A Great Big Owie

So, this is how our day went. How was yours? ::sigh:: I think most of you have already heard the short version of the story: was running laps at school, fell going down hill, face took the brunt of the fall (hands and knees largely unscathed), had to go to dentist to have front tooth looked at, but dentist thinks it will be okay. Here is the long version. (Oh, and if this is what happens on days that I pre-write and schedule something to post on my blog, I'm going to stop doing that! Seems like more often than not, something more blog-worthy pops up on days I write something in advance, and usually not in a good way.)

My phone rang around 10:45. Caller ID showed it was the school. I realized last week sometime that he'd been in school for almost a month and I hadn't (yet) received a call from the school saying Luke had been hurt. It usually take 2 weeks or less, so we were setting some sort of record. Next time, if waiting longer means a more serious injury, I'd rather them call me in the first week or two (like usual). Anyway, all I was told on the phone was that he had fallen and had some scrapes on his face. They thought he was okay, but he was still very upset (I could hear him crying in the background), and could I come try to calm him down. So, what I expected to find was Luke with several bandaids and an ice pack, and all I would need to do was give him a hug and calm him down a bit (and give him a dose of children's ibuprofen that I stuck in my pocket on the way out the door) so he could go back to class.

Yeah, not quite. He had stopped actually crying, but was still doing the shuddery-breath "I just finished crying hard and I'm not making tears but I still can't calm down" thing. According to Luke, they were running laps at PE, and he tripped as he was going down the hill. He also had not been cleaned up at all. They had wiped away the active blood, but there was still dirt all in the wounds. I had forgotten that the school nurse retired at the end of last year; the position still has not been filled, and the front office people didn't really know what to do beyond "stop the bleeding and apply ice". They let me into the infirmary so I could have access to cotton balls and bandaids. I tried cleaning the wounds, but his face was still actively swelling, and he started bawling when I tried to clean it. He had already taken the test he had for today, and I knew I could clean him up and get better ice on him if I just took him home.

I put him in the car, and as we were backing out of the parking space, Luke says "oh, I busted my tooth, too." I literally slammed on the breaks. Now that he had calmed down, he realized his front adult tooth was really hurting, too. The right one was a little farther back than the left one, but it's possible it's always been that way and I just never noticed (I don't inspect his mouth *that* closely, generally speaking). It wasn't worth taking a chance, so instead of going home, we went straight to the dentist (conveniently about a mile from the school). We obviously didn't have an appointment, so we had to wait about 45 minutes. They took several x-rays and actual photographs, and they examined his teeth. The dentist said that his front right tooth is a bit loose and sensitive to percussion (tapping on it), but the x-rays don't show any broken or damaged roots, so it should be fine. It might darken some, it might not; if it does, it might correct itself, it might not. No way to really know right now. But we do have the baseline pictures and x-rays in case he has any trouble down the road. He's not supposed to eat with his front teeth for a week, meaning only soft foods or those cut up into small pieces so he doesn't have to bite anything. That will be fun. The dentist didn't feel we needed to make a follow-up appointment to recheck him, which I consider a good sign. Just come back if he's still having trouble with it after a week.

By the time we got home, he was mostly finished swelling, though the goose egg over his eyebrow is continuing to turn a *lovely* shade of purple. ::rolls eyes:: I'm sure it would have been less if I had gotten him home and put ice on it like I intended, but I thought getting to the dentist right away was more important. It was about 12:30 by the time we got home and called Nurse Nana for care instructions. By then, lunch was top priority. He visibly perked up with the combination of calories and the ibuprofen working. Only after we ate did I finally get to clean up the wound. When Luke saw it in the mirror for the first time, he said "wow, I really busted it." Yes, yes you did. He cried some, but nothing like when we were at the school. It's not perfectly clean, but it is better. I slathered on the Neosporin (with topical pain relief, which seemed to help) and covered it in bandaids. You can see the purple of the bruise through the bandaids; he may well have a black eye by tomorrow. Did I mention that Thursday is school portrait day? ::sigh:: I'm sure it will be funny a few years from now. Right? Anyway, he's now chilling on the couch and watching Phineas and Ferb. He'll be back at school tomorrow.

Currently feeling: so sorry my baby is hurting