Wow! This all will happen during an operation?

There is no opportunity to avoid it?

Long orthodontic treatment is one side, but such an operation is another league.

Wishing you all the best!

I hope and pray that all goes well for you.

Ugh! It’s been a roller coaster the last few days. My husband got a call from our insurance company yesterday, but wasn’t able to talk to them at the time so he had them call me. They let me know that the county had not paid for our insurance this month. While I knew this was a possibility, I was being told this while driving my daughter to a routine appointment. I was able to explain the situation between my husband’s benefit allotment not covering our benefits completely and us needing to potentially pay the difference once we were informed of what that is. The lady was very understanding and made note of it reassuring me that she made a notation and as long as payment by the county is received by the end of the month, it’s not an issue.
Today, I had my ENT follow up. I did end up taking the 20 days of antibiotics. While my gut is as clean as a whistle, I can’t say the same of my sinuses. My doc let me know that my maxillary and frontal sinuses both show chronic sinus infections. He scoped me again, this time causing a bloody nose. Everything was so blocked on the right side, that he couldn’t get the scope in far enough to visualize anything. I’m now scheduled for balloon sinuplasty at the end of the month. He is confident this will open my sinuses and clear up the infection so I can move forward with jaw surgery. He’s also going to consult with my jaw doctor to come up with a surgery plan that will minimize future sinus problems.
I figuratively ran out of that appointment and headed to my back doctor where I was scanned for a new brace. Yes, you read correctly, I need a new back brace. There are two reasons. First, I’ve lost weight since getting my back brace, so much that the brace does not fit correctly- even after several modifications. Second, during my January X-rays, it was noted that my back brace does not completely correct my scoliosis while in the brace, and does not address my kyphosis in any way. Even though I have had a small curve reduction my current brace will not move my back completely where it needs to be in multiple planes. There will need to be some changes, including using a thicker thermoplastic and some changes to the shoulder portions, whether it be attached plastic shoulder guides, or an added strap between the brace outriggers. I’m leaning towards the Free Spirit design. I know it’s a bold choice, but I really want to get away from the white base color. I like my wisteria, but the padding on the underside make the brace look yellow in those places because of the adhesive that’s used. Having the variety of color will be cheerful, a bit more forgiving with minor scuffs, and not so dark as to absorb heat in the summertime. At least that’s my thought process.
So I’m driving home from this appointment and get a call from the county letting me know about the insurance benefit shortage. In truth, I’m amazed that they followed thru with contacting me given the size of the county my husband worked in, and were super nice about the situation. The amount wasn’t horrible, about $250. It was actually a relief to hear this, as I was super stressed going into my 2 appointments today praying that neither would check my benefit eligibility and find an issue. I mailed the check as soon as I got home. It’s clear that my jaw surgery will not be done before our insurance changes. We have a lot of plans for the summer and I was recently asked to be the guest speaker at our local Memorial Day remembrance, so I need to schedule for after that. I have another ankle post op appointment tomorrow and my next orthodontist appointment is on the 24th, so I’ll update again soon.

That Free Spirit pattern would be cute.  A little splash of color without it being so dark it would be more likely to show through on lighter colored clothing.  Maybe I missed it, but how long will it take them to fabricate your new brace?

