One Year Later: Remembering, with Gratitude

Colson, Pre-Accident

One year ago today on April 21, 2014 my nine year-old son Colson went to catch a pop fly ball during a youth baseball game. It missed his glove and slammed right into his mouth.  Three teeth were broken off and a fourth was knocked a bit loose.  When it first happened, I had no idea how bad the injury was.  As I ran out on to the field at a full sprint, all I could see was blood everywhere.  And he was screaming.  This is a kid with Sensory Processing issues, so he feels pain more acutely than the rest of us. I had no idea if the blood was coming from his head, his nose--- what…

Also rushing out on to the field were several medical personnel who were already in attendance.  Moms who are nurses, PA’s, etc.  By the time all the grownups got to Colson, he had at least 4 professionals around him.  I also witnessed one gentleman sprinting full-out to the concession stand to get ice.  This guy was built like an NFL wide receiver—I couldn’t believe how fast he flew by me.  Without a second thought, one of the moms, Jonell Lewis offered her jacket for Colson, to hold the ice, catch the blood, etc.  At the time I assumed the jacket was ruined, but it didn’t matter to her. One mom even had the presence of mind to put a tooth fragment we were able to recover into some milk-- she handed me her child's sippy cup. It had just enough liquid in it to keep the tooth immersed.  It turns out that we didn't need the tooth fragment (it was too small to use later in the reconstruction work), but I was still so grateful to her at the time.  My head was spinning that evening, and I never would have thought of the tooth preservation in milk.

These amazing folks cared for Colson as I ran to my car.  I didn’t want to wait for an ambulance.  By this point we could see that although there was a lot of blood, we were “just” dealing with a dental injury. No head trauma or ER-requiring wound.  I wanted to get to a dentist right away. We didn’t even take the time to swing by home and pick up his father. I had no idea how bad the problem was.  Had he completely lost his teeth? Could we salvage anything?  There was just too much blood and swelling.

To make a long story (within an already long story) short, we met our dentist Dr. Lindsay Sammons of Howard Family Dental for an after-hours visit.  We drove 30 minutes out to Savannah to meet her in the middle, as she lived out on Skidaway Island.  Fortunately their practice has more than one location, so we didn’t have to wait for her to drive all the way into Pooler, our suburban home.  Poor Colson was in such pain, he was scared and by this time could not talk, his mouth was so swollen. I asked him if he’d like to watch a movie on the car DVD player, which was a special treat.  He was happy to watch Tron Legacy or Star Wars, I can’t recall which one it was.  But bottom line, I knew he was going to be okay when he was content to watch the movie with the improvised ice pack on his mouth as we waited.

While I was holding it together emotionally, I was still pretty panicked about the situation, worried about his teeth, hoping he’d be okay.  As I waited for Dr. Sammons to drive into town (we arrived about 15 minutes before she did), I got on the phone with Colson’s godmother, my dear friend Dr. Kimberly Pinyan, a dentist in Winston-Salem, NC.  She was able to ask me questions, calm my fears and give me advice on what was going on. Colson was contentedly watching his movie in the car, and I was outside getting some serious comforting.  I was (an am) so grateful.

Colson on the Mend, Watching Movies

By the time Dr. Sammons and her assistant arrived and got Colson in the dental chair, it was about 9:15pm at night.  He wasn’t crying too much anymore, but it was impossible for him to speak, his lips were so swollen. Dr. Sammons not only needed to get into his mouth, but she also had to ask him questions to assess the situation. We gave him a pen and paper to write on so that he could communicate.  I was absolutely struck at how brave he was being.  In years past, just a simple scrape or cut would send him into a flurry of anxiety.  Yet now with this serious injury, he was really holding it together well, answering her questions, being brave as she had to go into his pain-wracked mouth to assess things, even take x-rays. Colson had much more bravery within him than I’d ever credited him for.

Dr. Sammons got him cleaned up as well as could be done, and determined that three teeth were broken off and one was “mobile”.  Fortunately, all the roots were intact. No tooth was completely lost. She sent us home with some prescriptions and planned to meet us at her office in about 36 hours, to give his tissues a chance to recover.  I drove to an all-night pharmacy to get him his prescriptions, and administered the meds to him in the parking lot, which took a while.  I could barely get the liquid into his mouth.  But he showed real bravery, and I could tell he was doing his best to have courage in the situation.

He was out of school for a couple of days, and soon began a long process of dental treatment that would last for months.  This involved recovery care, reconstruction to three teeth (done by Dr. Cara DeLeon of Pediatric Dentistry of Savannah) and frequent monitoring by Dr. Sammons and an endodontist, Dr. Rebecca Martin of Endodontic Associates of Savannah.  All of the professionals agreed that at some point, the somewhat-loose upper tooth is going to need a full root canal.  It’s a year later and the tooth is holding on, but it’s only a matter of time before we have to get that procedure done. If nothing else, he’ll need it to be straightened properly.

Colson was able to completely floor me again—I was sure he would be too afraid to ever go back on the baseball field again.  But to my utter shock, he wanted to get back out there as soon as possible! This is not at all what I expected.  In fact, I thought he’d be so emotionally traumatized by the experience that he’d never want to get near any ball of any sport ever again.  He did have to sit out of at least one game I believe, and when he did return he wore a face-masked helmet for protection.  Later he also began wearing a mouth guard when his swelling went down.  Indeed, his coach also told all of the kids to start wearing mouth guards.  Had Colson been wearing one, he probably would have had a split lip, but I doubt much dental injury would have occurred.

Coach Lewis Giving a Post-Game Chat in May 2014

When we returned to the ball fields for that first game back, we were amazed at how much the incident had affected everyone around us.  People we didn’t even know (including our opposing team) immediately began praying for him as the emergency unfolded.  At that point none of us knew how bad his injury was, so it was scary for all involved.  Many strangers wanted to know how he was doing, and wanted us to know he was being prayed for.  I had people I didn’t even know tracking me down on Facebook, too.   Coach Ben Lewis and his wife Jonell came by our home to check on him, and the team got together and gave him a get-well present too.  The generosity and compassion shown by our community was just amazing.  It’s one reason I enjoyed living in Pooler for the three years we did.

The Late Alex Newsome

In the last year, Colson has continued to improve.  He finished out the baseball season and has gone on to play soccer and basketball as well.  The previously-broken teeth look amazing, and we’re keeping an eye on that fourth tooth.  Through all of this, I’m so grateful for good medical care and for how well he’s recovered.  I don’t take that for granted.  Just ten days before on April 11, 2014 in Wilmington, NC,  young Alex Newsome, a sixth-grader, was killed when he was hit in the head by a baseball during practice.  That easily could have been my Colson. So while our situation was horrible, it could have been so much worse.  I pray for the Newsome family today, as I’m sure they are grieving on this one year anniversary month.  And I will do my utmost to treasure every minute I have with those that I love.

Colson on his 10th Birthday, April 9, 2015 - One Year Later