Hallelujah

My Insurance letter came in the mail on Friday!!! I never read the letter my Oral Surgeon sent to them but, I know it was just a matter of a few weeks ago. Harvard Pilgrim has truly been wonderful during this whole thing. It says I have been approved for:

Reconstruct Midface, Lefort

Prepare Face/Oral Prosthesis

I’m not sure in Insurance terms what exactly it means but, as long as it says the Lefort is covered, I’m good. Things seem to be moving in a positive direction lately. It feels good.

I still have moments when I get a little anxious about being wired shut. Someone posted a comment saying that while she was wired, she carried around cutters just for peace of mind. Maybe I’ll do the same thing. I know it’s all in my head; it just makes me nervous still. One reason why I think I feel this way is because I’m a mouth breather. It freaks me out a little bit to think I won’t be able to get enough air. I know, I know… all in my head.

OR… what if I have to throw up?? I remember doing this after the SARPE!!

Right now, I just can’t wait to be on the other side!

I haven’t really been watching what I eat lately. I keep telling myself that I mine as well eat while I can. I probably won’t fit into any of my summer clothes the week before surgery while I’m on vacation. lol

I have been walking a lot more lately. I want to try and be really fit and healthy when I go in this time. Maybe it will make a difference, maybe it won’t, but I figure it can’t hurt.

Work has been really good too, I was originally only planning on taking a week off just like the SARPE but, the OS said I need a minimum of two weeks. So, I won’t return until July 21^st. They’ve been letting me bank some comp. time so I won’t have to use all of my vacation time up.

I was a little surprised the Ortho. didn’t want to see me sooner, I don’t go again until May 20^th. At that time, I’ll have to set up the final appointments for molds and surgical hooks. The OS wants to see me with my new molds and hooks prior to me going on vacation.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that everything continues to go smoothly!!

BIG NEWS!!

Last week I called the OS's office a few times (okay, maybe more than a few and I am sure they got sick of hearing from me) to see if they had decided anything. Finally, on Friday I spoke with Jamie and she told me that Dr. Weldon would like to see me on Monday at 12:30. He was meeting with Dr. Post over the weekend and looking at my molds. I was so anxious all weekend wondering what he would say.
I guess the plan was for him to look at my bite, do some measurements, make a determination about exactly what would need to be done and then decide if he could do it on the 7th on his own or push it out until August and have an assisting physician available.
Well, before we left, he stated that it was a pretty straight forward surgery, similar cuts that were made for the SARPE. He said it would be a 1 piece Lefort, he will lower the maxilla and shave some of the bone above it and then try and replace it with plates and screws Jaime, his assistant, said that this is my "big surgery." He also said that he was very comfortable doing it on his own!
So… July 7th is still the day!

BUT… now we get to the scary part…
I might have to be wired shut... for 2 to 6 weeks! OMG! I'm already having a panic attack just thinking about it. My immediate response was, you didn't have to do that after my SARPE, why this time? His response was that during the SARPE he wasn't trying to match up my top jaw with my bottom one. He said that if I remembered correctly, during the SARPE, after he made the cuts, my maxilla just fell. He had to put these wires up through my maxilla to keep it stable. He says that I have very thin bones and he wants to make certain that everything heals properly. Also, because of my thin bone issue, ww don't know how well the plates and screws will hold so, keeping me wired while everything heals will help everything stay where it needs to.
So….. all of you wired people… I need to hear from you!! Just the thought makes me feel claustrophobic.
He said he may or may not keep the splint in. He'll use one to line things up but, he'll determine during surgery whether to keep it in or not.
He also said that I would be in ICU for 1 maybe 2 days. That freaks me out a little bit too. I'm excited things are moving forward yet a little scared too.
Now's the time for me to get really healthy. I've been fighting off that cold so many of you are talking about since last Thursday. It just doesn't seem to want to go away.

So, 10 1/2 weeks until vacation and 11 1/2 weeks until surgery, I can do this! The cottage we are renting in Maine sleeps 10 people. My husband and I and our 2 girls will go up on June 28th and spend until Thursday alone and then on Thursday some of my family will join us so we can celebrate July 4th with all of them, right on the beach. They will stay 2 nights. All of us have never been away together. It should be hectic but fun. I'm sure it will help keep my mind off my surgery, at that time, it will only be days away.

