Sometimes I SWEAR I am on Candid Camera! I just got a call from the school. It wasn't to tell me one of my kids felt ill and needed to come home, it wasn't Mason asking me to bring in her math book she forgot, and it wasn't the cafeteria letting me know the kids lunch money was low. No, it wasn't any of these normal, run-of-the-mill kinds of phone calls every parent gets now and then. It was the behavior specialist calling about, you guessed it, Camryn and how because her pinching and scratching has gotten out of hand and all attempts to curb this behavior have failed they have decided that from now on Camryn will have to wear gloves at school! I didn't know whether to burst out laughing or crying! Gloves? GLOVES?!
Now I have to admit, Brad and I have pondered this solution as well. But we have never taken this approach because we figured all she would do is take them off anyway. We even joked about getting her boxing gloves that lace up, but figured that could present a whole other array of problems. And Mason suggested handcuffs,seriously thinking in her nine year old mind that she had come up with a way to solve this problem. We are perfectly aware that her five fingered assaults are on the rise and we have the scabs to prove it. And we also knew that she was doing this at school, but have had no idea how to stop it.
I have had to call the office several times to let them know that Camryn needs an adult waiting for her as soon as I pull into the car circle in the morning because the safety patrols are getting attacked when they open the door to let Cam out. And despite the abuse, they all fight over which patrol gets to walk Camryn to class, as they can't help but love her, even if she leaves them bloody and wounded. And while I think it's great to see other kids accepting and loving my daughter, as a mother, if that were my patrol coming home with scratches, I wouldn't care if the kid was autistic or not, I wouldn't want my child in charge of walking her anywhere. And then, once Cam gets in her classroom, her classmates run for their lives. She has gotten them all, but has taken a liking (or maybe disliking) to one little guy in particular and pinches and scratches the heck out of him. Thank God his mother understands the obvious situation, but her son deserves to go to school and be in a safe environment and if you are in a class with Cam, there is nothing safe about it!
So, like I said, I have called the school several times to discuss this issue and FINALLY a woman from the office is coming to meet Camryn in the morning and walk her to class. BUT, in the afternoon, it's a different story. Up until now, the way dismissal has been handled is Mason leaves class five minutes earlier than her classmates and walks to Cams room. She waits there with Cams and listens to Cams classmates tell her how her sister hurts them until the bell rings and then walks Cam to the car circle, where they wait with the other kids. For the most part, I guess you could say Camryn has done well. She has been pinching and scratching but, and I know this sounds horrible, at least they are fifth graders and not as vulnerable as the little guys. However, she did get a little kindergartner a few weeks back, hooking the side of her mouth with her finger. She steals other kids food if they happen to have crackers or something while they wait, but again, nothing horrible. Lately though it has been getting worse and if that isn't bad enough, the worst thing is that when she sees me pull up, because she has no sense of danger, she runs into the parking lot towards our car with only Mason to hold her back, which may as well be a feather tied to a lead balloon. I was so upset at the latest incident of this and let the school know again an adult MUST be with Camryn at all times when she is outside.
So, we got that straightened out and the girls were sitting away from the other kids at pick up time, close enough where Mason could still talk to her friends, but far enough away that other kids weren't within Cams reach. Well, when I got the phone call about the gloves, I was also told that dismissal was going to be handled differently with Cam as well. Instead of Mace picking Cams up and taking her to car circle, now Mace picks Cam up and they walk to the front office and wait in the conference room till Mace sees me pull in and they walk out to the car. I felt so bad for Mason when I heard this because car circle is a social time for her and she enjoyed sitting out with her friends talking till I came. Even though Cams caused problems that Mason was unfortunately left to handle, she liked being outside. Now she is forced to be different AGAIN and wait alone with Camryn. She told me yesterday that Camryn discovered the school phone in the conference room and ran over and was trying to use it until Mason wrangled it out of her hands. Although the office staff is right outside the door, Mason is still basically in charge of Camryn and it makes me so mad. Mace says she wishes she were back outside, but she will do whatever works for Cam. But it's not her problem and I plan on letting the school know that we need to come up with another plan, a plan that would have to be put in place if Camryn didn't have a regular ed sibling at school. If Mason wasn't there, then what? Unfortunatley, kids like Mace, brothers and sisters of special needs kids, often end up taking the role of an adult when they are still little themselves. I realize that in some respect, Mason will never totally be able to escape this responsibility, as this is the hand she has been dealt. And she handles it with such maturity and grace most of the time. But she is a little girl, with her own friends, her own ideas and agendas and I don't want her sisters Autism to overshadow thoses things.
