When we left off, the mother was worried about two of her babies and planning a way to alleviate pain for them.
The mother made an appointment with the dental clinic for the little girl. She was nervous and excited to wait for the appointment and asked her mummy constantly when it would be time to go. Four hours, three hours, two hours and forty-five minutes, two hours and forty minutes and so on. When it was finally time to go the girl held her mums hand and said she was worried about having her tooth pulled out. The mother assured her that she would be there and would hold her hand.
At the clinic they read stories in the waiting room whilst the doctors ate lunch. Then it was their turn. Tara fearfully followed her mother into the treatment room and reluctantly sat on the chair. It went up and she put sunglasses on to block out the bright light. The doctor took a look then said they would need to take an x-ray.
The little girl sat on the chair with the lead vest on it and reached out for her mum who could not be in the room. The mother rocked the girls' doll in her arms and reassured her that everything would be okay. And it was. The x-ray showed the troublesome tooth was actually ready to come out, the root was dead and it was being pushed up by a much bigger tooth. The pain was not due to the wiggly tooth but the infection the girl had given herself. It turns out with her fingers constantly in her mouth she had introduced a bacteria that the mouth did not like much and it had made her gum swell up and cause her pain.
The options were to pull the tooth - if the girl would allow it - or leave it there and it would come out on its own. Given the pain, the mother wanted the tooth out and the girl was more than happy for this to happen. She was even excited. It would be her first tooth and the tooth fairy would come!
The doctor put some numbing cream on the gum and prepared the girl for the shock of the tooth coming out. One... two... three... OW! The tears came down. The mother could hear the little ones pain. They held onto each other and the little one had to concentrate on biting down to stop the blood. She cried and wanted comfort from mum all the way back to the car.
But, when the little one looked in the mirror of the car, her tears went away. It was as if seeing the gap in her mouth made it all real. She had "lost" a tooth! Now it was excitement time. She couldn't wait to show her sister, and for the tooth fairy to come and to show her friends and to send a photo to Mummy Julie. Wow, my first tooth!
Once at home with a resting 5 year old, the mother could focus her attention on her eldest daughter. Her orange cat, Penelope, was still in the washing basket she had been in when the mother had left for the dentist. The mother fed the cat some dry food and offered her water which she refused. The mother was sad for her tiny cat and wanted to make it better but it seemed Pene was not recovering.
When the night time came, Pene was carried into her mothers room, washing basket and all. The mother knew that the cat would not be able to get out of the basket without pain or assistance and wanted to be there when it occurred. They all slept until a clatter in the early hours of the morning following by the sound of a cat in pain woke the mother and father. The mother was raised from her bed to comfort the cat and assure her she was looked after.
The mother made Pene a new bed on ground level and encouraged the sweet cat to go back to sleep. It was at this point that the mother knew the doctor was on the list of things to do tomorrow... today? Saturday.
So in the morning she scooped Penelope up and put her int the RSPCA box that Carla had come home in. Pene did not like this one bit but was unable to protest among her pain. The mother had found a nearby vet with great reviews and turned up for a consultation. The vet saw her quickly and poor Pene cried when she was touched and viewed by the big man doctor. He said the left hind leg was very swollen and they needed to get x-rays. It could be an abscess or a fracture, they just didn't know. Pene was packed back into her box and the mother signed the form to allow her to be looked after fro the next few hours.
Anxiously the hours passed for the mother until at 2:30 the doctor rang and said there was no fracture and no need for surgery or a splint. What Pene had was torn and hyper-extended ligaments that had caused the swelling in her leg and her hip. She would probably be saw for days and would need some anti-inflammatory to help her heal as well as the pain medication she had been given. But it meant Penelope could be picked up and taken back home.
At home, the mother was supposed to keep the little cat inside and already Pene was hating this. She was wild and hated kitty-litter more than the pain she was in. But the mother kept her inside over night and like the soft hearted mother she was, she slept lightly in order to hear when she needed to respond to the needs of her child.
Today on Sunday, Pene is still hobbling around and Tara is more than pleased with the gap in her mouth. With some rest, Pene will heal, and in time Tara will loose more teeth.
The End.
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