Alex's Wisdom Teeth Trip

We got the news toward the end of our Houston stay that Alex needed his wisdom teeth out pretty soon.  I did try to get him in to see someone in Houston but it was impossible with just over a week left in our stay.  Instead, we had to fly to Singapore a week after school started to get the job done.  

We had a busy day.  7:30am flight and Alex started fasting just before we took off. He was not thrilled with me documenting the trip and forbid any pictures after surgery.

We landed and took a taxi directly to Raffles hospital.  Not the usual place to keep your baggage while you wait for a surgical consult!

After meeting the doctor, we had just enough time to hustle two blocks to our hotel, check in and drop our bags, then get back to the hospital for covid tests and pre-op.  He was in the OR by 2pm! Singapore is so efficient.

Goodbye wisdom teeth! He didn't love his souvenirs.

I got him back to the hotel room that evening and let him sleep off the anesthesia. We spent the next several days resting up together while I made trips downstairs to Bugis Junction for food and necessities.  The hotel was so sweet to send him a little get well pudding after a few days and exactly when he was ready to eat something soft.

After 4 days of ensure shakes, pudding, ice cream, smoothies, and some Indomie, Alex was ready to eat something solid! He enjoyed every crumb of this cupcake.

We had to stay through Monday to get clearance from the doctor to fly back to Jakarta, so it left us a little time to have one fun afternoon together when he was feeling energetic enough.  Alex always wants to hit the top of the Marina Bay Sands and it made him so happy to get out and have a grilled cheese with a view.

As an added bonus, my friend Katrice had just moved to Singapore a few weeks prior and I was so happy to get to spend two afternoons with her!

It's a lovely look, but that boot was pretty helpful to walk a few blocks here and there.

 Now we're happy to be back in Jakarta and hopeful that no one needs anything medical for quite a while!

Back to Jakarta

Ah, the game of fit-everything-we-bought-all-summer-into-suitcases was a little more challenging this time around.  I wasn't walking much and had to take breaks so it took much longer than usual.

Thankfully, this was not my first rodeo and we got everything packed.  Even had extra room to buy more groceries and squeeze in the bag of books Ben almost forgot.

It was not the easiest trip for me.  The big ole boot did keep me protected and allowed me to walk but it wasn't comfortable and of course my foot swelled on the plane. I've never been more thankful for a big seat to keep my foot elevated the whole trip, though!

Goodbye, Texas! See you next time!

We arrived super late into Doha but we were escorted by golf cart straight to our next flight, which was patiently waiting for our arrival.  Even two of our 6 checked bags made it in 15 minutes! (and thankfully the rest arrived on the next flight)

Back to Jakarta and the long day of trying to stay awake! Ben was happy to see all the birds and spend time with them. I was happy for once that I didn't unpack everything on one day because I just couldn't walk that much.  It was nice having some bags show up the next day to force me to slow down.

We don't usually cut it so close, but just a few days later, these two both headed to high school and year 6 at JIS! Grades 9 and 11

The moms celebrated a real start to school IN PERSON for the first time since 2019!

I celebrated baby steps toward healing up!