William Visits the Orthodontist

This is the latest post in the series of William, grace and Juliet's journey with hypophosphatasia.

It's been a nice long while since I had to update any of the kids' doctor visits!  This appointment for William was just a recall, waiting for when they find that his teeth are ready for braces!

Somehow, I got it into my head that we needed to leave really, really early, and so we made it to Ann Arbor with like 2 hours to wait.  Since we had our lunches with us, we opted to go find some thirft stores! 

There is a lot more to Ann Arbor than I knew!  It is a lovely town.

We first went to the salvation army, since I knew what to expect there.  We didn't buy much, except for a calculator (of unknown working condition) for Leon.

At the next thrift store we bought more, but ran out of time.  Should the opportunity ever arise again, we will go there first!  They had so much, and really good prices. = )

We navigated back to campus through the detours and road work, making it in plenty of time for his appointment.  

 We are still in 'wait' mode, but did have to schedule for a tooth extraction later this summer. = (

After the appointment we enjoyed our lunch in the atrium, and then drove back with plenty of time to pick up the girls, though I think I might have had Avia or Billy on call to get them, should we have hit traffic.

later days

<what happened previously

edit: written 6-17-23 backdated for continuity. 

Dental Visits

This is the latest post in the series of William, grace and Juliet's journey with hypophosphatasia.

We have actually had 2 visits to the dental clinic down at UofM, since the last time I posted.

This visit was just a routine cleaning for all 3, that had been delayed at least once.  William and Juliet got good, boring reports.  Poor Grace has to go in for some cavity fillings that formed in her poor soft teeth (the same ones Juliet had in the past.)  That appointment is next week.

Today we went back, for William to check in with his orthodontist.  I failed to take a picture while we were eating our lunch, but we did eat in the courtyard, as is tradition.

No braces for our boy just yet, he has a few bottom teeth that need to come out first.  They are wiggly, so if he is able to wiggle them out before the appointment with the regular clinic comes up, they won't have to pull them.  If not, we'll make a trip down for them to pull those two teeth, sometime before his next orthodontic appointment, in 6 months.

My friend Jessica takes her child to the same clinic every 4-6 weeks, so I'm hopeful that maybe one day we can carpool to break up the long, boring drive!

later days

<what happened previously

what happened next>

Dental Trip

This is the latest post in the series of William, grace and Juliet's journey with hypophosphatasia.

We had a regularly scheduled appointment for William, Grace and Juliet.  After a quick morning of lessons, we headed to Ann Arbor to the appointment.

We arrived early enough to walk the 'specialty' recycling (writing utensils, batteries, and ink cartridges) over to the building William and I found on our previous trip.

After checking in, we still had 15 minutes of waiting.  They were called back, but it felt like a very brief time before they were all done.  William and Grace got excellent reports.  

Juliet has some decay on the top of her teeth that we will have capped at her next cleaning appointment.  In the mean time, her dentist put some silver nitrate to help prevent more decay from forming.

Once we were all checked out, it was time for lunch in the courtyard.  William and I went there once, and now he wants to go every time.  Since they are regulating visitors, we had to bring in our lunch with us to the appointment.  

The coffee shop nearby is open, so I got a decaf coffee for me, and a cute little cookie to share. = )

As far as dental appointments go, it was middle of the road.  Not the best news, and not the worst.

later days

<what happened previously

what happened next>

William visits the newest Orthodontist

This is the latest post in the series of William, grace and Juliet's journey with hypophosphatasia.

William met with a doctor who was outgoing, and so this was our first meeting with the new, incoming, dental class doctor. 

After reviewing all of the documentation that they had taken from William on his previous trip, they decided that for now, we are just going to wait.  She indicated that he will, at some point in the future, have to have braces, but that time is not now.  She wants to see what happens when all four of his front upper and lower teeth come in. 

Some good news, he might be a candidate for Invisalign!  I truly hope that he can, because driving to the dentist over an hour away, for a popped off bracket would be upsetting for all involved.  It will take some serious discipline on our part, but I think we can do it!

But, for right now, his next appointment with the orthodontist isn't for 6 more months.

After his appointment, we found a cozy corner in which to eat lunch and for William to knock out his math, so that he didn't have to do it upon our return.  

We saw some new parts of campus, thanks to a faulty parking booth arm, and all for the better.  Seeing the buildings nestled among the trees reminded me of the pictures I'd seen of some of the east coast universities.

All in all, it was a good trip, a little long for what we actually learned, but I'll take any good news I can get about William's teeth!

<what happened previously

what happened next>

Doctors and Ailments

This is the latest post in the series of William, grace and Juliet's journey with hypophosphatasia. And now adding Emily to the list.

