Well, where to begin. 2017 seemed like it was going to be starting out as a good year. Seems things often look like they would be good but in the end turn out to not be so... such has the first three full months of this year been to me.
Christmas came and went. My in-law surprised us with a gift of epic proportion, that of a trip to Hawaii. She stated we would go in the end of this coming year, so that is a big awesome gift that we can look forward to. Many things go along with a gift of this magnatude, the least of which is simply figuring out how to pay for it even though the trips airfare and lodging is already covered. Im extremely excited about it though. I hope that I can get everything done, and save enough to make the trip the most enjoyable of my life. I know i for one am more thankful than i can explain or express for this opportunity.
Over the month of December, I had severe pain in my sinuses and teeth. the way it moved around from one side to the other, and lower jaw, to upper jaw, on opposite sides.. and even into excruciating ear pain, made me believe that i had severe infections in my sinuses. My family physician prescribed me amoxicillin and sent me on my way. This seemed to serve as a fix, and got me over Christmas and thru the new year. Another thing that I found out was that my Mother had once again left my grandfather alone for Christmas. Due to the family strains and lack of relations there was little i could do regardless of how fucked up the thing is when she uses "i was too stressed out" and "had to get away" as her excuses.
Towards the end of December, what was once a very close friend that had for whatever reason stepped away from friendship contacted me thru facebook. He stated his mom had passed away, and knew i'd want to know as my mother and his were also once very close. I relayed the message to my mother, and while she nor i attended the funereal, we both were quite saddened for his loss. Life, is very fleeting, and sadly fragile.
During the last week of December my father called me. He told me he had had enough, and was finally going to check himself into an alcohol rehab facility. I was hopeful, and thankful that he was taking it in his own hands to get things taken care of. Not one week in, and i get a call stating the worse. He had ben admitted to ICU, and had multiple issues. It was touch-n-go for a while, but he slowly was making a recovery. He was intubated and on a respirator for over 2 weeks. During this time, i myself had many issues going on. Besides the fact i was entering into my 5th class in graduate school, I had a severe pain in my abdomen.
Fearing this abdominal pain could be appendicitis or worse, i underwent many tests. the CT Scan found that i had an inflamed Duodenum to the point of Duodenitis, which is very similar to Gastritis. It basically is a bacterial infection of the small intestine, right where it meets your stomach. Ol' Ironsides had a chink in her plate, and i paid in pain so grand i would wish it on no one. The only thing ive ever felt that was that strong in the past was my gall bladder pain before it was removed. They prescribed me a very potent antibiotic, Cipro, which is used to treat anthrax, and the bubonic plague among other things. Well after that round, I felt like i should be good to go with no other issues!!! Sadly that was not to be. As my father gained strength and finally was off the respirator, and then out of ICU, and finally in the end, returned home life got back to normal... so I thought.
I occasionally still had tooth / sinus pain that was unexplainable. I decided to bite the bullet so to speak, and go see a dentist in the last week of January. As not terribly unexpected, i had a lot wrong with my teeth. And we scheduled an appointment to have half of it corrected on Feb 17th. Well not all goes as planned ever, as we all know, and then as i get ready to go to the dentist for sedation work, on February 7, 2017 my entire world came crashing down. (much more than it had already had)
My Grandfather, my best friend, of 41 + years, passed away. His name is John Allen Muntz, and he was born in Reading Pennsylvania on February 9, 1923, and lived through the great depression, World War II; where he served as an armed Guardsman and was even torpedo'ed once, thru the 50's, into the 70's when he had a massive heart attack, and then my birth. He practically raised me, and was the one and only pillar of my family that was always there with advice, support or any form of help he could offer.(regardless of if he should) In many ways, more than not even, i am the person i am today because of him. I am thankful for that in more ways than ill ever be able to express or say. This is probably the only time i really have spoken about his passing much, as it is too much for me to bear. Even now, a month and 3/4 later. When he died, life as i knew it essentially did too. (Not going to mention some of the "Ugly" that i alluded to leaving out in the title, as I'm still going to leave it out, but know that there was a proverbial fuckton of shit on my shoulders already) So i attended the funeral, and tried to make things go as smoothly as possible with all of my estranged family. I was lucky enough to have been able to see my grandfathers nephew Eric there, as he drove in from Ohio. Eric, was always well spoken of by my grandfather and i believe him to be one of his favorite nephews. I'll never forget how much his showing up meant to me, and would have meant to my grandfather. of that i am very sure.
