At Peace (or In Good Hands)



This morning, my beautiful oldest daughter awoke with a swollen top lip and a tooth that was painfully throbbing.

After a quick call to aptly named Root Canal Specialists, we were able to make an appointment to seek immediate attention.

Fifteen minutes after arriving, the grim news was delivered:

Root Canal.

And then suddenly, in the midst of the calming my daughter and listening to the doctors dictate their response strategy, I feel an inner calmness fall over me.

I feel at peace.

While nothing had been fully resolved, I knew that in a manner of minutes, my daughter would be on her way to healing.

The crisis almost as soon as it had begun, was already ending.

"We are in good hands", I say to my frightened daughter.  She nods and a nurse comes in with headphones blaring Hannah Montana and a nose piece filled with strawberry scent for the nitrous oxide.

She hugs my daughter and repeats my words, "It's OK.  You are in good hands and I won't let go."

That deep calm lasted throughout the day. 

It also reflected directly to my oldest daughter.  She felt calm going into her procedure and for the first time, her blood sugar remained steady, even through the fasting hours before and after.

We both just felt peaceful.

So much so that I actually paused to reflect (and marvel) at feeling so calm.  In doing so, I realized that today wasn't the only time this has happened.  Over the years and through each new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes or other health issues; this same calm has provided me with the support that I needed to manage the crisis.

I think the peace comes from the realization that I have complete trust in the healing hands of the specialists that we have chosen.  Our team of doctors has provided me with enough results over the years that now I have complete trust in their ability to heal my daughter.

Initially, that trust is hard to obtain.  We have set such high standards in care that choosing a doctor doesn't happen without a thorough review of background credentials, board certification and past patient references.  I ask my friends for recommendations and I listen to what their treatment was like.  Sometimes the best information can be gleamed from word of mouth.  Even though that initial time is a "pain", I think in the long run, it saves us a ton of pain - pun intended.

And now hopefully, this is just one more thing to put behind us.  This remaining tooth, a result of a playground injury from the previous year, has been clinging to life since being traumatized.  The tooth next to it already went through a root canal and hasn't bothered our oldest daughter since.  The hope is that this will be the same.  Eventually, we will face more restoration but not until she is much older and her jaw and teeth are fully formed and erupted.

Even with that uncertain time ahead, I still feel calm.  I know that our daughter will be in good hands once the time comes.

Tonight, we will sleep in peace.  Well, for as much as one can while checking blood sugars:)