Ruby News

Dear Family & Friends,

We've had a lot going on recently with Ruby.

Her asthma and bronchitis has flared up again, luckily we had a little break there while we were in Disney...


But also,

Ruby definitely has hypoplasia enamel. Big, fancy word for "very little enamel on front teeth" - which of course is where you need the most enamel. Your front teeth absorb all of the impact, you know when you fall or get hit by a ball. Ruby, like all toddlers, especially tough toddlers (and you know we raise 'em tough) falls down a lot. Five busted lips. Three times I was certain her teeth were busted out. Nope. But that's trauma. That's real bad for hypoplasia enamel...The missing enamel is usually localized, which results in small dents, grooves or pits on the outer surface of the affected teeth. This makes the teeth’s surface very rough, and the defects often stand out because they are brown or yellow in color.

She has also recently possibly (I know, right?) been diagnosed with Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). Symptoms probably didn't start manifesting until she started solid foods - causes a cough, which was maybe overlooked by doctors and us because of her asthma diagnosis. There has been speculation that the condition has contributed to the enamel on her teeth to start de-calcifying and eroding away. No enamel on her teeth leaves her very susceptible to cavities and it's painful for her and will quickly worsen unless they get in there and fix her teeth.


Which brings me to this: after many doctor visits, many dentists visits, many, many tears and much research we're left with this: Ruby is scheduled to go under general anasthesia on March 18 to get...new teeth. I'm attempting humor here to make this a little easier to talk about and share.

Yesterday we went to the hospital to have a chest x-ray taken, to check for abnormalities (the bronchitis/asthma again) and we were suppose to drink a bottle of barium, take pictures during and after, to check for reflux. Eventhough Ruby fasted before the procedure, and was desperate for the bottle of "chocolate milk", after two sips was F-I-N-I-S-H-E-D. Done. Not happening. So not only was she suppose to drink an entire bottle of barium, then she was suppose to lie down on an x-ray table...looked an awful lot like an MRI machine to me. Right.
Now the doctor, not her primary, a partner at the practice, wants her to go in and get a tube inserted into her nose and shoved down her esophagus. Where it will stay for 24 hours to monitor the acid levels in her stomach.

Let me jump a bit here to say that dentists and dental work are a nightmare. Three pediatric dentistry specialists, three different treatment analysis. And if it wasn't for Dr. Cheek, our primary, love her, I don't even want to think about where we'd be...

When Ruby got her first tooth...it looked...funny...a little bit...thin. More white in some areas than not. I, of course tried to blow it off, didn't want to think too much of it. She was still absolutely perfect - which is everything she is.
Then it looked like goldfish crackers started getting stuck along her gum lines, like we weren't brushing her teeth thoroughly enough. We scrubbed. Then we realized she was missing enamel on her four front teeth.


Panicked. Full-blown. Tears, loss of appetite, spiraling depression, nightmares, debilitating guilt...I felt like it was my fault.

God is obviously trying to teach me a lesson here: I do not have complete control over my life or the lives of my children. TERRIFYING! But I'm a damn good mom (can you use "God" and "damn" in the same paragraph and not go to "hell"?) and my girls have parents and grandparents that would go to the moon and back for them - ... and we're taking action.


I'm going to make a very long story short right here and say that some pediatric dentists (the VAST majority of which won't treat children under 3 which only made our research for the right dentist that much harder) are pompous, cruel, barbaric a**holes. Some of them are okay and some of them are...heaven-sent. But man are the good ones hard to find.  Google let me down big time.
For a while there, we thought we'd be able to treat her dental problem with "conscious sedation" aka Twilight Sedation/Versed/Relaxed Dentistry (lots of words for it). Then we went and talked it over with her doctor.

Sedation? In a dentist's office? Absolutely not. Not with Ruby's history, her asthma and her "chronic" bronchitis.

Doctor wants us in a hospital setting with an anaesthesiologist And she referred us to yet another specialist.
 Dr. Mark Lawrence is compassionate and gentle, cautious and smart and the only dentist in Columbus, Ga with hospital privileges.


A couple of weeks from now we're going to check in to Columbus Regional and have Ruby's teeth fully repaired, she'll be getting four brand new pearly whites and will have nerve treatments. She'll be sore for a few days and on pain medication but this should completely fix her problem.


And I love my parents. They have supported us every step of the way. I mean, while Adam was at work, busting his tail so we can pay our health bills, my dad is at the hospital with Ruby & me and has a plavix-related emergency and has to go to the E.R. - but not before his grand-daughter is treated and taken care of, with the help of a nurse he quietly applies a pressure bandage, elevates his arms and sits and waits - asks if Ruby is alright. They've rescheduled trips, accompanied me to doctor's appointments (when Adam can't), helped me with research, and been there to listen. They'll also have Charlotte with them for a few days at Lake Lanier when Ruby has her surgery and while she's recovering.


That's the news from the Wilson Household. Where the man is hardworking, the woman is strong, the children are sick but happy and the dogs are neurotic.