It has been a very busy few weeks. There have been a lot of twists and turns, and a lot of time spent in communication with various medical practitioners. I am up to my eyeballs with tasks, phone calls, and emails for managing my health situation. As my husband said last week, “It would be great if any one of your medical practitioners would actually follow through with what they said they were going to do so that you don’t have to keep contacting them.” I am not sure I have ever heard a truer statement. This scene from I Love Lucy is an accurate depiction of how it feels trying to manage it all:
Physical Health:
I had a follow up CBCT (Cone-Beam scan) with the holistic/biological dentist in our area to check the progress on the cavitation surgery sites from one year ago. In my case, the cavitation surgery sites were the unhealed spaces that remained after all 4 wisdom teeth were removed during my college years, but cavitation issues can arise following any tooth extraction. Conventional dentistry is unwilling to admit the existence of cavitation issues and that surgery may be required to bring about healing, so it has been difficult to get the care that I have needed. We didn’t want to travel back to a neighboring state if we could get the cavitation surgery location sites checked in our area, so we went back to the holistic/biological dentist in our area that we were finally able to see for an initial appointment last October. [As a reminder, the holistic/biological dentist in our area doesn’t do cavitation surgeries himself, and sends his patients to the practice in the neighboring state if his patients need the surgery. I found out at my initial appointment with him last October (2023) that deciding on my own to go to the dentist in the neighboring state the previous June (2023), before having any real guidance on cavitation issues, was a great decision. I love it when that happens!]
Two weeks ago, a week before the follow up CBCT scan with the holistic/biological dentist in our area, I emailed him (his preferred method of communication) to make sure that the radiology company he uses still checks for cavitation issues. I just had this feeling that I should ask. He replied and said that this company very recently decided not to continue looking for cavitation issues, so this dentist wasn’t sure how to best help me. [Side note: It is a long story about why this radiology company no longer looks for cavitation issues, so I am not going to write about it here.] We ended up discussing the situation via phone and decided on a plan. He would compare a new scan with the scan from the holistic/biological dentist in the neighboring state that I had done prior to my cavitation surgery instead of sending my scan to a separate radiology company, and then he would determine if he could see what he needed to see, or if I should go back to the holistic/biological dentist in the neighboring state. This week, I was able to get the scan, and he was able to review it and determine that the areas have healed extremely well with no signs of residual issues. The bone is consistent in appearance and density with no concerns.
When I got the email from the holistic/biological dentist in our area at the end of the day on Thursday, my husband and I were in the garage getting ready to drive to another medical appointment. I read it and literally jumped for joy and did a happy dance. I needed a win, and my husband knew I needed a win, so we were both ecstatic. Not only have the surgery sites healed well, but we also don’t have to pack up what feels like my entire life to travel for an appointment with the holistic/biological dentist in the neighboring state.
We also had an online/video appointment with my main doctor this week. I have been in a lot of physical pain, and it has been difficult to get my body back to my baseline level of pain. We haven’t been able to make much progress, so we are in the process of updating next steps. I will share more when we know more.
When I feel discouraged, I let myself feel it. Then, I remind myself that progress happens in many ways:
Home Environment:
We completed an additional home mold test that my main doctor recommended we complete in June. Based on the results, my doctor believes that the mold mycotoxins in my body are from previous mold exposure instead of both previous and current mold exposure. He said that we can put this home environment issue to bed for now.
Emotional Health:
I haven’t had much time lately between work and managing my health situation, and I am tired. I am sleepy tired, but even more than that, I am soul tired.
(credit: Sharyn Marsh’s poem TIRED from Leave Her Wild)
I have been relying on my supportive people in order to let my soul rest. My husband has been amazing as usual. We have had a lot to process over the last 2-3 weeks, and he has held space for me to process all of it and to feel my feelings. He has used many of these statements over the last few weeks to make sure I know that I am loved and valued:
In order to build in some fun over the last few weeks, I made time to watch the NCAA Women’s College World Series for softball. I love watching college softball, so it was a welcome relief from the general chaos surrounding my health situation. Thank goodness for some softball fun!
Brutal. Up to my eyeballs with tasks, phone calls, and emails for managing my health situation. Intense physical pain. General chaos surrounding my health situation. Feeling soul tired.
Beautiful. Healed cavitation surgery sites. A doctor who hasn’t quit trying. Home environment good news. My amazing husband who holds space for me to process my feelings and to rest my tired soul. Softball fun.
Just another day of . . . This Brutiful Life: The Brutal & Beautiful Moments of My Life.
This Brutiful Life 