Faith is My Hero!

WARNING:
This post is a mother bragging about how amazing her kid is.

On Tuesday Faith (9 almost 10;) had 8, yes 8 teeth baby teeth pulled without general anesthesia. She is in the 4th grade and has only lost 2 baby teeth. Given her small mouth and the crowding of her adult teeth above her gumline she would never loose her baby teeth on her own. She was excited to move forward and transition (insert big sigh) into pre-teen land and not be the almost 10 year-old with all her baby teeth. My only regret was not listening to my gut earlier. I have questioned her dentist for years about her not losing any teeth and again and again was told to not worry. I think he was shocked to see what came out! Faith has an extreme fear of needles and pain. This was done not in an oral surgeons office..so, being put under was not an option. She had her gums and palette stabbed over 20 times with injections. I had no idea after all my dental stuff that the injections themselves produced so much blood. EEEK! She cried and shook all over. I had to hold her down. She was breathing so fast. I just kept telling her, "Breathe baby". She didn't settle down until after the first tooth was pulled. I watched as the dentist used all his strength to pull each of the 8 teeth...

You can see in this picture why they were so hard to pull out! Due to the crowding her roots never dissolved. These are the baby teeth of a 9 year old! ....The dentist agreed they wouldn't have come out on their own. These are her four front teeth and her four bottom teeth.





The holes that were left 36 hours after being pulled. The dentist said she would probably be in pain for a few days. Other than almost passing out and vomiting when she got home..she has been a TROOPER! No pain meds. Totally happy, positive and confident.




My biggest fear was not the surgery itself, but how she would respond to it not only physically and emotionally. Most kids have already lost these teeth by the 2nd grade. I'm not homeschooling right now and well...to be honest our school is a good school, but it is also a school with some snooty kids. Most girls in Faith's school at her age are dressed pretty good in all the name brand stuff. They are into looking good and being accepted (I guess this is any school with pre-teen girls) The thing is all my kids seem to march to their own drummer. They are the kids that are slightly different and a little odd just like their parents. Faith never matches and picks even for me some of the most absurd outfits and she always tell me when I question her choice, "Mom, I am me..I like this. If I am comfortable wearing this, then should you care?" So, knowing this about her, I have no idea why I stressed so much about how she would be impacted if and when kids make fun of her.



Afterall...look at this beautiful face and stare at her soulful eyes and see her confident spirit..even if they did, would she care? NO! Faith you are my hero sweet girl. You teach me everyday to embrace who I am, because at the end of the day it's not what others think... it's how much you allowed God to shine through you. And GIRL YOU ARE A SHINING STAR!