I have a meeting with the school tomorrow, and I will be addressing this situation. But for today, I guess I will wait and see how the gloves thing is working out. Everytime the phone rings, I am sure it is the school calling to let me know the gloves aren't staying on and Cam will be getting fitted for a straight jacket. And if they do I will tell them to wait for me to be there, not so I can hold my daughters hand, but so I can get fitted for one too!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Welcome to our Spooky House
I haven't posted in a while as this month has been crazy! Halloween is Mason's favorite time of year and we always try to make it fun and memorable for her. This year she wanted to throw a Halloween party and had been planning it since last Christmas! Brad decorated the back yard like a spooky graveyard with lit up skulls and personalized tombstones. He strung caution tape along the fence and swingset and covered the trees in spiderwebs. He even built a "haunted tunnel" out of a black tarp spread over the clothesline and a fog machine. I was in charge of the inside decor, stringing cobwebs and adorning the doorways with tinsel pumpkin garland. I hung cutouts of witches and skeletons, lined the front walkway with mini ghost stakes and played a CD of seriously spooky sounds. It was a total success from the green "swamp juice" punch with floating gummy eyeballs to the pin the eye on the one eyed monster game. Although it was a little less grand than Mason had envisioned in her dreams, she was thrilled with the outcome and I was so happy that we were able to do this for her.
Raising kids with an autistic sibling presents certain problems that a typical family setting does not encounter. And although we try our hardest, I consantly feel guilty that most of what we do on a daily basis revolves around Camryn,which is why we wanted to have this party for Mason because it didn't have anything to do with Camryn or about Camryn or anything Autistic at all. And for children who deal with Autism 24-7, times like this are so, so necessary.
So we had the party, the weekend came to an end and Monday was back to reality, even though we never really left it in the first place.I was so happy to get the kids back in school because although the party turned out so well, the preparation nearly killed us,not because it was so much work, but because it was so much work to do while also taking care of Camryn. We couldn't keep her in her room all day while we set up, so we would let her out to play in the backyard while Brad was putting the tunnel together. But she wasn't out there two seconds and she was pulling skull stakes out of the ground, picking the spiderweb off the trees, just basically undoing everything he had just done. He'd send her inside and it wasn't any better. Same thing, ripping things off the wall, throwing decorations on the floor. Mason was frustrated beyond belief which made her scream at Camryn, who then responded by scratching Mason, who then responded by hitting Camryn, which I then responded by putting them both in their rooms. So then while I'm running around like a maniac trying to get everything done, Camryn is in her room screaming at the top of her lungs, biting herself, yelling out" Get-In-Your-Room-Right-Now-Honey!!!!"Things are coming flying over the gate, first small items like books and stuffed animals, then larger flying missiles like a heavy plastic magna-doodle and at one point a handmade wooden rocking chair, which thank god survived it's collision with the hardwood floor. All this time, I am stringing garland, humming to try and drown it out and laughing to myself at the sick, sick humor of the situation. In the midst of all this, sweet, snot nosed, seal coughing, under the weather Natalie walks past Camryns room to go to the bathroom and Camryn reaches out past her gate and grabs Natalie by the hair, pulling her to the ground. Naturally Nat starts screaming, which sets Cam off even more and she is trying to scratch Natalie, I am yelling at Camryn, trying to soothe Natalie, and listening to Mason wail about how the house is never going to be done in time for her party. I told her people could show up right then and would be scared out of their minds, and it would have nothing to do with the decorations! She did not see the humor. By this time we had about three hours till the party and I was at my wits end of what to do with Camryn. I called my Dad in desperation and begged him to come get Camryn and take her for a ride, which he did. Because Camryn is so unpredictable in public, my family is,shall I say "concerned" with taking her places. And rightly so! I shudder at the thought of taking her within arms reach of other kids and small animals, but I have to. So, instead of putting the locals in harms way, my Dad takes Camryn for long drives, as Camryn is all about the pressure of a taut seatbelt and the lulling vibration of a moving car. She sits up front with my Dad, makes him turn the music up loud, pulls down the visor,opens up the lighted mirror and watches herself open and close her mouth and move her tongue around while my Dad drives. They usually go for about 40 minutes or so and end up at Steak and Shake for a drive thru treat. There is not much conversation, which is no surprise, but the time is treasured by both and is worth it's weight in gold, silver and any other precious jewel or metal to me! While they were gone, I used the time to frost ghost cupcakes and help Mason make beanbags. It wasn't long,but we all were so thankful for any reprieve of screaming and abuse.
