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September 12, 2006
Courtney update
Wow, it's been over two months since I last posted about Courtney. Sorry about that.
Here's a quick summary of the recent medical issues and doctor visits over the past two months:
1. Of the 3 root canals that were incomplete, she now has two temporary crowns and is waiting on the permanent porcelain crowns.
2. She recently had a chipped tooth fixed.
3. Our main dentist sent her to an endodontic specialist to have some of her teeth checked out with some fancier equipment, and he discovered that 6 or 7 of her teeth on the top (even ones that looked fine) don't have any nerve sensitivity which means that eventually they'll need root canals if the nerves don't heal. We'll probably have to wait 6 months to a year before doing root canals to give the nerves time to regenerate. (see insurance note below)
4. I think she still has one partial root canal that's not finished, and I think the endodontic dentist is going to handle that one, but I'm really not sure.
5. No progress on the missing tooth implant yet. I'm not really sure why we don't have an appointment ... I need to get on that!
6. Her double vision when looking peripherally, including up and down, hasn't improved. Because of this, there are daily tasks that require her to move her neck more in order to get a square-on view of things. This extra movement was starting to cause acute physical pain in her upper back. She went to a massage therapist to see if that would take care of the problem, and while it helped, it didn't eradicate the problem. She then went to her doctor and he prescribed some muscle relaxants and within 3-4 days the pain was gone and she was able to stop taking the medication and thankfully she hasn't had a relapse in the past 2 weeks.
7. The scarring is pretty minimal, and has healed up really well. The most obvious scar would be the trach scar on her neck, but that doesn't bother Courtney all that much.
In conclusion, Courtney is really doing awesome. She has moments of fatigue and still needs rest on *some* days, but even that is not the norm. Granted, she's usually exhausted by the time I get home from work, but her life is back to it's normal fervor and she seems to be managing it well. In fact, if you didn't know about the accident, it's likely that you would notice the scars, and possibly the eye-socket, but you wouldn't have ANY idea how recent it all was. Courtney's spirits are positive, and she is back to helping out her friends, cooking meals, driving, and being the sweet encouraging person that I married eight years ago today!
James has started half-day kindergarten at a local Classical School and is really doing well. His kindergarten teacher is phenomenal and James is thriving. Emma has half-day preschool two times a week and is doing great.
On the health insurance front, I've managed to keep everything organized, despite the fact that the neatly stacked pile of bills and insurance statements is about 3 inches high. Most of the medical bills have been paid without question, but there are two big ones that they've balked on while waiting to make sure that auto insurance options have been exhausted. I'm confident that I've convinced the health insurance company that they should pay the balance of those bills ($133,000), but it's nerve wracking to know that they still aren't paid. I call at least once a week, and they've assured me that they are moving forward. Also, we have until October 14th, six months from the date of the accident, to have all medical related procedures *started* in order for them to be valid. That would include the root-canals and implants. As noted earlier, we don't want to do the root canals prematurely just in case the nerves decide to heal, so I've got to convince the insurance company that the consult visit was the "start." Please pray that all continues to go smoothly and we don't hit any unnecessary bumps.
Thanks again for all of your prayers, if you haven't seen her lately, you would be amazed at how far she's come. The double vision is still the biggest issue that Courtney is facing. It has made reading very difficult and not very enjoyable. It's still possible that this could improve, so please pray that it does.
[UPDATE: As noted in the comment below, Courtney DOES indeed have an appointment with the implant surgeon.]
Posted by mark at September 12, 2006 3:40 PM Subscribe (FeedBurner)
Comments
I DO have an appointment with the oral surgeon to start the implant procedure. I just forgot to tell Mark. Oops!
Posted by: Courtney Veerman at September 12, 2006 4:58 PM
Thanks so much for the update. I'm so glad to hear that she is much more like herself!
Posted by: Kara at September 12, 2006 5:00 PM
So glad Courtney is doing well! Definitely an answer to prayer. Thanks for keeping us updated!
Posted by: Bethany at September 13, 2006 10:19 AM
Thanks, Mark!
Posted by: Nate at September 13, 2006 6:53 PM
Thanks for the update, Mark and Courtney! Glad to hear things are progressing well.
We'll be keeping the rest of the insurance and dental issues in our prayers.
Posted by: Brooke at September 22, 2006 10:20 AM
Greetings to you both. We are thankful for all the Lord has done and is continuing to do. Had lunch with your Mom, (Courtney) this week at church to get caught up. Her stories of the 'grands' so precious! They gave us the picture of Brenda at your house with ribbons in her hair! Sent it on to her. We love you much, Jesus loves you more
Bob and Betty
Posted by: Betty Yount at October 6, 2006 10:31 AM
Oh my Courtney!--what a poor friend I have been-I have been keeping up with you and St. Louis has been praying for you! I would love to talk to you and catch up! I talked to your sweet mom a while back. I do apologize for being such a poor communicator, but we are continuing to pray! I remember all our fun times in Orlando!
love you
Dianne
Posted by: Dianne Waldron at October 6, 2006 11:32 PM
How is Courtney doing? Time for another update.
Posted by: Kathy Fox at November 15, 2006 2:16 PM