Braces

Today my Goldilocks got her braces. It is somewhat unusual to put braces on an 8 year old with a mouthful of baby teeth, but she really needs them now. Her mouth is too small so her adult teeth are trapped up in her gums. She also has teeth that have come in sideways, twisted perpendicular to other teeth. A couple teeth actually lay down, and her mouth is not big enough for her tongue! The orthodontist said that these deformities are something genetic often seen in Appalachian as well as Chinese children. The orthodontist is going to have to guide her jaw to grow bigger and stretch things out so there will be some space in there. So today we embarked on a 6 to 7 year journey of braces, retainers, and then braces again. At the end of this, however, she will be able to eat properly and have nice straight teeth.

As I sat in the  parent's chair rubbing Goldilock's leg during her procedure this morning, several things flowed through my mind. One thing is that it is amazing to me how God gives the strengths that we need when we need them. None of my other children could have sat through that procedure with such grace and cooperativeness as my dd showed. She seemed almost unaffected by all the things going in and out of her mouth while the braces were being placed. I was also struck with the sense that this was another opportunity for Goldilocks to know our love and for us to grow into a higher level of bonding as mother and daughter. We are embarking on this trial together. Somewhere deep inside her, this must be another reminder that she is a forever child. As the woman working on her told her, not every child is so fortunate to have parents that get them braces (even when there is a medical need). While this is so, there are also many parents who would like to provide such things but cannot, either because of finances or where they live. I am pretty sure they don't have braces available in most of the Third World. Also, our finances are not awesome. We have the essentials, but we are not rolling in it. However, we are very blessed that, even though her insurance will not cover braces (even when medically necessary), her adoption assistance will cover most of the cost. In our state, children adopted from the foster care system have a small pocket of money that they can dip into each year for things that insurance does not cover. By timing carefully, we were able to spread the next 15 months of payments over 3 years. What a blessing! 


Before braces!


Look how much they had to put in her mouth!  What a brave little trooper!


Here she is with her new braces and bag of supplies! 

Of course, I know that with a child who has RAD and FASD, there will be some fallout in the next few days. I already see hints of food issues. There will be some angry moments because she feels all warm and fuzzy towards me at the moment, something that a RAD child absolutely hates to feel. (You see, it makes her feel out of control, to have depended on the comfort of my hand on her leg during the 1 1/2 hour procedure.) This is to be expected, and I am building some margin in my life to make the next few weeks easier.  But, for now, I am very proud of Goldilocks and am enjoying my own warm and fuzzy feelings towards her!

Blessings, Dawn