Grace's Face...Ground Zero

I'm doing a little catch up on the blog after quite a wild two weeks...so while this post should be for the 2nd, it is being written today.

Last Friday, Grace and Jack were jumping around in the bedroom down in the basement while I did some stealthy Christmas shopping online for Ken (he was at a meeting). The bedroom echoed of giggles and fun, until an awful crash/thud followed by piercing screams from Grace. I was already running to the door as fast as I could just from the sound of the crash. Mother's Instinct knew that the sound was no ordinary sound, but the sound of something human being crushed.

Grace was on her knees on the floor in front of a bedside table. It was clear her mouth had been the brunt of the impact, as I watched blood well up in her mouth. I was so sure by the sound of it all that I would find teeth missing. But they were all solidly in place. Instead, it was her gums that had been ground zero and she had severed her frenulum (the membrane that hangs between the gum and lip). The right upper side of her gums were so badly banged up, a small piece of one tooth root was on display.

We ran to the bathroom splashing water into Grace's mouth full of blood, and then I did my best to run with baby in belly up two flights of stairs for washclothes and ice...and then run back down. (NOT a pretty sight). After a panic call to Ken for a second opinion, I felt a little better. Ken has that calming affect on people.

The bleeding was under control and Grace had calmed down, so I grabbed the laptop to check and see if this would need a trip to the ER or dentist. In two minutes, I was able to pull up the info I needed, complete with pictures of the exact same injuries Grace had sustained. Thankfully, I learned that mouth injuries don't usually require medical assistance, as the mouth does such a great job healing itself. What an amazing tool the Internet can be. It is not the first time I have used it to balance my thoughts and inform in an emergency.

It is now a week later, and her mouth has healed very well. Her gums still are black and blue bruised, but the teeth aren't changing color on me, and we aren't breaking out into infection or fever. The poor child has one heck of a shiner along the left side of her laugh line, and a bit of the puff still. But she'll make it.

I'm still struggling with the sound of flesh and wood meeting in my ears.