Dr. Visits and Surgery Scheduled

I actually had an ENTIRE week with NO doctor's appointments.  That is the first week of the entire summer.  Most weeks I have had multiple appointments even.  This week is no different.  I had two appointments, both on the same day, so thankfully I only had to drive the hour there and back on one day instead of two separate days.  The first appointment was with the shot Doc, Dr. C.  This was a re-check on my foot primarily, and to go over what I have been doing, progress made and any other issues. My foot is not 100% healed, so he did just a couple shots and told me that I need to keep wrapping it daily for 2 more weeks. (Maybe the last week of summer I can get ride of the tan lines this has created????)  I discussed with him some shoulder issues I have been having, which he believes to be strained/pulled tendons.  He did some stretches and pressure points with me for that and said we will keep an eye on it.  I go back to him  in 4 weeks to re-check things.  At that point he may do some work on my neck and/or lower back area depending on my progress at that point.
I had a 3 hour break in between appointments...so I went SHOPPING!  I got some great deals at Good Will, and Kohls and was able to browse a bit at Target, and a few other stores.  It was nice to shop and know that I didn't need to rush home...although, I was feeling a bit rushed at the end of the 3 hours!
In the process of shopping, I was able to take a minute and talk to the surgeon's office to set up my surgery to correct the deviated septum in my nose.  The kids and I are going out of town for a week and when we get back there is only a week left before school starts.  We were really worried about the timing of the surgery...getting an appointment before school but not during vacation.  It worked out perfectly (why did I doubt that God would time this all out for me?), and I am scheduled to go in on Monday, August 4 for a 3:30 pm surgery.  We also have all three kids at the dentist that day and football practice, but I know God will work that all out too! (smile)
Then on to the main specialist, the dentist, Dr. K.  This was mostly a re-check visit. It had been 3 weeks since I had seen him.  We talked about how important it was for me to do everything that he asked me to (vitamins, supplements, wearing my appliances, sticking to my gluten free, dairy free, sugar free diet, etc).  He told me it would be at least a 3 month span of all of those things, if not longer.  He was excited that I had set up the surgery and went over the process of it and recovery. He wants to see me 2 days post-op in order to laser the nasal area, which will aid in the swelling and healing process.  At the end, I was telling him about the long drive I would be making with the kids and my concern about no caffeine and asked if I could PLEASE have diet coke.  He encouraged other options first but admitted that he, himself had "cheated" and had a diet coke on a long drive a couple of weeks prior.  It is nice to have a doctor that is following the same diet guidelines and "gets it" and knows the struggles!  He also showed me a way to travel using a pillow that will help my neck on the long drive.  Hoping it does wonders, as the drive usually results in quite a lot of stiffness.
Have I mentioned lately how blessed I feel by this set of doctors?  Especially Dr. K.  Oh...he also gave me some suggestions to help me sleep better...last night, they didn't help, but that was probably because of a storm and 6 year old in my bed with her foot in my back!  Ha!  We'll try again tonight!
Still feeling hopeful, enjoying much less headaches and some lower pain days as well!  God is good...ALL the time!

Appliances, Trigger Point Injections and Pre-Surgery Visits

Two more doctor's appointments since I wrote last.  I have now gone nearly 2 weeks with my new set of appliances in my mouth.  For the most part I have adjusted and don't notice the day appliance a lot, other than when I eat as chewing up food is a bit harder to do.  I'm sleeping better too so the night guard must not be giving me too many problems.  Last Thursday, I went back to the primary physician (dentist) in all of this, Dr. K. It was basically a check up to determine how the appliances were fitting, if I had concerns with them, how I was adjusting to them, etc.  We did a round of strength testing again and he also evaluated all of the vitamins and supplements I am on to make sure the doses were correct. He actually did some trigger point injections on my neck, as well as lasered my jaw and neck area.  The trigger point injections caused a bit of a flare up in pain the next few days, but I'm over that hump and the effect was minimal.  This is normal after a trigger point injection to have soreness and more pain briefly.  He talked to me about the surgery for the deviated septum and that he wanted me to get that scheduled quickly so that we are all working together. He said all I had to do was call and schedule the surgery with their office. I don't go back to Dr. K for a couple of weeks to see how the appliances are going.

When I got home, I called the ENT, Dr. L.  His office said I could NOT just schedule it and that I had to come back in for another consult. They couldn't get me in until July 21 for the consult.  So, knowing that Dr. K was willing to pull some strings before, I emailed him and asked him if he would rather get me in earlier or if he was okay with waiting few weeks before the consult.  He emailed me back within 5 minutes to let me know that he would take care of it and that I would get a call with a new appointment on Monday morning (the office was already closed for the long holiday weekend).  First thing Monday morning I got a call that I would go the next day, Tuesday for the appointment with Dr. L!  Wow! Once I got there, I discovered he doesn't usually see patients after lunch on Tuesday but fit me in before his first surgery of the day.  (Hmmm...God's timing again)
So, he went over the surgery with me, what he will do, how he will do it (although I'd rather not have known the details--smile), side effects, possible risks, etc.  He then informed me that my insurance was simply delightful (which I TRULY already knew)...my insurance requires me to go on a 10 day antibiotic nasal spray to see if it will heal me before doing the surgery.  Now, a nasal spray cannot and will not move a deviated septum back to where it is supposed to be...BUT, we have to jump through this hoop.  So, he gave me samples so it wouldn't cost me anything, and told me they would call me in at the end of next week to see if I have miraculously been cured by nasal spray, at which point they will schedule the surgery over the phone with me for as soon as possible.  Now...I KNOW that God is going to prove evident again, because the timing is all very tricky...Our 4-H fair is next week, but that is still during my 10 days of nasal spray...the call will come at the end of the week to schedule the surgery.  The week after the fair, we are home, and then the kids and I are travelling to visit my in-laws for the following week.  When we return, I will have one full week before school starts...so basically I am limited on the 'When' of getting this done, but as the history of my story this summer shows, God's timing will be perfect and prevail.  I don't doubt it at all.
So now...I am focused on the fair and enjoying a  week and a half OFF from driving to doctor's visits!  Still feeling so positive, hopeful and relying on God's grace and strength...until next time...