Week’s End Recap

Howdy!

     It has been a very busy week, but since I just finished with the last appointment, I decided I’d go ahead and let y’all know how everything went.

Monday was an off day, so I got to just rest.  Tuesday started off with the dentist and then the chiropractor.  Wednesday, I had an ultrasound of my thyroid and then the chiropractor again.  Thursday was pretty chill.  We had our weekly home health nurse’s visit in the morning and then I got to rest the remainder of the day.  Today we ran some errands and went to the chiropractor.  And oh, how I look forward to having a break for the weekend!!  

So, we shall start with the dentist appointment... it was very encouraging!  He was VERY shocked at just how bad my teeth had gotten in the four months since I saw him last.  He is very concerned!  Even though I was only scheduled in an exam slot, he took the time to build up my two front teeth and put artificial enamel on them to hopefully buy us some time, keep them from spiraling farther downhill, and help lessen pain until they can get me in somewhere to get more permanent treatment since I have to be under anesthesia for extensive dental work due to being allergic to all numbing agents.  I’m supposed to go back July 7th to get the next two done.  He is afraid if something isn’t done now that they will progress where there will be no hope for keeping any of the teeth, but the exciting thing is there is a good chance that we will be able to save at least my front 4 teeth.  It’s inevitable that some have to be removed but at least the front ones are looking promising!  My dentist is having me gently wash my teeth with a washcloth instead of brushing them because the enamel that is left is so fragile that it is literally getting brushed off with the toothbrush.  I’m just so happy and thankful that there may be hope for some of my teeth after all!  The pain and sensitivity in the two teeth that he temporarily fixed has greatly diminished which is a VERY welcomed relief!  It’s amazing how much it helps just eliminating a couple sources of pain plus I think it helped me some emotionally to have a little hope of not losing all of my front teeth at 26 years old!  And I even survived the trip without any major heart attacks! ;)  I really was much calmer traveling than I thought I would be.  I’m ever so slowly conquering my road fear with the Lord’s help.  Still struggling, but we just have to take it one moment at a time!

I haven’t received any results about my thyroid ultrasound, but I don’t expect to until I have the blood work done and see my endocrinologist...which may be a while with all of the covid regulations at the doctors offices.  I can’t go in alone and right now that’s how it would be so I’m just waiting it out until they lift some restrictions.

I’m finally seeing more noticeable changes in my neck.  It still has a LONG way to go and the chiropractor is still unable to adjust it because of the muscles being locked, but he has been able to add in some more stretches (in addition to the ice and stem treatment) and my range of motion is expanding some.  I would say I probably have the ability of turning my head almost halfway in each direction which is a big difference from where I was right after the wreck which was hardly any movement whatsoever!  It takes effort and pain to move it and I’m often still not moving it much at all just due to the pain, but I’m trying to make sure I’m mindful of that and intentionally keep it moving as far as it will because that’s the only way we’re going to continue making progress.  The rest of my back is touch and go, but making pretty good strides in the right direction!  So that’s been a bit encouraging as well!

Please keep praying about my J tube.  It continues to really bother me a lot and is beginning to get a little concerning.  We know it is in place and the balloon is where it should be, but it continues to really hurt.  Irritation in the nerves and tissue of the stoma (hole for tube) can take quite a while to calm down for a J tube, but if it lasts too much longer I may see about getting a CT done just to make sure there is no structural damage to the stoma.

Well, I think that is it for this week!  I am ready to crash and sleep all weekend! :)

Taking Life One Busy Day at a Time...

Allison

Hi there!

      I apologize for not updating sooner.  It has been a fairly busy week and any time I’m not out for an appointment, I’m zonked out on the couch due to the continued exhaustion and such, plus trying to recover from the car accident.

So, my dental appointment didn’t happen.....again!  We got halfway there and got a phone call to inform me that they had accidentally scheduled me with the wrong dentist.  At least this time was a phone call and not a car accident! :)  My appointment is now scheduled for Tuesday (the 16th) with my dentist so hopefully it can actually happen and we can get something done with these teeth!

The J tube check went well.  It is in the correct spot and the retention balloon is where it is supposed to be.  It’s still hurting quite a bit, but at least there is no bad injury to the stoma.  Most likely it is just really irritated from the seat belt cutting across it in the wreck.