The real countdown begins… I hope I end up having some surgery buddies!!

This is "Pal"

The first one is on the ride home. He was checking everything out for about the first half hour and then he slept the rest of the way (1 1/2 hours). When we got home, he ate, checked the place out and then fell back to sleep in Kate's arms. He had a long day!

No confirmed date yet

Okay, so I talked to Candy a couple more times and Mary at the Ortho's office (who actually seemed a little annoyed with me) and this is what I've been told. Dr. Weldon (the OS) wants to see the latest molds so he can decide how in depth the surgery will be. If he feels it is something he can do on his own without an assisting physician, then he'll go ahead and keep it scheduled on July 7th. If he feels he really needs him then, we'll have to pick a new date. So, it's the hurry up and wait game right now. Candy left on vacation for a week today so, I'm hoping I don't get lost in the shuffle over there… I just feel like I deserve an answer on this, ASAP!

On a happier note, things have warmed up a little and our new kitten was able to board his flight this morning. We are hoping to have him in our possession by 3:00 today… fingers crossed! If everything goes well, I'll post a picture of the little guy.

Hopefully the next time I write, it will be with good news all around!

This can't be happening!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I called the OS's office this morning to see if they received the "go ahead" letter from my Ins. Co. yet and Candy tells me that Jaime is busy but, she'll look in my file to see where we were at. She then proceeds to tell me, that a call has been put into the Ortho. to see if we can do the surgery on June 23rd. Are you f***ing kidding me???? I then tried to calmly explain to her that I leave to go on vacation from June 28th - July 5th…the vacation I planned so early on in the summer because, THEY scheduled my surgery for the 7th! She said that the assisting physician that Dr. Weldon likes to work with is unavailable for July 7th. Wonder when they were going to tell me?
So, she said she would get back to me after she spoke to Jaime. Then I get a message (I stepped out of my office for a minute) stating that the 14th, and the 21st weren't any good either.

I called her back and just as I start to speak, I start crying. I try to explain to her that this is my life they are screwing with and that maybe I need to speak to the doctor. I tried to tell her that my "summer vacation" deposit for my cottage was sent already and scheduled around this date they gave me, that the following week was scheduled at work for me to be out, that my mother also took the week off to help out, that my physical and EKG were already scheduled. She apologized and I understand it's not her fault but, I would think that as soon as they found out about this, they should have called me immediately! I find it funny that I only found out after I called them.
So… she said she would call back again after she spoke with the doctor. I'm sure at this point there is nothing they can do. I just don't understand why I can't seem to get this surgery set in stone.

I'm sure one of the reasons I was so upset was because, we had been looking for a particular kitten for quite a while. (we have 1 already and love the breed) So, right before Christmas I found a lady in Nova Scotia that was going to be having a litter in January. So, after they were born, she forwarded pictures and we picked out our new kitten. It would be ready to go March 17th. So, we started planning a trip to go get him but, found out that the ferry we would catch in Portland, Maine doesn't start running again until May. So then we decided to buy him a plane ticket. Then, we were told that they don't allow "live cargo" on board until April 1st. Not a huge deal, so the breeder booked his flight for the 1st. We were all set to leave for the airport yesterday afternoon and I get an e-mail from her saying that she was missing one piece of paperwork for customs and that they wouldn't let her board him. So, they schedule him for a flight this morning. So this morning, we get up at 5:00am to head to the airport, which is 2 hours away, and I get another call from her. The airline thought it was a little cold this morning for him to fly so… we had to turn around AGAIN. We're now shooting for Friday morning. I'm tired and grumpy and can't for the life of me figure out why everything seems so difficult for me right now. I know it's not all life altering stuff I am complaining about, and I am very lucky to have a wonderful healthy husband and great healthy kids. I'm just getting discouraged. I have been doing really well lately keeping my chin up. But man…how much can a girl take.
Sorry for my ranting and my language above, I just needed to get this off my chest! I'll keep you all posted. I keep thinking that maybe this 2nd surgery isn't in the cards for me.