October has been fairly light in the way of Doctor visits, which is a nice change from our usual.  Of course, we had to have a smattering, or it just wouldn't feel right.

One morning, Grace was complaining about itchy hands.  I helped her wash them, then put on some lotion, because the cold makes my hands dry out (and itch) sometimes too.  There were a few spots that I could see forming, and thought maybe she just got into something that set off an allergic reaction.  I gave her some cough medicine, because it was the only child friendly antihistamine that we had in the house.  By the time we got to school, her hands were covered on the palms.

I showed her teacher and the school secretary incase they had any insight.  It didn't look like HFM, so she stayed, and I called to get her an appointment.  It was an early appointment, but with a different doctor in the practice. I ran up to the school to grab her, on the way to the car she told me her belly also itched.  She had so many spots on her belly!

I went through all of the things in my mind that she had eaten that were new, and chocolate pudding was the only thing on the list.   She confirmand that it was an allergic reaction to something, and prescribed her a 3 day steroid and gave her some Benadryl.   She also recommend that I keep the ingredient list for the pudding in case it happens again.

As we were walking around the store to pick up her prescription, the Benadryl started to kick in.  At least she stopped itching as she nodded off to sleep in the car.

I was working on a project out in the flower bed a few days later, and my arm brushed up against a plant.  This was the itchy result.

So, the general consensus is that Grace is allergic to the plant in our flower bed, not chocolate pudding.

*******************

Alice had her second eye therapy appointment.  She was very diligent and completed her homework.  I had hoped that by buckling down maybe we could abbreviate how many weeks she would need to complete her therapy.  I was slightly irked when the doctor did not even retest her to check for improvement.

Apparently, she will have to complete the 12 weeks regardless.  This is not what I was told by the referring doctor, which of course has led to disappointment. Her homework this time is also not as regimented as the previous time, and I'm having a harder time keeping the therapy in a position of importance in my mind.  <- Sounds like somebody needs and attitude adjustment.

We will go back once more in November, and then her final 'recheck' will be in early December.

********************

My poor little boy was stung by a bee at school!  It was a warm fall by Michigan standards, so the teachers keep their windows open in the unairconditioned building.  The bees are curious and sometimes come in to visit.

According to him, he raised his hand to answer a question, and the bee stung his finger!  I was working in another classroom that day (as more of an aide) and heard a scream in the hallway.  It took me 2 seconds to realize it was one of mine.

Luckily, our school secretary got him all fixed up, and though it was swollen for a couple of days, he was quite the trooper.

************

We had a scheduled dentist appointment for the little ones in Ann Arbor.   It was just a routine cleaning.  All 3 of them got full marks!  No cavities and we don't have to return for 6 months unless we have an issue. = )

Avia, Alice and Emily came along for the ride, since their appointment fell during fall break.

We have several doctor's appointments planned already for November, hopefully we can keep up the low ratio with no unplanned trips!

later days

<what happened previously
what happened next>

Glasses Pick-up & New Dentists

This is the latest post in the series of William, grace and Juliet's journey with hypophosphatasia. 

We were finally able to pick up William, Grace and Juliet's new glasses!  Grace thought it would be awesome to mess with everyone, and picked glasses that are super similar to Juliet's old pair.  Poor Juliet even tried to grab that pair one morning! = )

So, people who knew them by their glasses have been calling Grace "Juliet" more than usual.  = )

***********

We also had their first appointment with the dental clinic down in ann arbor.  The drive is about the same as that of Grand Rapids, but the parking situation is not as accommodating (though there was no issue this first visit.)

My mom came since the big girls were out of school, and it was just too cold of a day for them to do any sort of exploration.  I was glad to have her there, since it took them almost 30 minutes just to get us registered.  They promised that next time would be shorter.  Time will tell.

This was in the lobby, I wasn't allowed to take pictures in the back.  All three got very good reports.  I feel so comfortable taking them to this clinic. They have so much experience with hypophosphatasia, collectively, that they have actually diagnosed their patients with HPP before!  

William's report was the best.  He has no outstanding cavities, and the plan is still to cap his adult teeth as they come in.

Grace and Juliet are also cavity free, but will nee to have some caps put on their back top molars to prevent further loss.  Their teeth are in very good condition considering their lack of enamel. 

They did not take x-rays (since it has not yet been a year,) but they think that their adult teeth may have been spared thanks to their medication!!!!!!!!  

Once we get the twins teeth capped, two visits in as many weeks in June, they will only have to come in every 6 months for regular visits. = )

All in all, a heartening trip.

later days

<what happened previously
What happened next>