We somehow managed to get everything in place. Mason dressed up like a witch girl, Natalie wore her Halloween shirt and Cams wore Masons zebra bodysuit from last Halloween. She liked it because it was velvety and snug. Although it was black and white striped, Camryn kept saying " I wanna wear the ba-cheetah!"
The guests arrived and there were plenty of people to help amuse Camryn while Mason took the limelight and hosted her party like a pro. The last guests left at 12:30 and by that time we were exhausted. The house we had worked so hard to clean was trashed and the food I took so much time to prepare was scattered around on skull patterned plates.
Because Cam was up way past her bedtime and so hyped up she had a very hard time going to sleep. While Mason and Nat crashed in their beds, Cam would come to her gate screaming every two minutes, yelling "I need help". Brad or I would lay her back down, and withing minutes we would hear the crinkle of her beanfilled weighted blanket being thrown off her and feet pounding towards the door. Finally after about five tuck-in sessions she went to sleep. I felt so bad because I knew she was off her schedule and routine, but she couldn't communicate that to me in words and I couldn't communicate to her that she needed to stay in bed.
Sunday morning the kids woke up at of course 7:30! Brad and I were dead tired and looked as though we had dressed as zombies the night before and still had our makeup on. Mason was already planning her party for next year, talking non-stop about some changes she would like to make and how to improve on some things! Nat was still recovering from her cold and sat like a soft stone on the couch. And Camryn was Camryn. Grimacing, running like a five legged bull through the house,sticking her finger in the dogs wet nostrils and pinching the poor things back saying "Riley eats meat food. She wants cube-cubes". I just took a look around at the mess and the chaos and thought to myself, "I can't believe we thought we needed to decorate to make this place look scary!"
Raising kids with an autistic sibling presents certain problems that a typical family setting does not encounter. And although we try our hardest, I consantly feel guilty that most of what we do on a daily basis revolves around Camryn,which is why we wanted to have this party for Mason because it didn't have anything to do with Camryn or about Camryn or anything Autistic at all. And for children who deal with Autism 24-7, times like this are so, so necessary.
So we had the party, the weekend came to an end and Monday was back to reality, even though we never really left it in the first place.I was so happy to get the kids back in school because although the party turned out so well, the preparation nearly killed us,not because it was so much work, but because it was so much work to do while also taking care of Camryn. We couldn't keep her in her room all day while we set up, so we would let her out to play in the backyard while Brad was putting the tunnel together. But she wasn't out there two seconds and she was pulling skull stakes out of the ground, picking the spiderweb off the trees, just basically undoing everything he had just done. He'd send her inside and it wasn't any better. Same thing, ripping things off the wall, throwing decorations on the floor. Mason was frustrated beyond belief which made her scream at Camryn, who then responded by scratching Mason, who then responded by hitting Camryn, which I then responded by putting them both in their rooms. So then while I'm running around like a maniac trying to get everything done, Camryn is in her room screaming at the top of her lungs, biting herself, yelling out" Get-In-Your-Room-Right-Now-Honey!!!!"Things are coming flying over the gate, first small items like books and stuffed animals, then larger flying missiles like a heavy plastic magna-doodle and at one point a handmade wooden rocking chair, which thank god survived it's collision with the hardwood floor. All this time, I am stringing garland, humming to try and drown it out and laughing to myself at the sick, sick humor of the situation. In the midst of all this, sweet, snot nosed, seal coughing, under the weather Natalie walks past Camryns room to go to the bathroom and Camryn reaches out past her gate and grabs Natalie by the hair, pulling her to the ground. Naturally Nat starts screaming, which sets Cam off even more and she is trying to scratch Natalie, I am yelling at Camryn, trying to soothe Natalie, and listening to Mason wail about how the house is never going to be done in time for her party. I told her people could show up right then and would be scared out of their minds, and it would have nothing to do with the decorations! She did not see the humor. By this time we had about three hours till the party and I was at my wits end of what to do with Camryn. I called my Dad in desperation and begged him to come get Camryn and take her for a ride, which he did. Because Camryn is so unpredictable in public, my family is,shall I say "concerned" with taking her places. And rightly so! I shudder at the thought of taking her within arms reach of other kids and small animals, but I have to. So, instead of putting the locals in harms way, my Dad takes Camryn for long drives, as Camryn is all about the pressure of a taut seatbelt and the lulling vibration of a moving car. She sits up front with my Dad, makes him turn the music up loud, pulls down the visor,opens up the lighted mirror and watches herself open and close her mouth and move her tongue around while my Dad drives. They usually go for about 40 minutes or so and end up at Steak and Shake for a drive thru treat. There is not much conversation, which is no surprise, but the time is treasured by both and is worth it's weight in gold, silver and any other precious jewel or metal to me! While they were gone, I used the time to frost ghost cupcakes and help Mason make beanbags. It wasn't long,but we all were so thankful for any reprieve of screaming and abuse.
