First Friday

Well my Friday was filled with many firsts...first time to experience a root canal and first day of my new job.
I can think of many better ways to begin my Friday but due to multiple factors this (root canal) had to be taken care of ASAP. It went fine but I was a lot more sore than when I had the pulpotomy done on Monday. The worst part was the multiple shots of anesthesia that I had. I think the shot points in my mouth, gum and roof of my mouth were more sore than the actually tooth that was fixed. I was also sad to learn that this was only the root canal which means I have to make another appointment with my dentist to get a crown for the tooth. And I won't be able to take care of this until my new insurance kicks in (30 days).
I went straight from the dental chair to my new job :) It was a fairly easy first day, more like orientation i guess. We went over what this upcoming weeks schedule will look like and prioritized things that will need to be done first thing Monday. In the afternoon, I did some errands and then was off by 4:30 pm. Not bad for the first day. I had more time than planned so I chatted with my parents and came home to rest before heading to our Friday night study group. Study was good but I was so exhausted from the day's events that I bolted as soon as study was over around 9 and came home. I can't recall the last time that I was in bed, actually asleep before 10 o'clock.

Last Days...

Well it's finally here...and has come and gone...my last day at TMP was today. I'm sitting here writing this not really feeling like I've gone. In my head, I feel like I'm going to wake up tomorrow, dress for "casual friday" and head to the office, BUT that will not be the case. It makes me a little sad, to not see my co-workers and "friends" tomorrow, and yet I know that this chapter has come to an end and a new chapter full of challenges and adventures begins tomorrow. Now, that is exciting!

The day at work flew by really fast, finishing up loose ends, cleaning up my desk and packing up my stuff. It never ceases to amaze me how much "stuff" one can accumulate over time. The firm took me out to lunch for this farewell and about 15 people were able to make it out. We went to Joey's House of Pizza and we were not disappointed. Here are a couple pictures:

Michelle, Kelly, Me and Cathryn

The TMP Gang (our table wrapped around but I didn't capture the other group on film)

Heather, Me and Michelle

A Snowy Wednesday

Yes, that's right I said "snowy". It actually started snowing last night when I was leaving work around 5 o'clock and it was still snowing when I headed home after attending Kairos last night. The roads of course were fine as it wasn't really sticking although with that wind blowing snow into your face, it sort of reminded me of blizzard like conditions. Obviously after having lived in Nashville for almost 4 years now, I should not be surprised that most all schools were closed today (because of the near 1 inch of snow on the ground) and that people are cautious driving to work (as in 10 mph). To say that I had a little road rage this morning might be an understatement. I, like my blogging friend Cathryn, grew up to truly appreciate the full meaning of a snow day. (Read her blog)

Last night I mentioned attending Kairos. This is a mid-week service at Brentwood Baptist Church aimed for young adults with a time of worship, prayer and teaching. Some singles from their church that attended our "Ice" night on Saturday also attend Kairos, so Amy and I decided to check it out. I'm familiar with the "coffee house style" of layout for a mid-week service but was surprised at how big the space was and from my viewpoint it seemed packed. I'm going to guess that they probably had over 200 people in attendance from all age ranges/walks of life. I liked that they had a time of worship both before and after the teaching and the fact that their teacher is the Senior Pastor of BB impressed me. Amy and I both agreed that it had been a while since we had been in the "baptist" format of teaching and to actually have an altar call/invitation was refreshing. Afterwards, we ran into a couple people we had met from last weeks outings and then headed home. I don't know that I will attend on a weekly basis but I did thoroughly enjoy the teaching and worship....it's a great way to "recharge your batteries" mid-week.

A Dental-Phobia Part Deux

Well...I have both good news and bad news. Which would you like first? The good news is that I have been temporarily relieved from my tooth pain (notice the word "temporarily"). Now the bad news...I actually did not get the root canal on Monday like I had planned. Let me rephrase that, I chose not to get the root canal done because the endodontist that my dentist had referred me to was not in my insurance network. This information was relayed to me after I had just spent the past 5 minutes filling out paperwork through gut-wrenching pain. Needless to say when she informed me about the insurance situation, tears formed as I could no longer hold back the misery I had been in for days. It was evident to them all the amount of pain I was in so she went back to talk to the dentist and their solution was to do a pulpotomy(this is where they basically clean up the tooth/infection and remove the nerve) that would relieve the pain/pressure I was feeling and also buy me time to find someone who could do the root canal . I think my reaction was "Yes, please...immediately if not sooner would be great." I was escorted back to yet another chair and the procedure took place. It felt great to just receive the Novocaine and not be able to feel the pain in my mouth but I really was a nervous wreck. And as the procedure took place I was quickly reminded why i have such a phobia of the dentist....it all stems from that horrible shrieking sound of the tools they use. The drill and other like gadgets are the absolute worse. Just recalling those sounds in my memory as I type this makes my skin crawl and my stomach flip. So the procedure did not take very long and they packed the tooth really good with some temporary fix and sent me on my way with antibiotics and pain meds. I started the antibiotics immediately like instructed and took the pain med to ensure a good nights rest. Mission accomplished...well at least partially.

First thing this morning I did while at work was speak to one of the partners who recently had a root canal himself to find out who he went to and make sure that they were in our network. I also had to confirm with our benefits manager when my last day of insurance coverage would be to make sure I could get this root canal covered by my current dental plan. Needless to say, I found a endodontist that is in my network and they had an opening for Friday at 7:45 a.m. which just happens to be the last day that I'm covered. Just another one of many examples in my life how GOD always works it out...in HIS time. I just love that HE is concerned with all the details of my life...even the tooth aches!

Thanks to those who have checked on me and for your prayers. I have the best friends EVER!

A Dental-a-phobia

It takes a lot to really get me scared. I can hang with the best of them when it comes to the scariest of films or even going through haunted houses (although I have not done that since high school and I prefer not to have random strangers grabbing at me or chasing me). BUT there is one thing that really frightens me and that is the DENTIST. No, I don't have any horrific story from the chair or bad experience that would justify my fear...I just don't like the dentist. I have been blessed with my mother's good teeth and other than a few cavities as a child, I have not had any dental issues/emergencies. That was until this weekend....

Let me start at the beginning, when I went to my 6 mos. cleaning in December, they discovered that one of my top molars had a small piece of the tooth missing. The dentist said that overall I had beautiful, healthy teeth and that this was just an isolated incident. The plan of action was to schedule an appointment to fix it which I made for Feb. 5th. Sadly, I came down with the flu and had to reschedule my appointment for March. Then, last Wednesday I woke up with a tooth ache...nothing unbearable just uncomfortable and with any ache and pain you take some Advil. Well, the pain was persistant and by Friday no amount of Advil would even cause the slightest relief from the pain/pressure I was feeling on both the top/bottom of the right side of my mouth. Now I have a pretty high tolerance for pain/discomfort but this is ridiculous. I knew that unless it magically disappeared (which was not realistic) I would be calling the dentist first thing this morning. Which is exactly what I had to do....my resolve to battle this pain was dwindling. So they were great enough to get me in this morning and after a quick x-ray the results were in and those two words were uttered to me "ROOT CANAL". I probably would have had a some type of dramatic reaction had I not been in so much pain. They do not do them in this office and thankfully they were able to find me an appointment for this afternoon so within the hour I will be ending my work day early and going back to the dental chair. Of course, no one would call having a root canal fun and as much as I strongly fear the dentist, I will do just about anything to alleviate this horrible pain/pressure from my mouth. My dentist also gave me a prescription for Lortab to help manage the pain so there is a good chance that the rest of my day might be a blur.

Wow...what a way to spend a Monday......