I Pretty much at that time stopped work in all earnest regarding grad school. I still had half a class to go, but nothing mattered. the stress of life caught up to me and i gave up. Somehow, thru the grace of god, i made it, and have snapped out of the "funk" for the most part. I believe a lot of it has to do with the fact that i finished that class, and didnt take a second this second half the semester. I dont know how i did it either, but i still managed a B in the course as a final grade.
Now, sitting here at 1030pm on the eve of April, I had had my second of what was supposed to have been 2 total major dentist appointments under sedation. I say what was supposed to have been, as of course, i've ran into more complications.
The first visit, i had to have a wisdom tooth cut out, and then three root canals done as well as deep cleaning and other things im sure. The total for that visit was going to be very high. Just as was the second visit. So i was able to put in for a credit system to pay for it. Well let me tell you, I've now financed enough dental work to own a nice Kia, not some stripped down one, but im talking a Sorrento with all the bells and whistles. Anyways, the first visit was spectacular, and i felt like a million bucks until the Saturday following. This visit was the one where they cut my wisdom tooth out. Well the fun here started then. I evidentially suffered from what is called Dry Socket. So i was in intensive a all week until i went back for the post op surgery visit. Once i had that visit he stuffed the pocket with a clove tasting solution and gauze gave me good pain meds as (hydrocodone does nothing for me but make me tired) i am finicky about my pain meds, and then i went on my way. Well as the month progressed from February thru mid march, i started getting a lot of pain again. Turns out the friday before my second operation system was to happen, my back tooth that he had filled fell off.. so the tooth is there but the resin is gone. that was a no go, so he came in on his day off and fixed it for me. I was good to go again, until 11pm that night when it fell out again. I ignored it, managed pain with advil and tylenol, and made it to this mornings sedation treatment.
Todays treatment went well, at first. I do not have much memory of it all, but so far, what i've been told and recall is, 1.) i woke up in the middle of it all. Excruciating pain, while being drilled on. Not fun. 2.) They had to put me back to sleep, but yet i remember the drilling and the needles. 3.) they had to do a 4th root canal on the tooth on my right. 4.) I think i have 2 caps now permanently on my teeth, may have a 3rd and fourth yet to go. 5.) i have a follow up visit for next thursday as a Post-Op visit. 6.) i have evidentially another tooth to be removed now because the one whose pieces kept falling off that he resined is too far gone i fear.
I have no idea how im going to pay for the rest of the services at this point as the stuff ive had done thus far even with state insurance (which i might add only covers 1000.00 per year dentally) now has left me with a Dental bill of well over 13k. I will hopefully keep folks updated here as the saga continues, but at this point its 1045 am and the tylenol pm and other meds are starting to kick in.
To those i love, know i love you more than i can express, and am more thankful for you than you'll ever know. To those i've wronged, i dont mean to purposefully wrong you, so please accept any apology i can give, and to those who are enemies, well, nothing i can do or say will help you so i will keep you in my prayers, because hating me will only hurt you in the end.
I will start grad school again in may, provided i can find the funds again. The dental bills will make it hard im sure. I hope things are better for us all now, and in the future than in the past. I sure hope work is good, and eventually i'll get the raise and titile i deserve as opposed to being called what i am and paid less than i deserve. God knows work alone has been enough stress to kill a persons outlook, but things will get better i pray. Since our Go-Live with Cerner was a complete failure, there is no way to go but up now from here.
Heres to hoping that the 2nd quarter in 2017 is much better than the first. A sign of that hope is my friend having his first child, and another friend buying a smoking hot new camaro, and then yet another friend is nearing the end of his pregnancy with his wife of his second, a daughter he will cherish foever.. You are all blessed, may i too, one day, find such blessings. As for my friends and family going thru things, Divorces, job changes, or anything else, know those are just temporary states, and everything is fluid... im with you, just call or text if you are in need. Much love.
