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June 9, 2006
Dental update
Courtney has been experiencing a lot of pain in her mouth every time she eats from the exposed nerves in 3 teeth. Three nights ago, it seemed worse than usual, and I was concerned that something might be infected, so thankfully our family dentist was able to squeeze us in on Wednesday morning. First, he took a panoramic x-ray, and gave every tooth a thorough inspection. Surprisingly, the xray and his examination concluded that she only has ONE completely missing tooth (root and all). Aside from the missing tooth, there were 3 badly broken teeth, and a few other chipped teeth. He said that Courtney would probably only need one implant, and that he would be able to fix the other teeth himself. A couple of the broken teeth were snapped off at or just above the , but I guess there's still enough material there to work with.
Overall, it was a great prognosis. In order to fix the pain, the dentist said he had to do root canals on the 3 broken teeth. Given Dr. Park's rather stern warning about avoiding "invasive" dental work for 3 weeks, he called Dr. Park's office on Thursday to get authorization for the root canals. Thankfully, he got approval, so he came in on his day off this morning to do the root canals (During the summer, he takes Fridays off). I dropped Courtney off at 8:00, and when I picked her up 2 hours later, not only did she have the root canals, but she also had some temporary teeth. The dentist was able to use filling material to build up some semi-permanent teeth over the recent root canals. They look surprisingly good. I didn't realize how powerful that filling material was. Courtney now has most of her smile back, which if you know Courtney, was an integral part of her personality. It was a wonderful surprise.
Thankfully, he had a previous panoramic xray from a prior visit, so he was able to see a before an after picture of the damage. One of the cool things about the new panoramic x-ray was that you could see 3 of the titanium "plates". The one on her right jaw, and two on her lower right and left cheeks. They actually looked more like flattened links in a chain, or a series of connected ovals. Nothing like what I had expected.
Also, a couple days ago, Courtney realized that one of the wires from the arch bars had been missed, but thankfully it's not bugging her too much. The dentist was planning to remove it today, but ran out of time. We still have a normal cleaning scheduled for next Tuesday, so we'll get it removed then.
Courtney continues to make progress. While my reports have always been optimistic, and rightfully so. The fact remains that she's probably not going to be operating above 80% for a few more months. She can see pretty well looking straight forward, but her right eye muscle quickness and peripheral vision is still pretty impaired. Also, while she looks fantastic, especially now that she has some teeth, there are going to be some permanent physical changes to her face that will obviously take some getting used to, and we're still praying for continued recovery. Obviously this is emotionally difficult for Courtney. We would both appreciate your continued prayers. Seriously, I say this a ton, but not nearly enough, we have been truly touched by the tremendous love and support you have all shown for our family during this time. THANKS!
Posted by mark at June 9, 2006 1:47 PM Subscribe (FeedBurner)
Comments
That is always the way with traumatic things. When you realize that things are going to be okay, we get ecstatic, forgetting the pain and emotional trauma it is going to take before we get back to "normal". And you will really never get back to normal, either in the way you feel about yourself or in the emotional impact it will have on all of you. This will change you as a person and as a couple, but God will make it for the better. Within 2 years you will see what a difference this difficult experience has made in your life. And you will see how "good" that difference is. In time you will think "I would not want to change what happened and have it not have happened" And the reason for that is because you will realize how your faith has grown, how you have grown, and how different you look at life. You will be mature beyond your years, but God chooses the people he wants to use to help others. You are obviously one of the chosen.
I can say this with the experience of one who knows.
God bless all of you,
Susan Woodman
Posted by: Susan Woodman at June 10, 2006 8:12 PM
Here's something eerie...twins on opposite coasts:
http://www.10news.com/news/9372495/detail.html
Posted by: mikey at June 15, 2006 5:59 PM
Courtney,
It was so great talking with you the other evening. Thanks again for your tremendously positive attitude and witness for Christ. You and Mark have been so inspiring.
Love,
Uncle Dave
Posted by: Dave Veerman at June 16, 2006 1:37 PM