Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Rrr

Joshua used to say the w sound for r. It was cute when he was 2 or 3, not so much at 7. No, he didn't grow out of it like we were told. It started to bother him. He would ask, "Mom, why do I say wocket when other kids say wocket?" Our dentist told us he needed a lingual frenectomy. My boy was tongue tied. As I am sure you could guess, a lingual frenectomy is not cheap. I wasn't sure how this would fit into the budget, so I emailed the man we were referred to for surgery. I poured my heart out as only a Momma can. I received a reply from Dr. Angel to call his office Monday morning. His assistant asked if I could bake. I told her yes and she said the Dr. would like to be paid in chocolate. WHAT?! I baked for a whole day. Chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes and bars. A laser did the trick to Joshua's tongue. On the way home he asked, "Mom, how many times do I have to say red rocket??"

7 comments:

Katie R. said...

That brought tears to my eyes. Thank you Dr.Angel for being a wonderful person on the inside. Thank you God for creating people to have feelings.

Carla said...

I sobbed in Dr. Angel's arms. That is not his real name, BTW. :)

erin said...

WOW! What a great story! I secretly love it when the blogs make me cry at work. Though I pretend to hate it.

Kim N. said...

Wow, I didn't think Doctors did that any more. That is very nice. I think the world needs to work that way more often.

Anonymous said...

My son was born with a tongue-tie too. I wonder if you had the same problems nursing him as I did with mine? He would feed for 90 minutes at a time, and he would get so frustrated (because with the tongue-tie they get tired from nursing). Anyway, all the doctors told me he was fine and to wait and see. But Moms have to be their kids' advocates, right? I researched it completely and convinced the Doctor I wasn't leaving without a frenectomy! When they are infants it really is a simple little snip-snip because there are no blood vessels or nerve endings in that area yet. It made me so mad to think the prevailing medical advice puts families through unneccesary strife. Anyway - got the tongue clipped and it was the best choice we ever made! He started feeding normally and is speaking just fine now (as well as can be expected for a two-year-old).

To the other part of your story - how wonderful to find such a compassionate doctor! It lifts my spirits.

Carla said...

Joshua was tied a bit too much under the tongue. He was quite the little nurser though. I have a friend whose boy was tied right at the tip of the tongue. How very frustrating, as the doctors thought nothing of it...like you described! Good for you to fight for your son!

Anonymous said...

Yup, that was my guy - tied right to the tip. Must make a difference. Hope Joshua's doing well.