We somehow managed to get everything in place. Mason dressed up like a witch girl, Natalie wore her Halloween shirt and Cams wore Masons zebra bodysuit from last Halloween. She liked it because it was velvety and snug. Although it was black and white striped, Camryn kept saying " I wanna wear the ba-cheetah!"
The guests arrived and there were plenty of people to help amuse Camryn while Mason took the limelight and hosted her party like a pro. The last guests left at 12:30 and by that time we were exhausted. The house we had worked so hard to clean was trashed and the food I took so much time to prepare was scattered around on skull patterned plates.
Because Cam was up way past her bedtime and so hyped up she had a very hard time going to sleep. While Mason and Nat crashed in their beds, Cam would come to her gate screaming every two minutes, yelling "I need help". Brad or I would lay her back down, and withing minutes we would hear the crinkle of her beanfilled weighted blanket being thrown off her and feet pounding towards the door. Finally after about five tuck-in sessions she went to sleep. I felt so bad because I knew she was off her schedule and routine, but she couldn't communicate that to me in words and I couldn't communicate to her that she needed to stay in bed.
Sunday morning the kids woke up at of course 7:30! Brad and I were dead tired and looked as though we had dressed as zombies the night before and still had our makeup on. Mason was already planning her party for next year, talking non-stop about some changes she would like to make and how to improve on some things! Nat was still recovering from her cold and sat like a soft stone on the couch. And Camryn was Camryn. Grimacing, running like a five legged bull through the house,sticking her finger in the dogs wet nostrils and pinching the poor things back saying "Riley eats meat food. She wants cube-cubes". I just took a look around at the mess and the chaos and thought to myself, "I can't believe we thought we needed to decorate to make this place look scary!"
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Can you say "Aaaaaahhhhhhh!"
So, last week Cams and I drove south and this week we drove north in our ever-continuing search of specialized treamtent. This time it was an appointment with a pediatric dentist for children with special needs. Our lovely insurance company (smooch smooch guys) gave me a wide array of two dentists to pick from. One way out in Timbuktu and one even more way out in Timbuktu. I chose the latter, not because of my love for driving, but for the fact that they provided sedation if necessary and I felt positive that sedation would be necessary for Cams and possibly for me as well.
So, 7:30 a.m. we got in the old Suburban and headed up to New Port Richey, a city about an hour north of St. Pete. We had an 8:30 appt and leaving only an hour for travel during morning rush hour was risky, but I am known for having a slightly heavy foot and just as I had hoped, we rolled in the parking lot at 8:35. The office was totally set up for kids, with four plexi-glass encased televisions equipped with Nintendo handsets and a wall lined with colorful childrens books to amuse the nervously waiting kids. And it did, as there were several of them furiously pushing buttons and jerking joysticks, and a few stretched out on beanbags thumbing through kids magazines, which of course meant Camryn and I would be sitting on the other not so fun end of the office next to the bathrooms and water fountain, clear of any child not old enough or big enough to physically defend themselves against Cambo (as I affectionately refer to her in these times). Now anybody who has ever been to a medical/dental appointment of any kind knows that the appointment time is never, ever the time you will actually be seen and that to get a more accurate idea of your actual meeting with the doctor you should tack on at least a good thirty minutes in the waiting room ,then an additional ten minutes of waiting in the exam room. I knew this and figured Cams and I would be sitting by that water fountain for quite a while. I did not however foresee issues with the insurance company that I had just spoken with days earlier to confirm this very appointment, yet there they were...insurance issues. And because it was 8:45 and the insurance company did not open until 9:00 I would have to self pay or reschedule. Reschedule? Ummmmm, no, that will not be happening. Unlike my drive down south on open highway, this drive was mostly on U.S. 19 which if you live locally then you know it as the road from hell, plus I had to keep Camryn out of school for the whole day for this appointment, so there is no way I was going to do this again anytime soon. I self paid, got a receipt which I will be submitting for reimbursement and then took Cams back to get her "sedation". Now, when I think of sedation, I think of sedated as in not moving, as in asleep with an I.V. in your arm. Camryn has never been able to be examined by a dentist EVER because she will not let you in to see those chompers of hers unless you plan on leaving them in there permanently, like bitten off permanently. Brad and I have struggled her entire enameled life to get in there and give her teeth some sort of chance of survival, but if the girl doesn't want you in her mouth, then you're not getting in her mouth...end of story. With Mason and Natalie, brushing morning and night has always been the routine. But with Cam, I am gonna be honest here and say that there have been days that her teeth didn't see a bristle of any means and I just prayed that crunchy raw carrots or super crisp apples would be on the school lunch menu to pick up the slack and slough off some tartar. I have taken her to two "regular" dentists whom I forewarned about Camryn before setting the appointment and it was always the same response.."Oh you never know, we may be able to do the exam" and I just thought, "Oh no, I know, but whatever you say...". Cams insurance requires she be seen by a regular dentist who must then try to do a regular exam until they come to the conclusion that Camryn's mother was right when she said that a regular exam was not going to happen at which point a referral to a pediatric dentist with an option of sedation would be written and all staff involved in the attempted regular exam would then take a five minute break to wipe the sweat off their brows and redo their hair. I told you so.
