Mister man and his dental anxiety.

Today was Anthony's oral surgery.

Everything was fine until we got to the hospital. Then he started to get a little anxious and scared. It started when he teared up when the nurse went to take his blood pressure. "Are there needles?!" he kept asking. Poor boy. And the questions started to pop into his head. "Are they gonna give me shots? Are they gonna pull my teeth out? Are they gonna hurt me?" Once we got down to the pre-op room it got even worse. The whole room of doctors was trying their best to lighten the mood for him. They even turned on Sponge Bob for him.

Our first visitor was the anesthesiologist. He sensed Anthony's anxiety right away when Anthony pulled away from his hand for a hand shake. We decided he might need a little something to take the edge off right then, but when he came back with the medicine in a syringe Anthony just about lost it. He sat straight up in the bed and started scooting away with his arms out in front of him. He didn't believe that there wasn't a needle even when I touched it. So I suggested putting it in a cup. Went down much smoother. Shortly thereafter the dentist came in to go over things. Before he even got close Anthony started to cry. The med's hadn't started to work yet. It was enough to make you laugh and cry all at the same time. He's a great guy, very kind and knew already what to expect from the last experience with Anthony in the dentist office. Thankfully the med's started to work and Anthony got a little loopy and calmed down.

They tell me he cried a little before he went to sleep, but he doesn't remember.

When it was all over he woke up crying. And then he realized they took his two front teeth out. Which he had been working at wiggling out on his own. And which he wanted to pull himself. But they were so loose that they were afraid with the breathing tube they would get knocked out, so they just pulled them. And then he moved his arms to touch his mouth and saw the IV they put in his hand and freaked out and wet himself. And then cried because he wet himself. That's how upsetting needles are to him! They didn't believe me! And he was still loopy so he couldn't really do anything but cry. I just wanted to hug him and make it all better. I made them take the IV out and leave so I could change him. Luckily I thought ahead and brought an extra change of clothes in case of anything.

We put him on my lap in a wheel chair and went to a post-op room and let him watch cartoons and make a mess of a popsicle. (His lips were still numb so I think more of it ended down his front, but who cares-- it made him feel better.) They gave him some tylenol with codiene to help with the pain of the root canal he had and the teeth they pulled and things just got more interesting. He started hillucinating. He was shaking his head and covering his eyes and asking "Did you SEE THAT?" and then he's shake his head some more. Now we know how he reacts to pain killers on top of anesthesia that hasn't worn off completely.

All is well with the world now though. He's feeling better, his lips aren't numb, and he knows the tooth fairy is coming tonight. And he's very proud of his mouth "bling". He has a couple silver caps that sparkle when he opens wide. As well as a toothless smile. Ain't life grand? :)

The nurses kept walking by telling me, "You look so calm!"

"I practiced in front of the mirror last night so I could remain calm while he freaked out. When we get home I'll cry." They just laughed and walked away.