Poor Mitch

To say he has had a rough week would be an understatement. It all started Tuesday afternoon when he fell getting out of Jared's van. His chin caught his fall which forced his two front teeth into his lower lip and one of his front teeth up into his gum slightly. (So one of his front teeth is halfway gone, not chipped but "intruded" back into his gum- ouch!) This was traumatic. Probably more so for Mitch because he was the one bleeding but I was still traumatized - especially because I felt his future dental wellness was on the line! However, Jared's older brother, a dentist, was able to talk me off the ledge. He reassured me that he would be fine, that the tooth could potentially come back down on it's own and that he probably didn't damage the permanent tooth behind it. Okay, I was feeling a little better until Wednesday morning. We decided to make a family trip to Wal-mart. (Of course. Because isn't that where all the white trashy parents take their battered children?) As soon as we walk in the door, Mitch trips, falls and hits his already bloodied and swollen mouth on the wheel of the shopping cart. It took all my will power to hold it together at this point. I thought for sure we were going to pick him up and he was going to start spitting out all his teeth. His mouth did start bleeding again but we were able to calm him down quickly. No more damage to his teeth but his lip is now EXTRA swollen. Mitch seems fine but I'm feeling more and more like a negligent parent and I'm also feeling paranoid, thinking the sweet old lady who greeted us is busy calling social services. I'm guessing at this point many of you are probably thinking about calling them too. (FYI: The sharing of similar experiences: "You'll never guess how my son got a black eye..." and/or a little stroking of my shrinking ego as a mother: "Kim, you're the greatest mom ever!" would certainly make appropriate comments, but no pressure.)
Here you can see his swollen face and partially intruded front tooth after the second fall:

So, while that's the end of the tooth drama (for now anyway) Mitch woke up Thursday with a cold that made his eyes very swollen and seeping fluid. It was a lovely addition to his fat lip and gimpy looking tooth. And as if that were not enough for one week, last night he woke up in the middle of the night with the stomach flu. He can't keep anything down. Since all his sheets and blankets are being washed, he just fell asleep on our living room floor:


Poor guy! Hopefully next week will start and end on a brighter note.