So, here we were at the sedation dentistry office finally and the hygienist walks over with a paper cup that she is stirring some sort of mixture in. I secretly hoped it was a cocktail for me, but of course it wasn't. "Here Camryn, here is some cake icing! Do you like cake icing? Yummy!" She then explained to me that this was no ordinary cake icing, but cake icing with crushed up Valium mixed in! I'm not sure this is what Betty Crocker had in mind, but Betty, you really should have. What a fabulous concoction! Unfortunately, I would be having none of it, but Ms Cams, she would be having several spoonfulls before she took a little nappy-nap. I've never had a dentist appointment like this! The hygienist said that we had to wait an hour for the Valium to take full effect, so in the meantime we would wait in the "Sedation Room", a darkened exam room with a leather couch, a blanket and a Disney movie. And coffee, please say coffee...but she didn't. She said that Camryn would get sleepy and could go to sleep if she wanted, most kids do. Okay, but Cams is not most kids and I immediately thought back to the time she got an ABR test for hearing when she was a year and a half. The nurse administered a liquid that was supposed to make Camryn go to sleep for an hour. But forty-five minutes and an extra dose later, the nurse was in shock that Cams was still awake and we had to do the test with me holding her still. So when this girl told me most kids went to sleep, I knew Cams and the sandman would not be hanging out that morning. It was 9:08 at this time and we would stay in the room until 10:08. It was so dark and the air was so cold and the blanket was so warm and fuzzy and the couch was so comfy. My eyes started to droop and I wondered how I would ever stay awake after getting up with the sun to drive all the way up here and then just sit here with my drugged up daughter who was showing no signs of getting sleepy at all. I managed to stay conscious till 10:08 and of course so did Cams. Just as I thought. The hygienist came to get us and we walked back to the exam room. Cams crawled up into the big chair and then shoved white tiger in the hygienists face and demanded that she smell him and then smell him again and then again. After she had sniffed him up and down, she gave the tiger back to Cam and put the big heavy lead apron over Cams body so she could take X-rays. Perfect! Cams loves "weighted" things, such as blankets and vests. They are often used in therapy and at bedtime, as the pressure of the extra weight makes kids like Cam feel good. Every night when I tuck Camryn in, I cover her with a sheet, a comforter and then top her off with a three pound weighted patchwork quilt. So, beneath the pressure of the lead apron, Cams was laying reasonably still. I was given the job of pressing the X-ray button just outside the exam room when I got the okay from the hygienist, who was going to be trying her darndest to hold Cams head still long enough to get a picture. Even with a Valium circulating through her system, Cams was wide awake and very mobile. I doubted I would be pushing any buttons that day and was completely caught off guard when I heard "Okay Mom, push the button". The hygienist had gotten Cam to hold still long enough to get an X-ray! "Okay Camryn, bite down on this again." Ohhhhh I thought to myself, that's how this is going so well, Camryn is being told to bite!
We were able to get three X-rays total. Not as many as we needed but three more than we thought we'd get. So far so good. Then it came time for the cleaning. The hygienist took off the lead apron and started to hang it back up. I didn't want to tell her how to do her job, but was sure she wouldn't be against me trying to make it a little easier so I chimed in "You may want to leave that on her. The weight of it is helping her stay still." Without a seconds hesitation she draped it over Cams body again.
