January 15, 2010

So Many Things... even less time...

Gah this week has been a nightmare...



I had a dental appointment on Wednesday at which I was informed that I need drastic, drastic dental work... to the tune of 25 grand... yeah I will give you a minute, cuz I needed more then that. They actually gave me 3 estimates, the cheapest being 8 grand, so any way I look at it, I am looking at having to take out a loan for dental work. Or, I can go this route... tear them all out and get dentures. I was as shocked as I could be that I had this much going on with my teeth, as I saw a dentist regularly and they never gave me any indication there were this many issues. As of Wednesday, I had 7 abscessed teeth that needed root canals, and he really thinks that I need to crown those and every other tooth I have left. I have super thin enamel, severe decay, and now the abscesses. I have gone over this every way to sunshine, and I am honestly leaning towards dentures... yeah 36 and getting dentures, ain't life grand??



I have spent a lot of time on the phone this week because Kent will be going to the Rehab hospital. We found out Monday that our insurance denied his stay, but Tuesday got the call that medicaid will pay for it. Wednesday I was in a conference call with the admissions people to get some clarification on a few things. That night they also wanted to speak to Kent to be sure that he understood what they were going to ask of him, not to mention to make sure that he was truly serious about going there and working the program. Today I again spent a long time on the phone with them making sure that our list of things to bring was in fact what we really needed. It has been more stressful since we found out he was going then in the whole time leading up to this week!! I had to have a long talk with him about how he felt about leaving, and what he was expecting to get out of this whole thing. He is of course 18 and his primary worry was how his friends were going to treat him when he returned. I understand where he is coming from, but I told him that his friends, if they were true friends, would be there for him when he came home no matter what. I think his concern is that everyone thinks he is going to a nuthouse or something, so I told him that he needs to tell him where he is going, and that it is a place to make him more independent. He has so many more obstacles then a typical teen, however, he doesn't see that. I think it is good that he sees himself as normal, but he really takes it to the far left, and refuses to say that he is physically disabled. UGH.

Keith has been working long hours due to the earthquake in Haiti. He works at the Naval Hospital, and does procurement and shipping of said procured goods, and right now it is all about the relief effort down there. So, as a result may miss Lauryn's birthday party tomorrow night. He told me he is really going to try to be there, but he can't promise. I am so heartbroken for him over this because even though it is just one birthday in many, it may be the only second birthday we get to have with a child of ours.

So that has been the other thing... Little Miss Turtle will be 2 years old on Sunday!! All I can do is sit and say Wow to myself like every 2 hours. She has changed and grown so much. Not to mention the fact that we have BodySlammed into the "Terrible Two's". She has been a bear the last few days, screaming at me, crying, throwing stuff, hitting me, and literally holding onto my legs while I try to get things done. I know what it is though. She tries so desperately to tell me what she wants but doesn't yet have quite the verbal skills to tell me. I feel bad for her, and sometimes it is frankly downright comical when she gets in a real tizzy. I know she is frustrated, and I can understand that, but I really had almost reached the end of my rope today, and had to step out the back door and call Keith for some reassurance. She will be having her party tomorrow at this inflatable place that is beyond cool, so I know she and the other kids are going to have a ball!!

Right now I need to go to bed and get some rest because when Keith finally hit the door after 8 PM tonight (normally he is home by 4:45) I just wanted to lock myself in the bedroom. I can't though because there is so much housework to be done and all that jazz that I just had to keep on going. I swear to all that is holy I have no idea how working mother do it!!

12 comments:

Beckie's Infertile said...

That is one crazy week! I think I would pull out my own teeth at that rate!

Would a dental school be cheaper?

Kristin said...

Wow, that is an insane week. Don't forget to give me a call if you need to vent. {{{Hugs}}}

And, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Miss Turtle.

Anonymous said...

Ok Erica, I am getting my dentures soon. Then we can go to a race with out our teeth and really be rednecks!!!!!!! I love ya girly
Debbi

Anonymous said...

$25K in dental work? That is a freakin' car! I hate the dentist. I hope you can figure something out.

Hope the adorable Lauryn has a fantastic birthday.

Tutu said...

I had $10K in dental work last year...all for ONE tooth! I had a root canal, then had to have gum surgery, then ended up pulling the tooth and putting in an implant. NIGHTMARE!! Thank God, my parents helped us pay for it!

My little guy is in the same boat as Lauryn. He tries to tell me what he wants, but the verbal skills aren't quite there yet. Both my girls were talking in full sentences by this age, so it's frustrating!

libby @ ninesandquines said...

happy birthday to turtle!!!!

Poison Ivy said...

(((Big hugs, sweetie)) Hope things go very well with everything. One option you might want to think about with your teeth is replacement permanent teeth. The ones with the posts with the teeth attached vs regular dentures.
Chocolate helped me get through the terrible 2s along with saying "Thank you Lord for the opportunity". I kid you not! Brace yourself because some kids (mine did) went through the terrible threes also!
I love ya!

GibsonTwins said...

I had a similar situation with the dentist and they approximated my dental needs to cost about $20-25k. 7 cavities, four absessed wisdom teeth, and a root canal etc etc (I stopped listening at that point). I had one wisdom tooth pulled out in the office (which is why the other three are still there - not doing that again) and one root canal w/ crown and in one afternoon spent $2095.00. SICK. I have dental insurance that started this year but they only cover up to 1500/year and then rest is out of pocket. I'm only 25 and I've said a million times that I'd rather just have surgery to pull all my teeth and get dentures because my enamel is gone after having our twins (never had a cavity before that point!). I don't think anyone in the world would know or care if you went the dentures route. I feel for you, I really do.

Susan said...

Wow. What a week! Try sign language with Lauryn. It was such a help with mine as when we adopted them they had NO language. We still use some signs to this day and they're teenagers!

IF Optimist, then... said...

Oh my gosh what an incredibly frustrating and rough week. So sorry to hear about being slammed with the tough dental decision. I hope you can find a good solution. Thank your hubby for his hard work to help the folks of Haiti. Have fun at the bouncy place. I went to one a while ago and they are mega cool.

kimbosue said...

Can you get a 2nd opinion? I have a friend that was told the same by one dentist, totally differnt story from the next.

Just the friend...Only the friend said...

HOLY freak on the dental work!!! That is just...wow! I am sorry to hear it.

Yea for Turtle's birthday. They grow up so darn fast! My little bean is almost 6! How did that even happen?