It seems that when we have a child with special needs, there is always one medical need after another. For the most part, Trent has been fairly healthy. He hasn't had many of the problems that others with Down Syndrome have had. But he has had his share.
Today I found out that we now have to face something medically (or should I say dentally?) new.
About 13 years ago, we switched to a new dentist. She continues to be our dentist because I like her and I trust her. She told us at that time that Trent had no permanent teeth. What did that mean? It meant that at the then age of 19, he had all baby teeth and the x rays revealed that there were no permanent teeth. His former dentists had never caught this. The solution? There was and is none. The dentist said that the best thing was to just leave them alone and when there were problems that arose, we would deal with them.
He has had NO cavities--at least not until now.
Just before we went to the dentist for his regular six-month check up, I noticed that he had a tooth that was twisted to the side and squeezing up against the other one. Sure enough, the tooth has to be pulled. Not only has it moved, but it is quite decayed.
This is the beginning of something we hoped would never happen. But it is happening. We were told that eventually it would.
It is so easy to get discouraged when things like this happen. The only thing that can be done is that he will, eventually, have to have all his teeth pulled and have his teeth replaced with dentures. My heart goes out to him. He has suffered from arthritis from the time he was eight years old, when he was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. As he grew older, he was then diagnosed with psoraric arthritis. I know this is going to be no fun. Of course, he is apprehensive about having his tooth pulled. But he is brave--surprisingly so!
As for me, I had all I could do to fight back the tears. Dentures are not going to be easy for him to adapt to. And they are going to be expensive! At least, we had the good sense to be putting away for these for when the day was to come.
But we who have been parents of a special-needs child for any length of time know this: we must look at the bright side. What is the bright side? At least he will have this done while we are still here for him. The day will come that we won't be here. Do I worry about that? What mom doesn't? But we have made proper arrangements for him and I know that we have a Heavenly Father who will take care of him until he joins us in heaven. Thank you Father God!!
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