"Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications."
"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him."
{Psalm 28:6-7}
Hi There!
Where do I begin??? Life has been crazy around here and it appears it is only going to get crazier!
To start with a happy note... My brother, SIL, and my 2 nieces came for a visit last weekend. I can't believe how much Little Valerie has grown in her first month and Vivian continues to keep everyone on their toes with something new every day! I think being with those little girls is one of the best therapies - its like my troubles just fly from my mind. Granted, I still have issues, but it just makes things not seem so bad.
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| Nothing like sleeping baby snuggles... I love being an auntie! |
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| Vivian and Ezra are such good friends and obviously love each other. He is so patient with her! |
Finally, after nearly a month of misery, my blood pressure has seemed to stabilize again. The last few days have been much better on that front.
However, my teeth have only gotten much worse. I have multiple visible cavities on my top teeth now and the pain has only escalated and it now includes both sides instead of just the right. I'm having spontaneous pain (meaning it is not always triggered by a food or temperature sensitivity) on my left teeth that gets nearly excruciating and can last up to 2 hours at a time. I went back to my UNC dentist yesterday because she wanted to see me to discuss the continued issues. Theres really no definitive answer as to why things were missed or if they are new issues. First she said it was because the anesthesia team had done oral intubation (I have a deviated septum plus scar tissue from having an NJ for nearly a year which makes nasal intubation impossible) so they couldn't do bite wing X-rays, but then she said it was because they didn't know I could tolerate them without a reaction. She made a statement that "the more X-rays we take, the more we find". So, I don't know if I'm developing cavities insanely fast (mix mast cells, dehydration, and malnutrition together and its possible) or if all of them have just been missed and have worsened. Anyway, with all that said, I saw her yesterday and she squeezed me in for an anesthesia pre-care right after I saw her and I'm scheduled to arrive Monday morning at 6am to go back in for another round of dental work under general anesthesia. We made it very clear to everyone that I am only to have plain saline and NOT lactated ringers and informed them that I had been in a bad flare up until the last few days most likely due to that mistake. The plan is to, Lord willing, leave home right after lunch tomorrow and head to Chapel Hill where we will be spending the night in a hotel in order to get to UNC hospital at 6 Monday morning. We live about 3 hours away from UNC which would make it extremely difficult to get out of the house, drive all the way there, and arrive on time at 6am! Here are a few specific prayer requests.....
- Safe travels to and from Chapel Hill.
- ALL issues with my teeth would be addressed and corrected this time.
- A better anesthesiologist that will take things more seriously and have a better attitude. I didn't jive too well with the one I had last time - I don't like it when people in the medical profession question if I really react to things that I say I do. Plus, when things aren't taken seriously, careless mistakes can be made [like giving me the wrong fluid]. Plus it just makes for a much more stressful experience. Okay, I'll get off my soap box now. ;)
- Strength, peace, and comfort for me (and my family) going back into this and calmness for my sweet Ezra as he can sense my feelings and is affected by all of this. The more anxious I am, the more anxious he will be.
- The procedure will go smoothly without any mistakes.
- A quick and smooth recovery without any flares.
Thank you so much for being my prayer warriors and making supplication on my behalf. I know He hears and answers. I began begging the Lord at the beginning of this week to allow me to get help for my teeth quickly because I just couldn't deal with the pain. By Wednesday I got a call from UNC saying my local dentist had conversed with my UNC dentist and she wanted to see me and scheduled for Friday morning. I then began fervently praying that they would have an opening really, really soon so I could get this fixed and end the horrible pain. When I got to my appointment yesterday, I was informed that she wanted to squeeze me in to see anesthesiology for a pre-op after she saw me and then squeeze me in on Monday to get it done. I was overjoyed! Yes, it might be weird to be so excited about this kind of thing, but when you're in extreme pain.....You do anything to get it to stop. I seriously had already become ok with the idea of telling them to pull all of my teeth and give dentures...now you know just how desperate I am! They don't plan to do that, by the way! ;) Now just as long as I come out of it with everything fixed this time! I understand they made some mistakes last time and some people wouldn't return to the same place after what happened, but I really think they'll be more careful this time and I really like my UNC dentist. People make mistakes....the important part is that they learn from them and don't repeat their mistakes. They did great with me when I went for the first time last year so I hope and pray that the third time is the charm and they do great again. I just have to keep reminding myself Who has me in His hands. Yes, I'm in the hands of the medical professionals that are caring for me while I'm unconscious, but ultimately I'm in the hands of The Great Physician Who never makes a mistake! What a comforting thought!
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
"For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."
{Isaiah 41:10&13}
Thank you in advance for your prayers and encouragement! I could never thank you enough for taking the time to care about little ole me and my dear family who goes through each struggle and battle with me. They need your prayers just as much as I do. I'm very thankful for my wonderful family who never leaves their post in advocating for me, protecting me from potentially devastating medical shenanigans, and sometimes literally fighting for me. The Lord has given me a huge blessing in my family and I never want to take that for granted! Not everyone has such a blessing!
Taking Life One Procedure at a Time......
Allison
