Lucas's Dental Surgery

     Last Wednesday was Lucas's dental surgery. Lucas is our least cooperative child, so we were very nervous about how things were going to go. He couldn't eat for eight hours before, and he's our child who wakes up demanding Pop Tarts. Thankfully he slept until it was time to get him dressed and go. Joshua brought him to me and as I got him dressed, I explained that we were going to the dentist to get his teeth fixed, so they wouldn't hurt anymore when we brushed them. He smiled and said, "Ok". I told him we were wearing our "Joy" shirts so we could be brave like our friend, Joy. He liked that.

     We love their dentist and the office staff. Everyone is always so friendly and helpful. Surgery day was no exception. The anesthesiologist and his assistant were awesome and made me feel so at ease. I was extremely nervous about Lucas having anesthesia because it was his first time. I was also nervous because we were in the dentist's office and not the hospital. I was worried about what would happen if something went wrong, but he told us that he had everything with him at the office that he would have in the hospital. Of course, Lucas had no problems. The anesthesiologist talked with Lucas and played with him. He gave him a big pinch when he gave him his shot, so hopefully he wouldn't realize he was getting a shot. The shot put Lucas in LaLa Land and made him look like a zombie. He just stared straight ahead. It freaked both of us out, but they had prepared us for it and told us it was normal. Joshua was holding him when he got his shot and while it took affect. Then Joshua was holding him again when he woke up. They do this so that hopefully the kids won't remember anything but being in their parent's arms. Here is Lucas and Joshua before the shot.

     Lucas had three extractions with three spacers put in to the hold place for the permanent teeth. He had two root canals and four crowns and two other fillings. Poor baby has his Grammie's bad teeth. The surgery took about two hours. It took him a little longer than usual to come out of the anesthesia. I told them he was a hard sleeper, and they said that was probably why. They said he was asleep the entire time. They also said his blood pressure and breathing were great and even throughout the procedure. To be able to go home, he had to give the doctor high five and look him in the eye. After 20 minutes, he was able to do that and we headed home. Here he is on the way home. I rode with him in the back to make sure we kept his head up.

     His first coherent request was for his Ninja Turtle. Lucas, Leonardo, and I sat snuggled on the couch together for most of the day on Wednesday. 

     As he became more coherent, he started asking when it (the anesthesia) was going to wear off. He told us he saw two TVs and he didn't want two TVs. Just one. Finally, he said he could see the TV better. He was happy to eat popsicles, yogurt, and mac and cheese all day.  He did get up and play with his legos for a little bit in the afternoon. But after that he back with me on the couch. 

     The next day when he woke up, we asked him how he felt and he told us, "Great!" with a big smile. For two days, we asked how he felt and his response was "Good." or "Great!". On Saturday, Joshua asked how he felt and got the usual response. Then he asked about his mouth. Lucas said, "It hurts. It always hurts." Poor baby had been hurting, but hadn't said anything about it. Even now, he only tells us his mouth is hurting if we ask how his mouth feels. Today he said it didn't hurt as much. This picture was taken on Thursday morning. 

     Thank you to everyone who prayed for Lucas. We love and appreciate y'all!