The Dentist

A few days before the CT progress check, as I'm getting ready for bed I start having pain in my lower jaw. It goes from mild to severe in a matter of hours. Thankfully I'm a walking pharmacy and have pain meds!

The next morning I search for a dentist. Fun fact. It's nearly impossible to find a dental office open on a Friday. I find one, Berkley Lake Dental (has fantastic reviews on Yelp), his office is in-network, but I have to wait until Saturday. The pain is strange, and I'm having a hard time deciding between dentist or doctor, I reach out to my hygienist friend. She finds it odd as well, but wants me to keep the appointment. Seriously. It never ends. I'm in a constant state of what crazy health thing will happen next?!

Note:  I have not been to a dentist in YEARS. I hate dentists. As a kid, I had a lot of crazy stuff done. Never had cavities, but I was always walking away in pain. Always! As an adult, if dental anxiety is a thing I have it! At the very least, I'm expecting two cavities. 

The hygienist does her thing. Counting plaque and taking X-rays. The dentist comes in to review the X-rays. Four cavities, a root canal and "deep" cleaning. Now it's been a while, but every time I've been to a dentist when diagnosing they point out the problem on X-ray. This dentist did not. Fearing the cost, the treatment plan isn't bad. He even offered additional discounts. 

We schedule the root canal for the week after Thanksgiving. And as we leave he prescribes an antibiotic. Now, I'm incredibly thorough when it comes to filling out medical history and all things medication. I'm already taking an antibiotic for the infection, an additional antibiotic isn't necessary. 

My hygienist friend already warned me about the "deep" cleaning. If you haven't been to a dentist in a while, it's basically code for schedule a deep cleaning and typically unnecessary. She also explained "good" dentists don't do root canals themselves, but refer you to an endodontist. An endodontist specializes in root canals, they have the specialized equipment so it's faster and pain free. The are the dental pro red flags. 

My personal red flags. Not showing me the X-ray at diagnosis. And most important, he wasn't very thorough with my medical history & medication. My point in going was to find out if this was medical or dental pain. My medical history didn't seem like a consideration. Quite honestly, the pain was around the lymph node area and my greatest fear was the cancer had spread. 

After the appointment I call my friend, and go over the details. Something just doesn't seem right. He's nice enough, but the discount starts to feel less about being nice and more his way of making up for sticking it to the cancer patient. Trust your gut! My friend wanted me to visit her dentist for a second opinion. 

By Sunday, the pain that was once severe starts to lessen. By Monday, I only take pain meds to manage the drain tube pain and even that seems minimal compared to Saturday's pain level. 

My friend was able to get me squeezed in for an appointment Monday after the CT. My insurance would not cover additional X-rays, but the dentist eats the cost. (wow) He does a little plaque check. He pulls up the X-ray on the screen in front of the chair. Hello! Four cavities, no deep cleaning, no root canal. Not so much as a cavity in the tooth nutbag dentist at Berkley Lake Dental in Duluth GA diagnosed the root canal. The pain was most likely a hematoma. 

My dear friend just saved me $1500 & some serious PAIN!

As far as nutbag dentist at Berkley Lake Dental in Duluth GA, he can eat my cancer. Yeah. He knew I had cancer. He knew I had been through chemo. And surgery. And so much pain this year. And just because he wanted to earn an extra buck, he was prepared to put me through even more pain. 

More importantly, he very well could have caused delayed diagnosis of something much more severe. This guy is dangerous!

How on Earth do you begin to feel good about yourself? You, Dr. Duc Huynh, are a jack ass! Did offering discounts make you feel better about yourself? You know, I never say eff cancer because I'm quite thankful for the experience and things I've learned, but Dr. Duc Huynh DDS at Berkley Lake Dental in Duluth GA...eff YOU!!!

So yep, I haven't felt this miffed in a long time. Don't mess with the cancer patient! When you exploit their pain to fill your pocket, it is you, Dr. Duc Huynh DDS at Berkley Lake Dental in Duluth GA that will get what you deserve. Don't want to mess with the cancer patient that has some SEO skills. 