I hope your new brace is far more comfortable and does its job well.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. We’ve had construction going on at home and lots of carting the kids around. I went to my orthodontist earlier this week, though she wasn’t there. I was asked if I minded seeing her partner, which I had no problem doing. He put in a new wire with a power chain on top and changed my elastic pattern to two boxes on both sides just at night https://dereferer.me/?https://imgur.com/a/Zb9LFqz. He complimented me on my elastic wear noting how nice my teeth are aligning. I went to put my elastics in that night and within 30 minutes, they both snapped. I put more in and at some point in the night, they both broke. I put them in again the next night with similar results. I finally have just decided to wear them during the day for eight hours at a time so I can replace them more easily when they break.
I had an unplanned visit with my foot doctor today. I saw him just a couple of weeks ago, and have been struggling with the pace of my recovery and a few hurdles it has presented. I recently- like in the last week- started have pain on the outside of my foot on the bone that isn’t normal for me. After examining my foot and asking the usual questions, he got an X-ray. I have a stress fracture of my 5th metatarsal. I’ve been having so much tendon pain, I’ve been taking Motrin like it was candy, but had to stop taking it last week because I have my sinus procedure on Tuesday. I was masking the pain and didn’t realize what happened. I’m now back in my boot for the next 4-6 weeks still able to walk on it but I have to really back off on my activity. If I’m still having pain next week, then a more conservative approach needs to be taken. I’m looking at 4-6 weeks for healing. So what have I done while having this stress fracture? I continued physical therapy working on balance and conditioning, substitute taught algebra for an entire day, went camping and got rained out, painted my living room and guest bedroom (which required a lot of ladder work) and cleaned out the shed. I’m in a corn hole tournament tomorrow which my doctor asked if I had been practicing with a boot, so funny. I kind of want to cry https://dereferer.me/?https://imgur.com/a/HHniIaW.
I have my sinus procedure Tuesday. My nasal passage is 80% occluded on the right. Both sides will be ballooned and my septum will be shaved down on the right. I’ve had a more in depth sinus surgery before, and have been told this won’t be as bad. I’m really hoping that’s the case.
My insurance changes on Wednesday. I haven’t received our new cards yet, but have to send them in to my jaw doctor as soon as they come so that they can get authorization to move forward with my jaw surgery.
And that’s where things stand.

I followed up with my foot doctor yesterday. He wanted to know how my weekend went and how my foot was doing. Honestly, it was brutal. I tried one cornhole game and forfeited-fortunately someone was able to replace me on our team. Sunday I really limited my time on my feet even though I was giving some swimming lessons. I ended up getting in the water instead of standing on the deck. I’m not gonna lie, it was so refreshing. I’ve only been in a pool once since last June. It’s hard considering I swam competitively through college. Everything was wonderful until I had to climb out of the pool using the ladder. My doc knows we are going on vacation this summer and wants to get me healed before then. Once I conveyed my weekend experiences, he suggested I go back in a cast for the next two weeks and stay non weight bearing. Sigh. I have that appointment on Thursday. The good news is that I hopefully won’t be in a cast for the Memorial Day tribute or for vacation.
I had my balloon sinuplasty today. The procedure was done in the office setting with oral benzodiazepine sedation. Last week I let my doctor know that I have a strong resistance to this class of meds. He listened, and placed the order for me to take 2 tablets (instead of the normal 1) two hours before and bring the extra two just in case. Once I was in the room the doctor asked how I was feeling which was fine. I was catching up on emails and sent a few texts. He walked back in 15 minutes later, and nothing had changed, so he had me take the second two tablets. It didn’t zonk me out but did make me feel tired. I did not enjoy the sounds of my sinuses cracking and crunching as the balloon inflated, nor the pain of having my septum reshaped. Needless to say, I was happy when it was over. When the doctor told me I was done, I stood up to walk out the door.  Everyone panicked and did what they could to sit me back down. When my husband arrived, I tried standing again to walk out the door with the same response. My husband said I looked angry about the whole situation. I think he would have felt the same if he went through something only partially sedated.
Once we got home and pulled into the driveway, I opened the car door and started limping in the house. My husband couldn’t turn off the engine fast enough. I made it upstairs into bed with plenty of pillows propping me up. I slept all afternoon and woke up to find I had bled through my nasal packing making a big mess on my face, in my hair, and on the sheets. I cleaned up as best I could and repacked my nostrils with clean afrin soaked cotton pads. It was then time to take my antibiotic and I realized I hadn’t taken any pain meds yet, and am not feeling any extreme pain. I took one just in case there was a long acting local that was used that hasn’t worn of yet.
I’m hoping I don’t get too much swelling or bruising, but only time will tell.

That is just too much for one person to be dealing with at one time.  I am really sorry.  I know you will get it sorted out, but damn you are due for some good news.  On a positive note, I like the pattern of your brace.  I am sure they will get the fit right.