We have been preparing for this vagabond lifestyle for
years. Especially this last year we did
all those medical tests and procedures that we knew would be easier with our
local doctors. We had those colonoscopies
that we had both been putting off, and we told our local dentist to be sure our
teeth were in top condition. But as
proof that it doesn’t matter how well you prepare, your body will still need
some health care when you are living full-time on the road. We just didn’t expect it quite so soon! Denisa first noticed an ache in her jaw the
second day we were away from Weatherford.
An occasional Tylenol kept that ache under control, and we were having
so much fun that it could be willed to be ignored. But every day was a little worse, until
Wednesday morning when the pain ramped up and it was obvious that she would have to
see a dentist.
This was when we could tell that God was taking care of
us. We were preparing to leave Abilene
for the drive four hours south to a state park outside of San Antonio. We called Mark’s brother in San Antonio, and
miraculously their highly regarded dentist office was covered by our dental
insurance plan. More miraculously, they
would hold a 4:50 appointment for me that day. When Dr. Hoeppner concurred that a root canal
would be needed, miraculously the endodontist he recommended was also in our
dental plan. Another miracle was that
this unknown walk-in patient could get an appointment with a specialist for a
root canal the very next morning! Some
people would call that a series of coincidences or just very good luck, but we
see that as a miracle of God taking care of us.
Dr. Hoeppner suggested I take 4 ibuprofen every six hours to
get me through the intense pain the night before the root canal. I had never taken more than one ibuprofen at
a time! But it hurt so much that I
followed the doctor’s orders and got some sleep that night. The root canal went smoothly on Thursday, and
afterwards Denisa felt so good she drug Mark down to the Guadalupe River that evening
for a very cold walk.
The timing of the root canal was even perfect. It was cold and rainy all day, so we would
have been motorhome-bound. So it was
perfect weather for a visit to the endodontist for a root canal!
Last month I had a tooth that needed to be extracted but I kept putting it off and putting it off for fear of the dentist. I wanted to pass on to your readers that because i waited, the tooth became abscessed and I made things worse. My eye blew up, and had I not gotten it taken care of, I could have damaged the eye permanently.
ReplyDeleteJoanna @ Westheimer Dentist
I am glad that it was a positive experience for you. I have not always had the best experiences but finally I found a dentist that I absolutely adore. She just knows when to give breaks and do rinses and she is also very fast. But as a whole, I just do my best to avoid any major tooth issues.
ReplyDeleteLeslie Robertson @ Masterpiece Smiles