Trauma, Prayers and a Tooth Found

How did you spend your Sunday afternoon? I spent mine learning about emergency dental procedures.

I was preparing dinner for our family and the missionaries, Rick was still at the Church, and the kids were playing in the backyard. Suddenly Eliza burst into the house announcing that Audri had fallen out of the hammock and there was blood all over her mouth. Dailie followed shortly after saying, "it's really bad, Mom." I looked in the backyard and saw Audri standing, with her hands to her mouth, blood gushing. I rushed her to the sink and started flushing her mouth with cold water. As the blood began to clear from her mouth, and I got a better look, my heart sank. Her front left permanent tooth was GONE. There was just a gaping hole. I knew I'd have to take her somewhere, so I gave the water to her to continue flushing, sent Dallin out to look for the tooth, had Dailie call Rick on his cell phone, and started looking in the phone book for our dentist's number. Dailie didn't get Rick on his cell phone, Dallin couldn't find the tooth, and I was able to talk to a receptionist who told me she would put a call into the two dentists. At this point I had no idea what could even be done, but the receptionist told me that if we could find the tooth, it was possible that they could save it. I gathered the children and asked them to pray with me that we could find Audri's tooth, in the grass, mulch and sticks. Dallin said the prayer, and we continued looking. I got Rick on the phone at the Church and he said he'd leave right away. Then I spoke with the dentist who reiterated the importance of finding that tooth. The whole time we were searching, and we were not finding that tooth anywhere. I heard myself saying to myself all the things I usually say to my children. "It has to be somewhere", "It didn't just disappear". We still did not find it. Rick got home, and gathered us once again for a prayer with him, pleading that we would find the tooth. I kept telling the kids that we may not be able to find the tooth, but Heavenly Father can, and He will help us. We called the neighbor to come and help give Audri a Priesthood blessing with Rick. After he arrived, we spent just a little more time looking for the tooth. I was about to leave with Audri, and told Rick to come in, give the blessing, then keep searching after I left. And wouldn't you know it, HE FOUND THE TOOTH, root and all (it was a lot bigger than one would expect)!!!!! I was so relieved, Audri was so happy, everyone was so happy. We put it in some milk, as we'd been instructed to do, and went inside for the blessing.

Audri was blessed to be very brave, and that is exactly what she was. Our dentist is a woman, and her husband is also a dentist. They left their family on a Sunday afternoon (I suppose it was evening by now), at met us at her office. They put the tooth back in!!! I didn't even know you could do that. They straightened out the tooth next to it that had also been knocked out of position, and put some little temporary braces on those teeth to hold them in place for the healing. She will still need a root canal in that front tooth, and possibly in the one next to it as well, so we're not finished yet, but I am SO GRATEFUL that her tooth was able to be restored. I consider it an answer to prayer that the tooth was found, and I know that she was blessed with courage. She's a pretty tough cookie anyway, but Dr. Donlan told us that her husband used to do work for the Peoria Rivermen (the hockey team, she said he'd done this same procedure a few times), and that Audri had been braver than some of those big hockey players!! She seemed pretty sincere when she was saying it too!!

No pictures for this post. I certainly wasn't thinking of grabbing the camera during all of this, and besides, you can believe me when I say you really wouldn't want to see what it looked like : ).