Why?
The dentist noticed that her wisdom teeth incisions were extremely inflamed, and hadn't really started to heal. Therefore, he decided that he really didn't want to go rooting around in her mouth with a drill at this point in time.
FosterEema explained that Danielle had refused to follow many of the oral surgeon's post-procedure instructions, and asked if that could be the cause of the inflammation.
Although the dentist didn't confirm with 100% certainty that her lack of self-care was the cause, he said he couldn't deny that it may have contributed to the problem.
When I heard this news, I just put my head down on my desk and sighed.
* * *
When Danielle came home from school this afternoon I asked her about her dental appointment. Apparently, her dentist gave her a bit of a scolding.
"Naughty, naughty!" Danielle reported the dentist had told her.
He clearly left her with the impression that she was the cause of her own misery.
She reported that he'd said, "You would have a lot less swelling and pain if you had followed [the oral surgeon's] instructions."
"I know," she replied.
When I heard this, I just put my head in my hands, shook my head and sighed.
The fact that Danielle won't follow instructions given by her medical care providers saddens me. If she's not able or willing to follow directions, I think it's going to make her life a lot more difficult than it needs to be.
Whether or not Danielle's lack of follow-up care contributed to her extra swelling and pain is really immaterial. The fact is, she defied her surgeon's instructions, and that's pretty troubling stuff. Doctors don't issue follow-up care instructions because they are fun, they issue them because their education and experience has taught them that specific aftercare helps to speed healing and reduce pain.
Curious, I asked her the predictable question, "Why was it so important to you to go against what [the oral surgeon] told you?"
Her answer was equally predictable. "I don't know," she replied.
So sorry about this. I am right there with you. I am currently battling with our 12 year old about a recurring ear infection. He insists on putting things in his ear and then "forgets" to tell us important things like he can't hear out of one ear until the infection is full blown. We have been through 6 rounds of this in 8 months.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes me crazy is my kids have RAD so don't trust me enough to tell me if they're REALLY sick, but also have so many psychosomatic complaints, that when you add in their poor hygeine and med side effects... I often have no idea if they really have issues.
ReplyDeleteI've found out that my daughter was completely deaf in one ear due to wax, which she'd mentioned, but I'd ignored it in the litany of psychosomatic complaints (headaches, tummyaches, toothaches...) -- which of course she used as another excuse to declare me a bad mom and untrustworthy.
My son had severe joint pain due to the side effect of a med, but I didn't really know for over a year.
My daughter has chronic UTIs due to poor hygeine. We usually don't find out until she's admitted to a psych hospital again. *sigh*
In other words, you have my total sympathy. Hugs and prayers,
Mary
Sounds familiar to what goes on with Toots--the constant stomachaches, headaches, etc. Except that she complains, bitterly. Now, she complains pretty much all the time of back pain and knee pain. She's not willing to hear her doctors say that the pain is largely due to her extreme obesity.
ReplyDelete