December 24, Christmas eve

Oh boy. Sometimes you can tell that there's a problem but it takes a while to figure out what it is. That was the case beginning a week or so after Tommy's remaining lower teeth were pulled. It was supposed to take two weeks to heal, at which time Tommy would revisit his new dentist, Dr. James, to get molds made for his new plates. Not.
The problem was where the teeth had been removed, but it was unclear what it was. Tommy had no infection, no elevated temperature, no sign of any problem other than the fact that chewing was uncomfortable along the far right end of the lower gum. The visiting nurse, Linda, and I agreed that a puree diet was in order, and it did help. But, finally, the day before yesterday, we learned what the problem was--on awakening, Tommy showed me with the tip of his tongue a tooth fragment sticking up like a tiny iceberg. Until then, it had been covered by a thin layer of skin, so we hadn't see it hiding out under there. I touched it very lightly; it was very sharp, and Tommy said, "Ow!" In the afternoon, Linda confirmed that it was a piece of tooth or bone sticking up. I called the oral surgeon's office, and they fit him in the following afternoon. I was relieved that the surgeon was seeing him so quickly, but I was also filled with trepidation that the tooth was only the tip of an iceberg and the surgeon would have to open up Tommy's gums again. Thank goodness, it turned out to be only a fragment of tooth that somehow the surgeon had missed, and within ten minutes we were leaving the office (this time, without a stop at the front desk to pay).
We are now ready for a nice, relaxing Christmas. Tonight, Tommy will supervise Marsh and me as we put the ornaments on the tree (our family tradition is to decorate the tree on Christmas eve, although I jumped the gun with the lights a few weeks ago). If you are reading this blog, Tommy would love to hear your voice on the phone (me, too '-), so give a call at 302-539-8079. We will send out cards, but they will be late. For now, we're here quietly celebrating, with thanks in our hearts for all the wonderful things that family, friends and health-care folks have done for us this year.