I intended to write this yesterday, but I didn't realise that I was so tired that by the time I tucked the children in, I was knocked out myself. Actually, I didn't have much of a sleep the few nights before, so my body was in need of a good rest. And a good rest it was. :)

Anyway, here is an account of what happened yesterday.

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As if he knew what was about to come, Jayden woke up in the wee hours of 4am, wailing on the top of his voice. I wasn't quite sure what had disturbed him - in fact he had been irritable the past few nights, although seldom was he so terribly upset and unconsolable. I couldn't give him any drink to comfort him, like what I did usually, for we were instructed to fast for 6 hours before the surgery. I only managed to settle him 2 hours later, and by then it was time for us to set off to Mount Alvernia.

Our appointment was at 8am, but we were told to reach there 1 1/2 hours earlier. The little boy was so fearful of the hospital environment that he clinged to me for his dear life during the long wait for the medical staff to bring us into the operations theatre. Our dentist, Dr. Ja arrived promptly at 8am. As though he could recognise her, the poor baby broke into tears when she greeted us. Nevertheless, the procedure had to go on, so without delay, we proceeded into the operations room where Dr. Choo, our anesthetist, was waiting. General anesthetic was given in the form of a gas (I've to check up the name). After struggling violently for half a minute, Jayden passed out. We were asked to come back 1 1/2 hour later while they continued the surgery (1 hour for the treatment, and half hour for him to wake up).

When Jayden exited at 9:30am in the arms of a staff nurse with his brand new set of teeth, he looked so dazed and frightened. He broke into another round of tearless sobs when seeing us. We were so relieved to see him all well. Dr. Ja informed us that the treatment went on well. From the hole that she drilled, she saw that the left tooth had already turned black inside, indicating that part of the root was dead. The infection had also caused pus to be formed. These were removed and filings coated in plastic were used to make his new teeth. There could be complications 3-6 months down the road, warned Dr. Ja, if there was still infection deep down in the roots beyond what she saw, although the likelihood was rather remote. In the mean time, we needed to observe him for any swollen gums, fever or pain. No running for the rest of the day too, as the GA might caused him to be tipsy. We let him rest for another 2 hours before leaving the hospital.

It all sounds so painful that I wonder if I myself have the guts to go through it. But my tough little fellow was his usual spirited self again when reaching home, watched Barney video (5 times!), took a long 4-hour nap, played all his favourite games, and amused himself prying his new teeth. And when he slept soundly at last for the whole of last night, the dense me finally realised that it must be the toothache that had caused the fretfulness the nights before.

So glad it's over! :)