Treatment plan from Dr. Duc Huynh DDS at Berkley Lake Dental in Duluth GA:

Treatment plan from the honest dentist:

Drained

Dr. V has no explanation for the fluid return. He thinks it could be possible Dr. S perforated my bowel during surgery, and if that's the case I would need surgery to make repairs. Another surgery!? He orders a CT with barium to check for any "leaks" (his word). 

This is where I fall more deeply in love with Dr. H's office staff. When Dr. H orders a CT, it's scheduled at check out within minutes. When Dr. V orders a CT, I have to call and bark at his office staff to get it scheduled. After multiple calls, over several days, the CT with barium is scheduled for Friday. 

Later, as I'm drinking the blasted barium, I learned the scheduling delay was because the radiologist argued the procedure wouldn't show what Dr. V wanted so he changed it to a CT for better imagery. Yeah. You don't want to tell someone drinking barium the test may not work. Especially someone in my mental state...

Mindset:

What is a word for worse than miserable? My birthday is around the corner. I never make birthday plans, but this year I wanted to do something special. The last two months have been full of hospitals and doctors offices. I desperately needed time for myself. A moment to live. To forget C and celebrate another year lived. 

Now there is a possibility of an additional surgery, which would kill our vacation plans. A vacation that was planned a year ago, months before C re-entered our world. And who cares about me, Fred needs this vacation. He deserves a break from a being caregiver. Good grief. I know that stress. I know that heartbreak. And it kills me that I can't do anything make it better. He has given of himself so much, and I haven't been able to do anything in return. But I can make sure he has a fun & relaxing vacation. Please, sweet Jesus, let me give him this one thing!

The number of tears I have shed during this infection are innumerable. Its winning on so many levels and I hate it! I mean, loosing my hair and identity was a low point...but I still had a life. This is not a life. 

---

The Monday following the CT. We arrive at Dr. V's office for the regularly schedule supply pick. And wait...

"Oh, can you guys come back later today? Dr. V wants to meet with you and go over the CT results."

Dude. I'm pretty sure it's a miracle Fred didn't jump the woman. Sure lady. We don't have jobs like you. He explains to the woman that he has taken off work in order to be there, and now she's asking him to take more time. She looked at him as though he was speaking Mandarin. Consideration of others time, what is that?! And now I officially HATE this office.

We return. And wait all over again. Finally some good news. (Good news usually gets an exclamation point, but I'm so drained at this point my cheer is broken.) The fluid is clearing three more weeks of antibiotic, and if the drain is clear it can be pulled this week. He orders a CT for the week of Thanksgiving to check progress. And it's that fast. From scaring me with surgery to all is well. The C roller coaster is super fun guys!

Another Day, Another Drain

Three weeks pass. I'm feeling better, and am able to get out and drive myself for the first time since the liver surgery. Dr. V orders a CT to check the fluid has/is clear. The results are not good. The fluid has returned, and needs to be drained. An additional two weeks of IV antibiotics. 

Just as I start to feel better, this infection knocks me back down. And sure enough by the weekend I'm feeling the pain again. 

By this point I'm an old friend with all the nurses at the outpatient center, I walk in and one of the nurses sees me and gives me a hug. (50 points!) Today my nurse is Cletus (Janice...she has lots of names). 

Cletus was with me when the first drain was placed, so she knows how much pain I went through. And the same doctor for the procedure, so based on the previous pain he picks a different route for the catheter. No under boob this time! 

It is much easier going in blind not knowing the pain you're about to experience. Once you know, nerves and anxiety take over. Cletus held my hand the entire procedure, and anytime I started to squeeze her hand she pushed a little more sedative. Thankfully going through my back was much less painful than the under boob. Shocking, I know. 

The drain is left in place, and I get to go home with a bag wrapped around my leg. It's painful to move, but I can walk upright vs hunched over with the under boob drain. Small blessings. But the drain makes me miserable. I feel good, but it's too painful to get out and live, and I know once it's removed I can live again. 

I spend the next two weeks at home in bed only getting out for our weekly IV supply run. The drain is clear, but week two the abscess fluid returns. Before the drain was place, we had planned a get together with my dad's family. I was desperately hoping the drain would be pulled & I could enjoy that time pain free. But no, the infection wins again.