A Rough Day

Today was not the best of days. It started out ok. Rebekah woke up early and managed to wake her sister up. I tried to get them to go back to sleep, but that didn't work. Both girls were scheduled for dental appointments this morning, so after breakfast we worked on getting ready to leave for the dentist. Rebekah tends to be anxious and not cooperative at the dentist, so we gave her a dose of ativan as we left the house to help with the anxiety. She did a great job of cooperating with the exam - both with the hygenist and with the dentist!

The bad news is that it looks like she has 2 or 3 teeth that have cavities and should probably be filled. The teeth are on the left, where she received the radiation. We spent some time discussing what needs to be done about it. Rebekah's regular dentist is on Maternity Leave for another couple of weeks, so we were talking with another dentist in the practice. Neither I, nor the dental hygenist or the dentist think that Rebekah would be able to hold still and open her mouth wide enough to have the work done while she is awake. The dentist we saw today wants to talk to Rebekah's regular dentist and come up with a definite plan. They may also want to do some bite wings so that they can get a better look at both the baby teeth and the adult teeth. And they may want to put sealants on the other teeth to prevent them from getting cavities. Lots to think about.

The good news is that from the Panorex, the dentist didn't see anything that was concerning her about the adult teeth. The tooth buds that should be there, are there. They can't tell if the there is other damage, such as damage to the enamel. The Bite Wings give a better picture of the teeth than the Panorex does, so maybe if they take bite wings when fixing the cavities we'll know more. So while the Panorex is not the best view for them to see the health of the teeth, at least they aren't seeing any major problems. Cavities are not the end of the world, and not completely unexpected. Afterall, there were months (during Radiation and following) that I couldn't even dream of getting a toothbrush near her mouth much less getting a good brushing done. Still, today, she fights getting her teeth brushed. And we have been watching these particular teeth since her treatment ended.

Sarah wasn't nearly as cooperative as Rebekah. She didn't want to sit in the chair right. When she was asked to open her mouth, she closed it an when she was asked to bite down, she opened her mouth. All the while, she had a gleam in her eyes. She knew exactly what was being asked of her. We did manage to get her teeth checked and cleaned without her screaming bloody murder, so I guess it was a success.

After that appointment, we headed for home. Rebekah was not at all happy. She screamed most of the drive home. I'm not exactly sure why, but I'm guessing that it had to do with the ativan that we gave her. Ugh! Once home, I got Rebekah some tylenol, we started lunch and Katie arrived. Rebekah wanted to sit in Mommy's lap to eat and continued to be very cranky. We had an hour at home before Rebekah and Mommy needed to head out again for an appointment with the ENT. I tried to get Rebekah to calm down and to eat a few bites. I didn't push too hard for her to eat, but continued to encourage her to eat.

Before leaving, I told her that she needed to sit on the potty. Well that started her screaming again. Soon, the screaming turned into vomiting - all over her and all over me. What joy! We were already pushing time to go and now I had to calm her down, get her changed, get Mommy changed, get the puky clothes into the wash and get out the door. It seemed that the vomiting was from the agitation and not from an illness, so I decided to keep the appointment. I did, however, take some supplies just in case she puked on the way. Sarah stayed with Katie.

Rebekah continued to be agitated throughout the exam and at home once we returned. Part of it, I'm sure, was the ativan and part of it was from not having a nap. I just don't know if there are other factors as well. Ugh!

The ENT didn't have any great concerns from the physical exam. He will take a look at the most recent scans and if he has any concerns he'll give us a call. Her left ear seems to be healing from the ear infection, but isn't completely better. While there is some fluid in her ear, it doesn't appear to be much. This tells us that the eustacian tube on that side is working which is a good thing. It may not work as well as it should, but it is at least working. That means that we don't need to be worried about major problems with her flying. With her Make a Wish trip coming up, we got to thinking about potential ear problems with the airplane. He did say that we should make sure that we have pain medication with us and some afrin nasal spray which could help clear up some problems. I really don't like the sound of that, but at least we know we shouldn't have serious issues.

The ENT didn't have any other ideas for the sinus infections that stem from any sort of cold. I find it frustrating and I wish that there was some easy fix for it, but the Radiation she received has just caused some damage that we can't fix. She may have to deal with that forever. I just hate the fact that her treatment has caused issues that we have to "deal" with forever. Don't get me wrong, without the treatment she wouldn't be here to have these issues to deal with and for that I am thankful.

After we got home, Rebekah continued to be cranky. She really needed a nap, but refused and continued to scream which then caused her to vomit again. I tried more to get her to calm down and fall asleep, but it didn't work. Sarah didn't get a nap either, so neither of them were in the best of moods this afternoon. I'm sure Katie was ready to get away from the screams and fussies. She seemed to handle it well, but it certainly wasn't the best of situations. With all of that happening, I didn't get a chance to help Daddy in the office today so that was frustrating to both Mommy and Daddy.

After dinner, Daddy had to take care of some things at the barn and Rebekah asked if she could go with him. Daddy agreed and then Sarah wanted to go, too. Daddy couldn't take both of them and Sarah did not like being told no. It set her off, so we got her ready for bed. It was that time, anyway. She screamed throughout most of the bedtime routine - "me need go byebye" with Daddy and "me need go play" and "me not need go nightnight". She literally cried herself to sleep. It was very clear to me that she was tired and needed the sleep, but she sure didn't think so. It is always tough to hear them cry and fight sleep so badly.

When Rebekah came in from helping Daddy, we got her ready for bed. She wanted to go "nightnight" but was fighting all the bedtime routine. So I had two girls screaming at the same time. Ugh!

Maybe, just maybe, they'll sleep until 7 am instead of waking up at 6 am. Mommy could sure use a little sleep.