last week the doctor was more willing to sit on this and "watch it." Not so anymore. Now his recommendation is to have the kidney removed.

We've pretty much known this was coming since March, but it is still sobering to hear out loud. There are a few things in our favor. More than likely it will be done laproscopically. The only thing preventing that might be scar tissue from his gallbladder being removed. Also, once it is out, it will be curative. Eric won't have to go through radiation or chemo. There is only a 5 percent chance that he would get cancer in the other kidney.

The surgery is at least six weeks out due to the doctor's schedule. Perfect. Right when I go back to school! I like the doctor. He was reassuring towards both Eric and me.

After we walked out of the doctor's office, I cried. Big surprise. I just tend to worry. However, I am going to do my best not to dwell for the next six weeks. We have a lot of fun things to do and look forward to in the next month or so. I just had to get my feelings out.

When Eric is going through as much as he has with his pancreas, gallbladder, and kidney, I almost feel silly for complaining about a hurting tooth. Almost.

Should I Feel Guilty?

Evan wandered into our room at 4 a.m. I told him to go away. I guess he didn't.


He is sleeping in the dog bed at the foot of our bed. Pathetic, huh? Should I feel guilty that he just wants to be close to me, and I all but banished him to sleep with the dog? Naaaaah!


Take note that the dog is not in said dog bed. The little dog is up in the big bed keeping my feet warm. The big dog is probably resting on a pile of clothes on the floor somewhere. I guess he likes our scent.


Rest assured, when Evan came in at 4, I did not say, "Off with ye to the dog bed." No, I told him to go back to his own queen sized bed in his own room with his own covers. I guess we needn't have bought him a queen size bed. A $20 dog mat would have done him fine.

One last note, I'm not too worried about the kid because he was snoring soundly down on the floor. In fact, that is how I even realized he was there. I was standing near my bed to see if he had come in while I was in the shower, when I heard snoring near my feet. I looked down to find Evan zonked out. Strange kid.

Church Clothes

I wish I had taken a picture of this yesterday, but I didn't. My description will have to do.

Yesterday I told Evan to go get dressed in some nice clothes because we were going to church. When I said nice clothes, in my mind I pictured his new plaid shorts and the polo shirt with a collar. Apparently my version of nice clothes is different from Evan's version.

Poor fashion challenged child came out of his room in gray shorts, a long-sleeve (it was 112 yesterday) collarless button down blue shirt, and his clip-on tie from school hanging off the top button. Both Eric and I tried not to laugh. We weren't too successful at that. Evan was hurt.

The only way we convinced him to go change was to promise him that we'd go shopping after church to get him some "church clothes." All through church he kept asking if it was time to get his clothes. Not yet. In a little bit.

Once church was over, we headed to Kohl's. It was the first time I ever had to take Evan into a dressing room to try on clothes. Before this, I was always able to get him the size that matched his age. Now it's getting trickier.

The child is very thin, but he's not short. I wasn't sure whether or not to go with 4-Slim pants or 5-Slim. We ended up with the 5's giving him room to grow. He was preening in front of that dressing room mirror though! I wish I'd gotten a picture of that!

He ended up with a pair of khaki pants, khaki shorts, a proper short-sleeved button down shirt and one more polo. He was also told that these clothes are only for church. I think now he's looking forward to church next week! He may not behave any better, but at least he'll look nice.

You Can't Pause Life

I have to preface this little story with the information that we have DVRs attached to both of our televisions, and Evan indeed knows how to use the remotes. He learned very quickly that he could pause his shows to avoid missing anything crucial that SpongeBob might have said!

Last week Evan was at Summer School with me. I asked the kids to gather around me on the floor so I could read a story to everyone. Evan was jumping around trying to get settled. I started reading the story. Suddenly Evan called out, "Mom, could you pause it? I need to go to the bathroom!"

I busted up laughing! Sure, Honey, we'll just put a "pause" on life. Oh how I wish I could sometimes.

Weaning

Yesterday I threw out all of Hudson's bottles and replaced them with the sippy cups shown here. Yes, I know this should have been done months ago, but it wasn't.

Hudson is fully capable of drinking from a sippy cup and from a regular cup. He can even drink from a water bottle without wrapping his entire mouth around the opening. But when it comes to warm milk and nap or bedtime, he wants his baa.

I am currently listening to him in his room screaming as though the sky were falling. It's not. He has a fresh diaper. He has his blankey. He has his puppy toy. He even has a sippy cup of warm milk. He doesn't like the sippy cup. And he's letting me know.

I am resisting the urge to run in there and comfort him. He doesn't need comfort. He knows how to go to sleep. He has milk. He's not deprived. He's not hurt. Maybe emotionally, but other than that he's fine.

In case you didn't understand, I'm writing all these things to convince myself! Hopefully he'll come to the quick realization that the milk will only be served in sippy cups from now on. The sooner he gets with the program, the happier he'll be.

Oh, and I do know that I'm not supposed to put him down to sleep with milk. However, we can only tackle one vice at a time.

Bust a Move

Evan brought home from daycare the game Twister Moves. Let me tell you, the amount of fun I had playing this nifty game was astounding! I was having so much fun that I had to tell Evan that I needed to just watch. Here he is dancing his little socks off. I'm not really sure where he picked up his moves!

More Doctor Stuff

Eric has to have a CT scan taken of his kidney today. He's set to have this done in less than an hour. They need to have his kidney "shiny," so he has to drink this lemon-lime thick liquid called barium sulfate suspension. Mmmmm! Yummy!

Hopefully this will be the last of the procedures before the final step of having Eric's kidney removed. At least this scan will tell us if the tumor has grown any since it was discovered in March. Surgery could possibly be at the end of August or early September.