The Aftermath of Dental Surgery

Well we both survived!!!  I broke the news to Riley the night before he was to get his wisdom teeth out by placing a “social” story at his place at the table. Yes I am a woosie. In my defence he is a visual learner.

Thankfully Riley’s appointment was first thing (8:30) in the morning. On the wise advice of a good friend (who is a nurse) we prepped the back of Riley’s hands (for the IV) with an Emla patch (which is a topical anaesthetic) first thing in the morning. R was muttering all the way to the dentist’s office about being grumpy and me not leaving him. I know…melted my heart…the "me not leaving him" part that is.

Nurse Lisa came to get us right on time. R was weighed and lucky for everybody in the office, we were put in a room right beside the reception area. Oh joy. I asked Lisa if the room was sound proof and when she answered no but not to worry, I suggested perhaps she might want to find some earplugs for the staff and waiting patients as a precaution. Seriously I did say that. She hesitated just that little bit extra before trying to brush my comment off with a very weak and guarded haha.

Lisa was a God send. She talked directly to Riley then would look in my direction for confirmation which in every single case was the total opposite of what R answered. Remember Riley likes to be agreeable and when stressed will pretty much just repeat what was asked. eg. Do you like mouthwash Riley?  Yes I like mouthwash Lisa. R hates mouthwash. Have you ever gargled before?  Yes I've gargled before Lisa.  R has NEVER gargled in.his.life! You get the idea.  

The entire time R kept repeating “Don’t leave me. Don’t leave Riley T.” interspersed with “I’m grumpy.” I stayed with R and tried to distract him while they put in the IV. He “screeched” just a little and yelped “Hey…you pinched me! That hurt!”

Watching R go under was kind of scary this time. He started to cough and gag a little. I thought he might throw up.  Within a few extremely long seconds he was asleep. The procedure took less than 30 minutes. The surgeon was very “perceptive” and suggested I come in sooner rather than later after they were done. Excellent call.  ;P 

I was a little LOT nervous as to how R would come out of the anaesthesia. He was quite disoriented as expected and rather grumpy also as expected. “Shut up you stupid lady!” and “He hurt me!” were his words of choice this time…a far cry and much more pleasant experience than the swearing and cussing the last time around.

Now I am pretty sure they were as happy to let us go as we were to leave. Trust me, I in no way felt rushed or pressured to leave and was more than thankful that we didn’t have to wait around for R to “come out of it” at a leisurely pace. Lisa went over the post-op instructions making sure I knew I could call her later with any questions. I heart people like Lisa!

On our way out the receptionist (who looked like a deer in the headlights) passed me an envelope and said “You can call with your credit card when you get home.” I also noticed they had shut the door to the reception area which pretty much confirmed my suspicions that R was articulating very clearly despite a mouthful of cotton. Not sure who was more grateful to get out of there…her or me. ;P   

For those with young ones who are just starting out, I haven’t always been able to find the humour in situations like these. They were and still are stressful for me (and Riley) yet as he’s grown so has his ability to deal with these types of situations without going into full blown meltdown. For me…humour works followed by a good stiff martini.  :)