Recovery is going very slowly.  The longer it draws out, the harder it is to stay strong.  I’m so grateful for the Lord’s strength because my tank is running on empty and I could never do it without Him!  I am in quite the pain on top of all the other symptoms I had been experiencing previously.  My neck is the worst of it all right now.  It is still very “stuck” and just SO painful.  I actually ended up having some bruising show up at the base of my neck from the severity of the whiplash.  I am making progress...just VERY slowly.  It doesn’t help that I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (connective tissues disorder) which causes injuries to be more severe and take longer to heal.  The nerves injured in my neck combined with hitting my head has magnified my existing headache (from what is thought to be caused by my anemia).  I know it could always be worse and I’m very grateful that it isn’t...but honestly, sometimes it’s hard to focus on that.  Trust me, I’m trying, though! :)  God is always good and does what is best no matter how things may look to our human eyes.  

One thing that has come out of this wreck that may be a blessing is that when I was transported to the hospital from the wreck and they did a CT to check my head and neck, it was discovered that I have a nodule on my thyroid.  It could be nothing or it could be “everything”.  My dad has one and it’s completely benign, but if it is causing problems it can cause the symptoms (headache, exhaustion, etc.) that I have had for months!  I have doubts that the symptoms are all caused by my anemia just because when my numbers bounce around and go up a little, my symptoms don’t improve.  Granted the numbers are always very low so it is a possibility that anemia could be the culprit, but I’m very interested to see if this thyroid thing could be the cause.  My endocrinologist is ordering some blood tests and an ultrasound to investigate farther to see whether or not the thyroid function is being altered by the nodule.

This next week is looking rather full!  We have the chiropractor three times and I have my dentist appointment plus Daddy and a sister have appointments as well.  So yeah, busy week for both me and my family.  I would appreciate prayers for safe travels and good appointments!  It may sound ridiculous to some, but would you pray for some extra peace for my heart when traveling to the dentist?  I have greatly struggled with fear while traveling anywhere that has any roads merging (to the point that most of the time I close my eyes and hold my breath to avoid screaming and causing another crash) because of the accident and to put it bluntly, I’m quite uneasy even thinking about traveling that same road where it happened.  I know it may sound crazy, but the fear is very real!

I write this so much, but I always mean it....thank you for praying and supporting me through some of my hardest times!  I have received comments, texts, a sweet card from a lady in my church, and even you clicking on that little heart at the end of the post means so much to me!  Y’all have been amazing!  Thank you!

Taking Life One Long Day at a Time....

Allison

Big Day Ahead! (Appointments)

Howdy!

     So, I just wanted to jump on here and ask for your prayers tomorrow (Monday).  I’ve got a loooooong day ahead of me!  It starts with the dentist at 9:00am.  Looking forward to hopefully getting things started in the right direction to get these teeth taken care of!!  Then it’s to the chiropractor at 12:00pm and finish off the appointments with getting my J tube checked out at 2:00pm.  My J tube has been hurting quite a bit and having episodic swelling around it since the wreck and so they’re going to check it out and make sure everything is ok.  Please pray that it’s just irritation from the trauma of the seatbelt and not that it’s injured!  Injury to the J tube stoma is much harder to heal than irritation.

I appreciate your prayers for safe travels and successful appointments!

Allison

In Every Thing Give Thanks

I got in with my chiropractor yesterday evening for an evaluation of my injuries from the car accident.  He was very concerned about my neck especially and wanted to make sure when I went to the ER that they had done testing to check it out. 

Our beautiful Matilda Jane (Mercedes Sprinter)
before she was injured in the wreck.

