August 20, 2015

Oh, What a Day!

August 20, 2015

Sunrise as I head to Harlingen

Ron faithfully got me up at 5:30 so I could shower, wash and dry my hair and get ready to leave by 7:00 to be at the dental specialist by 8:00 in Harlingen.  Traffic to Harlingen a little later can be heavy but was not bad at 7:00.  While I was getting ready I had the television on and checked some Facebook postings.  One was from a friend in the McAllen area who commented on how bad the storms were all night with lots of lightening, thunder, and rain.  So I switched to the local news and found out some parts of McAllen had 6.5 inches of rain overnight!  We had nothing here.

That heavy rainfall up the valley didn't make me happy about driving to Harlingen this morning.  Above you see our sunrise to the east.  Looking west, clouds were all we could see.

Morning clouds in Brownsville

I only had a very light shower on the way to Harlingen and it was very brief, accompanied by some beautiful lightening.  I had just glanced at the map the dentist's office gave me to help find the specialist.  The map showed it was next door to What-a-Burger.  I didn't pay much more attention to the map.  I should have.  There are two What-A-Burgers in town.  I went first to the wrong one.  I made it to the right one with a few minutes to spare.

This appointment was for the specialist to see if she thought that I needed a Root Canal done, and if so on which tooth.  The pain seemed to be in two teeth.  The specialist turned out to be a tiny lady, Dr. Kayla Tavares, and I liked her right away.  After an assortment of tests and x-rays, she decided one tooth needed the root canal.  She spotted infection at the tip of the root and major decay at the top of the cap/crown.

After the exam and the discussion she offered to show me a video of what was involved in a root canal.  I told her I would like to see it.  I asked the helper if the video had closed captions.  She looked and found that they did and it made it much easier for me to follow the video.  Watching television, I do not get all of the dialog and appreciate when closed captioning is available.

Talking to the receptionist afterwards to schedule the procedure, she said they could do it today at 1:00 or next week.  I had a 1:30 appointment at my doctor in Brownsville, so I called Ron and asked him to call and see if I could change that appointment and they said yes, so I accepted the 1:00 appointment with Dr. Tavares.  That gave me time to go to Brownsville, see my doctor, get lunch as directed by the specialist, and return to Harlingen for the root canal - all in one very busy day.  I don't think I mentioned that my pain level was very low today compared to yesterday.

The time at the doctor's office back in Brownsville was quick, I picked up lunch on the way to our office, and shared it with Ron.  He offered to go with me.  The dentist here had said they would knock me out, but they said they would not, so I was not necessary for him to go, but with the weather being unpredictable, I accepted his offer and we headed to Harlingen.

This office in Harlingen has at least 4 specialists who do root canals.  

They also have an office in McAllen. 

At first, Dr. Tavares had said it should take about an hour, but a more detailed look at all that was going to have to be done, she said it would be longer.  The cap had to be removed because of decay at the top of the tooth.  The root canal was very narrow and was closing off, so it was going to take extra time to drill through the area.  In all, it took about 2 hours, but there was no pain and I did fine.  I think I actually fell asleep at one point.

We drove home, stopped for prescriptions at Walgreen's, stopped at my dentist's office to talk to them about when to start on a new cap which is going to be involved since so little tooth is left and will involve gum work, too, and went to our office so Ron could get his car.  We went home.  Tired, broke (not really, but it was not cheap and the future work is going to be pricey), but very pleased with the specialist and the fact that we were able to get it done so fast.

We met our friends for supper and I just ate some refried beans for supper while they all ate yummy Mexican food.  Later at home I made some tapioca for myself.  The visit was good.  I really feel like my life has become centered around doctors, and yet in general, I am in good health and active.  God is meeting the needs.

At home after supper I read for a while and talked to our daughter-in-law in New Mexico.  Then I started this blog entry, but when I fell asleep at the computer, I decided it was time for bed, so it is being finished when I got up at 5:00 Friday morning for my allergy medication and now it is time for my shots.  That reminds me, the allergist was at the doctor's office when I went in and I was able to tell her about the strong reaction to the shot that I had on last Saturday.  She gave me some suggestions and it was helpful to be able to just talk to her about the situation.

Dr. Tavares was good about remembering to speak slowly and clearly for me.  It turned out she was from New Jersey and New York and I was amazed she talked slowly enough for me to understand her.  I did take off my Cochlear Sound Processor while she drilled and listened to the music in my head since ear phones with music would not be of any help for me.  

As I am finishing this up early Friday morning, I am not having any pain.  I would highly recommend the specialist, Dr. Kayla Tavares, for anyone needing a root canal.  That is all she does.  She says she loves doing them and I think she good at it.  God continues to provide just the help we need when we need it.