Then came the part I had been dreading. The part where my daughters underbrushed,rarely flossed,never fluoridated teeth would be on display for dental professionals to view in awe and disgust. The part where disapproving glances would surely be cast my way, heads shaking in disbelief that a parent would neglect their childs dental health in such a way. I wanted to shout out " But you don't understand!!! She doesn't let us get in there. And she's so strong! She kicks and bites and pushes us away! Please! Listen to me, you have to believe me!" As the hygienist looked my way and opened her mouth to speak, I scrunched up in my chair and braced myself for the worst. Okay, bring it on, lay it on me,scold me, lecture me, belittle me. "Well, her teeth look great!"
Her teeth look great? Look great???? HER TEETH LOOK GREAT??????
"You have GOT to be kidding me!" She shook her head. "No, they look good! It may be a battle, but you're winning it." Winning it? We hardly even get the chance to fight it! I was in complete shock! There was my daughter, laying in a dental chair, having her rarely really brushed good teeth examined for the first time in seven years, valium swimming through her veins and the hygienist is telling me all looks good? Did I take some acid this morning and forget about it? This was just too freakin' weird!
The hygienist looked at me and said "Let me ask you something....is she Down's?" I could not believe she just asked me this because you may remember from my previous post that Brad and I have suspected Camryn could have a mild form of Down Syndrome and are having her tested. "Why do you ask that? Does she look Down's to you?" The hygienist explained that children with Down Syndrome rarely get cavities due to the excess of saliva they produce and possibly something in the acidic make-up of their saliva as well. She thought Camryn had a mild look and was wondering if that was why, in spite of our inability to clean her teeth well, her oral health was good. I told her how we were getting her tested and how funny that was that she would have asked that. I also told her that Down's or not, Camryn definitely had an excess of saliva, which I'm sure has something to with the hypotonia, or low tone, of her mouth. Whatever the reason, praise Jesus!!! I really was not looking forward to driving all the way back up here for another cup of icing and a mouth full of metal. Still in shock, I thanked the hygienist and the dentist who had also made his way into the exam. I was given instructions to watch Cams the rest of the day, as the Valium would still be in her system for several hours. No running, no stair climbing and no riding a bike. Okay, no problem, especially seeing as Cams doesn't ride a bike on non-Valium days either! I scheduled her a for a six month checkup before we left and then Cams and I climbed in the car. No cavities, nooooo cavities! I just couldn't believe the girl known to suck on three balls of sugar on a stick ( or Tootsie-pops as they are more formally known) at one time had just been given a clean bill of oral health by the dentist! Will wonders never cease?
The rest of the day, Cams was Cams. I don't know where that Valium went or what it was supposed to be doing, but it certainly wasn't affecting Miss Camryn. Of course, everyone we know was awating word of how bad the news was. How many cavities, root canals, etc. And of course they were as shocked as I was to hear the reults.
I would love to end this entry on a positive note, however I feel it would not be complete without the following information. The same week I took Camryn to the dentist, I also took Natalie for her first dental exam. Natalie, four year old, I brush my teeth twice a day, Natalie. I sat in the waiting room as the hygienist took her back without a care in the world. I even read the paper and a gossip magazine to pass the time. When the dentist peeked out and called me back to let me know how it went, I yawned as I walked through the door. "Okay so how did it go?" I asked, ready to schedule her next check up and get on with my day.
The dentist opened up Nat's chart and pointed to a print-out of her mouth. "Well, unfortunately Natalie is going to need some fillings. She has five cavities." I swallowed hard, put my eyes back in my head and thought to myself "Okay wow, I am going to need some icing!"
