Finally

The situation with "The Tooth" has changed our normal every day life for the last week or so.

The tooth has been loose and hanging crooked for what seems like a couple months now.

Last week, it started to bleed. It was really, really awful looking. It started to change his speech and he didn't want to talk much. There was no way he was going to pull it out or even wiggle it.

So, for days on end we listened to him slurp because he couldn't swallow properly.
We strained to understand what he was saying because he refused to say any words that made his tongue put pressure on that tooth.
We had tears nearly every day over the tooth and how it hurt.
He wouldn't eat anything other than soft mushy stuff and even then he would only eat on the right side of his mouth.
I started having dreams about his tooth.
I bribed him. He could have the Raiders of the Lost Ark Lego set if all he did was pull it out.

I mean it. This tooth situation has really been hard on all of us.

Yesterday when I picked him up from school, it was bleeding again and was hanging even lower. He couldn't talk. He couldn't eat. His teacher said she thought he knocked it loose again with a Skittles or something from his Valentine's Candy stash.

It bled all afternoon.
It bled all evening.
There was no convincing or pleading or bribing that would get him to take that thing out of his mouth.
We went to bed thinking that tooth would be swallowed and gone by morning.

I had more dreams about teeth.

That tooth was still there when we woke up. I think Trent said, "Good Morning" but it was hard to tell. It sounded more like a grunt because he wouldn't move his mouth. It was now hanging on his lip and it moved every time he tried to say something.

It was still bleeding.

I gave him so breakfast. English Muffin..heehee

Soon, we heard him scream.

Erik and I looked at each other. Could it possibly be? Is it finally gone?

No. It was twisted and bleeding but it was still in his mouth.

Again, there was nothing I could do to try to convince him to pull it out and he wanted me no where near that thing. He cried and cried and cried and said it hurt.

As a sheer moment of desperation, I called the school nurse. I explained the situation and asked if there was anything she could do for him. He couldn't go to school anyway with his bleeding mouth.

She said, "Bless his heart. I can help. Bring him in."

We finished getting dressed and raced out the door. I could see panic setting in on Trent's face.

We ran into the school and met up with the nurse. She put on a glove and said to Trent, "Open your mouth a little bit and let me take a look at that."

He opened his mouth.

She touched it gently, and pulled it out of his mouth like it was nothing.

I was so happy I nearly cried. I gave the nurse a big hug and thanked her. What a relief to have that tooth out of his mouth.

We just got back from Walmart with a Raiders of the Lost Ark Lego set.

Now, the other one is loose.

That was kind of dramatic, huh?