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. :)