So, 7:30 a.m. we got in the old Suburban and headed up to New Port Richey, a city about an hour north of St. Pete. We had an 8:30 appt and leaving only an hour for travel during morning rush hour was risky, but I am known for having a slightly heavy foot and just as I had hoped, we rolled in the parking lot at 8:35. The office was totally set up for kids, with four plexi-glass encased televisions equipped with Nintendo handsets and a wall lined with colorful childrens books to amuse the nervously waiting kids. And it did, as there were several of them furiously pushing buttons and jerking joysticks, and a few stretched out on beanbags thumbing through kids magazines, which of course meant Camryn and I would be sitting on the other not so fun end of the office next to the bathrooms and water fountain, clear of any child not old enough or big enough to physically defend themselves against Cambo (as I affectionately refer to her in these times). Now anybody who has ever been to a medical/dental appointment of any kind knows that the appointment time is never, ever the time you will actually be seen and that to get a more accurate idea of your actual meeting with the doctor you should tack on at least a good thirty minutes in the waiting room ,then an additional ten minutes of waiting in the exam room. I knew this and figured Cams and I would be sitting by that water fountain for quite a while. I did not however foresee issues with the insurance company that I had just spoken with days earlier to confirm this very appointment, yet there they were...insurance issues. And because it was 8:45 and the insurance company did not open until 9:00 I would have to self pay or reschedule. Reschedule? Ummmmm, no, that will not be happening. Unlike my drive down south on open highway, this drive was mostly on U.S. 19 which if you live locally then you know it as the road from hell, plus I had to keep Camryn out of school for the whole day for this appointment, so there is no way I was going to do this again anytime soon. I self paid, got a receipt which I will be submitting for reimbursement and then took Cams back to get her "sedation". Now, when I think of sedation, I think of sedated as in not moving, as in asleep with an I.V. in your arm. Camryn has never been able to be examined by a dentist EVER because she will not let you in to see those chompers of hers unless you plan on leaving them in there permanently, like bitten off permanently. Brad and I have struggled her entire enameled life to get in there and give her teeth some sort of chance of survival, but if the girl doesn't want you in her mouth, then you're not getting in her mouth...end of story. With Mason and Natalie, brushing morning and night has always been the routine. But with Cam, I am gonna be honest here and say that there have been days that her teeth didn't see a bristle of any means and I just prayed that crunchy raw carrots or super crisp apples would be on the school lunch menu to pick up the slack and slough off some tartar. I have taken her to two "regular" dentists whom I forewarned about Camryn before setting the appointment and it was always the same response.."Oh you never know, we may be able to do the exam" and I just thought, "Oh no, I know, but whatever you say...". Cams insurance requires she be seen by a regular dentist who must then try to do a regular exam until they come to the conclusion that Camryn's mother was right when she said that a regular exam was not going to happen at which point a referral to a pediatric dentist with an option of sedation would be written and all staff involved in the attempted regular exam would then take a five minute break to wipe the sweat off their brows and redo their hair. I told you so.
So, here we were at the sedation dentistry office finally and the hygienist walks over with a paper cup that she is stirring some sort of mixture in. I secretly hoped it was a cocktail for me, but of course it wasn't. "Here Camryn, here is some cake icing! Do you like cake icing? Yummy!" She then explained to me that this was no ordinary cake icing, but cake icing with crushed up Valium mixed in! I'm not sure this is what Betty Crocker had in mind, but Betty, you really should have. What a fabulous concoction! Unfortunately, I would be having none of it, but Ms Cams, she would be having several spoonfulls before she took a little nappy-nap. I've never had a dentist appointment like this! The hygienist said that we had to wait an hour for the Valium to take full effect, so in the meantime we would wait in the "Sedation Room", a darkened exam room with a leather couch, a blanket and a Disney movie. And coffee, please say coffee...but she didn't. She said that Camryn would get sleepy and could go to sleep if she wanted, most kids do. Okay, but Cams is not most kids and I immediately thought back to the time she got an ABR test for hearing when she was a year and a half. The nurse administered a liquid that was supposed to make Camryn go to sleep for an hour. But forty-five minutes and an extra dose later, the nurse was in shock that Cams was still awake and we had to do the test with me holding her still. So when this girl told me most kids went to sleep, I knew Cams and the sandman would not be hanging out that morning. It was 9:08 at this time and we would stay in the room until 10:08. It was so dark and the air was so cold and the blanket was so warm and fuzzy and the couch was so comfy. My eyes started to droop and I wondered how I would ever stay awake after getting up with the sun to drive all the way up here and then just sit here with my drugged up daughter who was showing no signs of getting sleepy at all. I managed to stay conscious till 10:08 and of course so did Cams. Just as I thought. The hygienist came to get us and we walked back to the exam room. Cams crawled up into the big chair and then shoved white tiger in the hygienists face and demanded that she smell him and then smell him again and then again. After she had sniffed him up and down, she gave the tiger back to Cam and put the big heavy lead apron over Cams body so she could take X-rays. Perfect! Cams loves "weighted" things, such as blankets and vests. They are often used in therapy and at bedtime, as the pressure of the extra weight makes kids like Cam feel good. Every night when I tuck Camryn in, I cover her with a sheet, a comforter and then top her off with a three pound weighted patchwork quilt. So, beneath the pressure of the lead apron, Cams was laying reasonably still. I was given the job of pressing the X-ray button just outside the exam room when I got the okay from the hygienist, who was going to be trying her darndest to hold Cams head still long enough to get a picture. Even with a Valium circulating through her system, Cams was wide awake and very mobile. I doubted I would be pushing any buttons that day and was completely caught off guard when I heard "Okay Mom, push the button". The hygienist had gotten Cam to hold still long enough to get an X-ray! "Okay Camryn, bite down on this again." Ohhhhh I thought to myself, that's how this is going so well, Camryn is being told to bite!
