I just got off my exercise bike. When I’m on my bike, my brain wanders to all the things going on in life and how I’m going to manage. It dawned on me that I don’t think I have ever written about William and teething. I’m sweaty and gross but the breeze on my patio is perfect – just in case anyone was wondering. So, I have borrowed my kid’s laptop and thought I’d jot down some thoughts on teething.

And it just so happens that William is in fact teething currently.

I know I know, every kid goes through it. But add some dystonia into the mix and make it last for 11 years and counting – that gives teething a new meaning all of a sudden. It’s witchcraft at it’s worst.

Teething has been like the ocean in our life. It ebbs and flows and we never know when it’s going to roll up on the beach gently or when it’s going to engulf all of the driftwood at the highest point on shore, or if it’s going to rip all the homes apart across the street.

When it rolls up gently, it increases William’s tone and is fairly easily managed with a dose of Tylenol. When teething is like the ocean as it engulfs driftwood, it requires Tylenol and an ibuprofen product as well. At this level, his tone is hard to control, all bodily functions get more difficult – breathing, pooping, peeing, eating, and he starts throwing up. But we have learned to manage and we can keep William fairly comfortable once we get it under control.

When the teething ocean is taking out homes across the street, it’s on the edge of looking like dystonic storms.

He grinds his teeth, he moans constantly, arches his back, his arms and legs go stiff, his face is tight and even his toes and ankles show the level of tone he’s fighting and the level of discomfort he is in.

Each level builds upon the one that came before it.

I’ve become pretty good at spotting teething before it’s out of control. And it can be easily confused with a need to go to the bathroom, air in his belly, pain anywhere on his body, hunger, boredom, or reflux – among other things.

Teething for a child who does not eat by mouth is a considerably longer process. Most children chew and their teeth come through. They chew on things to ease the discomfort and they chew their food, all of which helps those teeth come to the surface – William does not chew so we just wait – challenge accepted.

For William, we managed for several years by literally grinding it out. He slowly was losing teeth and his adult teeth would slowly start to arrive. A couple of years ago William went in for dental surgery to remove a number of baby teeth but there were a few left in place to preserve the shape of his jaw and tooth alignment. Since that surgery things have been fairly good. There has been less ebb and flow I would say. And definitely fewer times where the waves were taking out the homes across the street. But we still deal with some level of teething a lot.

Sometimes it lasts a day and sometimes it lasts for a week.

I can’t wait for this ocean to calm and for that last adult tooth to rise above the surface. I have a feeling that there will be a new challenge by the time this happens. But we will deal with that when it happens.

~ Keely

Keely is an author and advocate for children living with disabilities. She lives on Vancouver Island in beautiful British Columbia, with her husband, her son William who has cerebral palsy, her two daughters and several four-legged friends.