Biker Down - But not out

It's been a rough couple of weeks for my Little Biker. He's had a few spills, and taken a few lumps.

It started with a tumble off a bed while watching TV. Apparently (according to his sister) he laughed himself right off the bed over something he saw. Unfortunately, the laughing stopped when he banged his arm on the floor. Tough little guy though, he got over it in his typical fashion, but still was favouring it. I had sent Allison off for a week of scrapbooking, so Dr. Dad was in charge.

Dr. Dad waited a few more days, and realizing that he wasn't using his left hand at all (he's left handed), took him to the clinic for a look over. The doctor tried a few things, but couldn't narrow down where or how bad things were. He gave us a week to watch it to see if things improved. They didn't. So we piggybacked another doctors appointment onto the annual (yelp) flu shots. Our family doctor suspected an elbow, so we went off for X-rays. Sure enough, he's cracked something in his elbow. No cast necessary, just "take it easy".

Right. Ever lived with a 5 year old and an 8 year old before? Let's just say that there have been more than a handful of "bumping the injury" incidents.

Anyhow - fast forward to this weekend. Out celebrating a birthday with friends (Happy Birthday Katie!) and Doug takes a tumble. On hardwood. Fortunately, it didn't jar his elbow too hard. Unfortunately, this was because he didn't put his hands out to catch himself. He hit the floor with a resounding smack - teeth first. Again, the tough little guy only cried for a few minutes, but the blood was flowing. Did his teeth still look straight? Allison figured they weren't. I thought they looked close enough. Today, we got the dentist's opinion. "Impacted tooth". It's been pushed up.

The good news is that Doug is almost at the loose-tooth stage of life anyhow. This was about the "safest" time he could have done this. The roots of the baby teeth are pretty much dissolved with the adult teeth coming, and the adult teeth have a hard crown all ready to go. In between, there is extra space and cushion. Long term prognosis is very very good. In the short term, there are several things that might happen. The tooth may be pushed back into place by the swelling, and things return to normal. The tooth may stay recessed until it naturally loosens and falls out. The blood vessels to the tooth may have been damaged, in which case the tooth may take on a grey shade - until it loosens naturally and falls out. Or, the swelling may increase too much, and the dentist may have to pull it. Odds are on the side of the first few alternatives.

Bottom line, in a week or so, he should be able to bite and chew with his front teeth again.

Who said life was safe anyways. Good thing kids are built tough. Yeah, he's been down a few times this month - but like all good bikers Doug will be "shiny side up" before we know it. At least that's what I'm telling myself.