 He said my neck is very swollen and has muscle guarded which means the body is not allowing it to move....not only can I not hardly move it at all, but he can’t passively move it either.  He said it’s doing what the body commonly does when you’ve broken your neck.  But the CT was negative in the ER and his X-rays confirmed there is no fracture but boy, is my neck MAD!  The X-rays of my neck and mid back both showed pretty severe injury consistent with whiplash and being flung around.  I’m very grateful that I was wearing my seatbelt or it could’ve been much worse especially with what force we were hit.  I admit I’m not a faithful seatbelt wearer, but I do believe I’m going to become one!!  It’s crazy how a wreck can traumatize you... when we were traveling yesterday it was all I could do not to scream every time we encountered an on ramp or any kind of traffic where two roads come together in the same motion that we were struck.  It just scares me now — I guess my brain just automatically brings back what happened in the wreck.  It is easy to see all of the negatives and be upset that all of this happened because someone wasn’t paying attention and ran a stop sign, but I’ve been reminded of the Lord’s protection and grace recently.  With the speed and force she hit us with, if we had been in the smaller car we had been using instead of our huge new van the outcome could be much different! 

Some of the damage caused by the wreck.

 The car would’ve been totaled, the impact most likely would’ve knocked us into the next lane with oncoming traffic which would mean we would be hit again, and injuries could be a LOT worse!  If I’m not careful I just feel the horrid pain I’m in, see the things I can’t accomplish right now, and focus on how it could’ve been prevented.....but, I want to take some time and see how our gracious Lord protected us and he gives strength to get through each moment of the day.  I don’t know why all of this happened, but I do know I have an all-powerful God Who holds me in His hands and only allows what is good for me even when it doesn’t seem like it.  

I was asked in a comment on my last post if Ezra was with me and was he ok.  Yes, he was with me, but he is fine!  He was buckled in and uninjured. He was shook up a little because of all the

My precious Ezra taking a snooze
in our rental car.

commotion (and I was hurt so that didn’t help matters), but calmed down pretty quickly.  I am so very thankful that he wasn’t harmed!

Another blessing...  I have another appointment with my dentist on Monday at 9:00am!  Grateful they could get me in soon since I couldn’t quite get to my last appointment seeing as how I was in the ER! ;)

“The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.”

{Nehum 1:7}

When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned

So, probably most of you are expecting a report on my dentist appointment.  Well, it never happened.  We got to Waxhaw and, 15 minutes before my appointment time, were struck by a fully accelerating car pulling out from a high end housing development.  We had just gotten a new to us van on Friday and it had to be towed because it was no longer drivable.  We were hit so hard that the van came up on the two left tires and I was sure we were going to end up on our side.  Thankfully, it came back in contact with the ground right side up!  I could watch it happening and was screaming “no, no, no, no, NOOOOOOO!!!!!”....like that was going to help anything! ;)  I was wearing my seatbelt but my upper body was slung every whichaway.  I was instantly in horrendous head and neck pain and thought for sure my neck was broken.  I hit my head on my seat and possibly on the window to the left side of me.  I was a big mess....I was whaling not only because of the immense pain I was in but also because I was going to miss my dental appointment that I was so looking forward to and the nice sprinter van that we had just gotten was in rough shape.  The side was all creamed, the back tire rim was bent, and the tire was busted.  When the EMTs arrived, they put me in a cervical collar and took me to the ER to be checked out.  I was VERY grateful for pain medication once I got to the hospital!!  They did a CT scan and it was negative for any bleeding on the brain or fractures.  So its a major case of whiplash and a hard knock to the noggin.

Little did I know that, within 30 minutes
of taking this picture, I would be in
a cervical collar, headed to the hospital
in an ambulance!

It was a blessing that they made an exception to allow my sister to ride in the ambulance as a passenger and allowed her to go into the ER with me!  I’ve ridden in an ambulance many a time but lying flat on my back, wearing a neck brace from an injury resulting from a car accident is certainly a first for me.  I am home now, but very stiff and still in an enormous amount of pain.  Please pray for a speedy recovery and that I’ll be able to get another appointment with my dentist soon!

One thing is for sure....some days definitely don’t turn out like you

plan!  The ER nurse said “I bet this isn’t how you expected your day to turn out.” to which I replied “this is a far cry from the dentist!” LOL

Taking Life One Unexpected Change at a Time....

Allison

Dentist

Hi friends!

      Just a quick note to let you know I have an appointment with my dentist tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at 11:00.  Please pray this will be a profitable appointment and we can make some good plans to get this taken care of in the near future!  I don’t know how much longer I can stand it.

Thank you in advance for your prayer!!
Allison