Procedure Number.... I Really Have No Idea

Six months ago, at a dental appointment, it was determined that Micah needed some extensive dental work done. Turns out, he had a cavity or two that needed filled, and some teeth that needed extraction. For Micah, these aren't in-office options, and I'd said at the time that he would need ear tubes soon and we could do the teeth and the ears simultaneously. This sounded like a stroke of genius to me.

And the waiting began. For the first time ever we were actually hoping that perhaps an ear tube would fall out, while also crossing our fingers that they would just stay in there. Four months later, those darn ear tubes needed replaced, and we excitedly called the dentist to coordinate schedules and multi task while Micah was sedated. Turns out, the ENT has surgical rights at the hospital on Wednesdays and the dentist has surgical rights on Mondays, and The Way Things Are says that they can't intermingle or mix and match days.

OH MY GOSH. The world we live in nowadays makes zero sense to me at all.

So we scheduled an appointment for Micah to have his dental work done, because we had no other choice. That day is tomorrow. The hospital knows us by now, and even if someone calls us to go over check-in instructions, once they read how many sets of ear tubes he's had (at that hospital alone, not to mention all the sets he's had at Children's), they kind of just say, "so, do you have any questions?," to which I always answer, "Nope. Thanks. See you then."

And then I always, always thank God that, while we have been to this rodeo far more times than we'd like to have been, it's more like a Pee Wee Rodeo than anything real. Ear tubes, tonsils, adenoids, dental work... it's nothing. Micah is so incredibly healthy that it boggles the minds of anyone in the medical field. We are always asked what heart problems he has, and then they repeat, in astonishment, "Nothing? You're sure?" Yes. We're very sure, and we know how lucky we are. And we thank God that Micah is healthy, and we are so grateful for 13 sets of ear tubes and the removal of adenoids and tonsils, and dental work under sedation. We're rejoicing that Micah can leave the hospital tomorrow after out patient surgery and stop at Sheetz on the way home and get a hot dog with bacon and coleslaw and extra onions, and then go to school the next day like nothing ever happened.

That's the funny thing about Micah. That boy has taught us so very, very much. And it's ironic that the things the world may consider bad or stressful are the exact things that we consider huge blessings. Tomorrow Micah gets sedated for dental work, because he just isn't capable of sitting in a chair at the dentist's office and tolerating fillings and extractions, and we're so glad that sedation is an option for him. We're grateful for a dentist that understands him and works so well with him. We're grateful that it's simply dental work, and nothing more.