Hubby took her to the paedi where the nurse tried to turn them away as they don't treat accident cases. Hubby insisted (luckily he can be forceful). The paedi gave JE a painkiller jab and a referral letter for the Tropicana medical centre. In all fairness, she didn't charge anything.
Service at the medical centre was soooo slow. An MO examined her and sent her for X-rays. Waited some time for her turn. The kid was scared and cried when hubby put her down on the gurney for the X-ray. Stretched her arms out asking for 'pao-pao!' (carry). Repeat for taking X-rays from the side. Then wait some more for the X-rays to be printed. The MO checked and called the oral/facial specialist. Wait again.
The blood was mostly clotting now and I was relieved to see only one tooth looked bad. X-rays showed no fractures.
Specialist recommended to put JE under general anaesthetic. He said for the chin, outwardly you see only a gash but inside, the muscles tear and pull apart. Under G.A. he will stitch up the inside, glue the outside and try to push the tooth back. He could schedule it for 3pm and she would be done by 5.30pm. But to me, G.A. seemed extreme for such a young child, and the injury didn't seem THAT bad. I asked about the cost. (Maybe at this juncture he thought, these people have no money!) He said he would check. He probed the gash. I asked how it was, he didn't answer. Eventually he asked the nurse to bring the glue. Applied that, then applied a plaster. JE was fine with all this. Then he pushed the tooth and held it a while - JE wailed but didn't disrupt the procedure since her mouth remained open. He then said ok, everything's done and also said "And I apologise for just now". Err but what was he apologising for?? For an unwarranted recommendation? Maybe he expected JE to struggle and fight and turned out she didn't?
The bill wasn't cheap at RM485 but of course G.A. would have cost more. And we got to go home instead of having to wait for 5.30pm for everything to be over.
Poor baby. Her bottom teeth are out of place. That's blood all over her shirt.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that:
1. There would be no scar on her chin
2. The teeth situation would be ok. Can't confirm if only one tooth is affected since there's still blood in there.
Oh dear oh dear. All the trauma for a little girl. I also wonder why d dr apologized. Probably he was unsure with his diagnosis. But crazy la d dr recommending GA!
ReplyDeleteWould u take JE for a second opinion tomorrow? Worried about her teeth situation.
Thankfully in a way that d handle din hit her head. The injury would definitely be more serious.
Poor darling.. can imagine all the stress and worry you parents are going through. So the glue will help the muscle tear heal too?? Hope the scar won't be too bad too..
ReplyDeleteAi @ Sakura Haruka
ai yo! very traumatic. K went thru exactly the same thing at about the same age! she has that scar on her forehead still :(
ReplyDeleteLeona, I think the teeth part needs a dentist rather than a doc. Probably an orthodontist, actually, which is too early at her age. Yeah, injury coulda been worse. I shudder to think if it'd hit her eye!
ReplyDeleteAi, well the doc went ahead to apply the glue without saying a word. That must mean the injury wasn't as bad as feared. If the muscle looked torn, surely he'd have said so despite thinking we couldn't afford the treatment? *fingers crossed*
MC, yes I do remember your post. Aiyo indeed, both for our kids and us too. :)