The countdown has begun...

My surgery is now 2 weeks away!  Eek!  I'm starting to get nervous...but still very excited.  Mostly for the "vacation" from work, which is also very hectic right now.

My last couple of weeks:

So, after rescheduling my dentist appointment to June, I visited with Dr. Weber, my ortho...who instructed me to schedule a cleaning.  Blah.  Yeah, just did that...for after the surgery, and now I need one beforehand.  Well, the dentist is booked, so I get on the cancellation list.  Here are my issues for this particular sitaution:  I live on one side of Omaha, and work on another (about a 20 mile commute).  My ortho is near my house, my dentist is near my work...in order to get my teeth cleaned, I'm going to have to: wait for a cancellation (holding breath), get an appointment, go to the ortho to have wires removed, go to dentist for cleaning, go back to ortho to have wires replaced.  Good times.  Considering the fact that cancellation means "short notice", I'm guessing the changes of me getting an appointment that doesn't involve driving from work side of town to ortho side of town and back and forth, are slim to none.

Am I right?  Yep.  The dentist called Wednesday with a cancelled appointment.  Well, first of all, I actually miss the call, notice is on the Caller ID, call back, and am told that I missed out and they've already booked the appt.  Great.  but they call back minutes later with another time.  Thursday (yesterday), 10:15.  Fine, except that I'll already be at work at the time, so I'm going to have to stop into the ortho before leaving for the morning.  OK.  Call the ortho - the earliest they can get me in is 8:25.  Not OK.  I should be at work by 8, so this is highly inconvenient and cutting into my vacation time!  Oh, well.  I make the best of the morning, get up early, get a much-needed early bird special oil change for my car, and hit the ortho. 

Orthodontist assistant:  "Hi Aimee! Do you know why you're here today?"
Me:  "Yes, I'm getting my teeth cleaned today, so I need my wires popped out."
OA:  "Uh-huh."  (distractedly).
5 minutes last, after she has pulled my bottom wire halfway out, then started attaching things and putting it back in, I realize that I might know why I'm there, but she obviously doesn't.  I'm trying to peek at my chart on the monitor and see something about pre-surgery prep.  She's putting my surgical hooks on. 

Me:  "um, aren't you going to take the wires out?  I'm just here to get the wires taken off for the day so I can get my teeth thoroughly cleaned."
OA:  (blank stare) "Oh.  I guess you said that.  Let me see here... Your chart doesn't mention that."  Then she rereads the chart and decided that she's reading the instruction for my next appointment....

So my 2 minutes ortho appt took 15.  Oh, well. 

At the dentist a few hours later...I'm sitting in the waiting room.  I know that my regular appointment isn't for another month.  I know that I just want my teeth cleaned because my insurance won't pay for this appointment and I can't afford a full checkup out of pocket.  Yes, I know!  I also know I can hear the receptionist and the dental hygienist talking about me like I'm not sitting 3 feet away from them. 

After a slightly painful cleaning, I have extremely clean teeth.  Stopping at the desk to pay, the receptionist pulls up my insurance again...and realizes that it would have paid for the whole checkup and will indeed pay for this cleaning.  Oh.  Well! 

It was an irritating day, tooth-wise.  Just little things, but the little things are the ones that really sting!

But that's OK - less than 2 weeks to go.  Right now, I'm brushing, flossing, and eating everything in sight while I still can...