We were able to get three X-rays total. Not as many as we needed but three more than we thought we'd get. So far so good. Then it came time for the cleaning. The hygienist took off the lead apron and started to hang it back up. I didn't want to tell her how to do her job, but was sure she wouldn't be against me trying to make it a little easier so I chimed in "You may want to leave that on her. The weight of it is helping her stay still." Without a seconds hesitation she draped it over Cams body again.
Then came the part I had been dreading. The part where my daughters underbrushed,rarely flossed,never fluoridated teeth would be on display for dental professionals to view in awe and disgust. The part where disapproving glances would surely be cast my way, heads shaking in disbelief that a parent would neglect their childs dental health in such a way. I wanted to shout out " But you don't understand!!! She doesn't let us get in there. And she's so strong! She kicks and bites and pushes us away! Please! Listen to me, you have to believe me!" As the hygienist looked my way and opened her mouth to speak, I scrunched up in my chair and braced myself for the worst. Okay, bring it on, lay it on me,scold me, lecture me, belittle me. "Well, her teeth look great!"
Her teeth look great? Look great???? HER TEETH LOOK GREAT??????
"You have GOT to be kidding me!" She shook her head. "No, they look good! It may be a battle, but you're winning it." Winning it? We hardly even get the chance to fight it! I was in complete shock! There was my daughter, laying in a dental chair, having her rarely really brushed good teeth examined for the first time in seven years, valium swimming through her veins and the hygienist is telling me all looks good? Did I take some acid this morning and forget about it? This was just too freakin' weird!
The hygienist looked at me and said "Let me ask you something....is she Down's?" I could not believe she just asked me this because you may remember from my previous post that Brad and I have suspected Camryn could have a mild form of Down Syndrome and are having her tested. "Why do you ask that? Does she look Down's to you?" The hygienist explained that children with Down Syndrome rarely get cavities due to the excess of saliva they produce and possibly something in the acidic make-up of their saliva as well. She thought Camryn had a mild look and was wondering if that was why, in spite of our inability to clean her teeth well, her oral health was good. I told her how we were getting her tested and how funny that was that she would have asked that. I also told her that Down's or not, Camryn definitely had an excess of saliva, which I'm sure has something to with the hypotonia, or low tone, of her mouth. Whatever the reason, praise Jesus!!! I really was not looking forward to driving all the way back up here for another cup of icing and a mouth full of metal. Still in shock, I thanked the hygienist and the dentist who had also made his way into the exam. I was given instructions to watch Cams the rest of the day, as the Valium would still be in her system for several hours. No running, no stair climbing and no riding a bike. Okay, no problem, especially seeing as Cams doesn't ride a bike on non-Valium days either! I scheduled her a for a six month checkup before we left and then Cams and I climbed in the car. No cavities, nooooo cavities! I just couldn't believe the girl known to suck on three balls of sugar on a stick ( or Tootsie-pops as they are more formally known) at one time had just been given a clean bill of oral health by the dentist! Will wonders never cease?
The rest of the day, Cams was Cams. I don't know where that Valium went or what it was supposed to be doing, but it certainly wasn't affecting Miss Camryn. Of course, everyone we know was awating word of how bad the news was. How many cavities, root canals, etc. And of course they were as shocked as I was to hear the reults.
I would love to end this entry on a positive note, however I feel it would not be complete without the following information. The same week I took Camryn to the dentist, I also took Natalie for her first dental exam. Natalie, four year old, I brush my teeth twice a day, Natalie. I sat in the waiting room as the hygienist took her back without a care in the world. I even read the paper and a gossip magazine to pass the time. When the dentist peeked out and called me back to let me know how it went, I yawned as I walked through the door. "Okay so how did it go?" I asked, ready to schedule her next check up and get on with my day.
The dentist opened up Nat's chart and pointed to a print-out of her mouth. "Well, unfortunately Natalie is going to need some fillings. She has five cavities." I swallowed hard, put my eyes back in my head and thought to myself "Okay wow, I am going to need some icing!"
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