Tooth Fairy Magic
Small Acts That Really Matter in the Midst of Great Suffering
I’m currently enjoying a week away with my family at the lake. It has already been a much needed space to slow down and reflect, especially as the world around us continues to become more politically charged and chaotic.
I released a podcast episode yesterday with a friend and colleague from my years spent working in pediatric bone marrow transplant (BMT), and we talked about career pivots as moms in healthcare. I invite you to go and take a listen - and on the heels of that conversation, I wanted to share simple patient story I wrote down during my years working with our patients in BMT.
Years later, I’m still thinking about this little one, and I hope this snapshot brings you a smile today, during a week filled with so many heavy headlines…
She sat on the edge of her bed, a young girl battling cancer and having undergone a bone marrow transplant (BMT) in a last effort to save her life. “How are you today?” our medical team asked as we entered her room. She shook her head “NO,” and held a downcast gaze, unable to meet our eyes. After an initial exam and ruling out common BMT-related complications, she finally looked up and said, “my tooth… it’s my tooth”… She opened her mouth for our attending physician to thoroughly examine.
With a compromised immune system, the underlying cause of a tooth ache can be quite concerning for this type of patient. But in this case, there was no bleeding, no apparent sign of infection, or any other indicators that caused major medical concerns.
It turned out to be a simple matter of a wiggly tooth, a normal childhood phenomenon. In a situation that was otherwise completely abnormal for any child - who had spent weeks upon weeks in the hospital, battling a giant - here was a little girl who simply wanted someone to pull her tooth so that the Tooth Fairy could visit. She may have been facing the largest battle of her life, but the fact is that the Tooth Fairy still mattered. She still needed to know that despite everything that was abnormal around her, the Tooth Fairy was still there and could still put a smile on her face.
The irony of this struck me profoundly…
At the end of the day, humans are human. Kids are kids. And sometimes in life, even in the midst of greater suffering around us, it’s a “wiggly tooth” that becomes the biggest source of personal anxiety. And if we can open our mouths and share that wiggly tooth with others, they can come alongside us and help make a simple adjustment that makes a huge difference. It doesn’t necessarily fix our bigger circumstances, but it sure can give us hope.
Pulling that “tooth” won’t cure the cancer, and it won’t fix the problems of this increasingly divided world. It won't end a war, and it won’t fix our broken political system. But, by seeing each other as humans who are deeply hurting while also walking around with something as common as a child with a wiggly tooth… we can begin to recognize that the little things really are the big things that add up in this world. Like the Tooth Fairy in my little patient’s mind, we can bring each other hope through the most simple, kind ways. We can help alleviate some of the greater pain that we collectively feel when we take the time to address even the smallest needs around us.
So, this week, what’s your “wiggly tooth” that needs pulled? Not the cancer, just the wiggly tooth. What if you simply opened your mouth to share it with someone so that they can help you alleviate one small anxiety in your life that’s contributing to your overall wellbeing? How would that change your day to day outcome?
Also…can you be the “Tooth Fairy” for someone in your life this week? You can’t fix it all (their cancer, their heartache, the weight of this world) but you can put a smile on someone’s face in the simplest of ways.
It’s truly the little things,
Dr. Peek