Relief....well somewhat

So today I had my surgical work up for BSSO oral surgery. I have been covering a volleyball camp at work which requires me to be at work from 845am-830pm so I was a little concerned about the time. So last week I called the OS office to see how long does these appointments take and I was told about an hour. I would go to my appointment at 7am and head to work early and get things set up. So it was all figured out with a great plan.....or so I thought. Well I check in at 7:05am and no one but myself is waiting in the waiting room. After 10min, I glance at the receptionist who smiles at me. I smile back but little does she know its 7:20am and no one has called me back. Finally a second later a tech calls me back.

Ok I must interject. I am so not a morning person. Not even remotely close to enjoying the morning. It used to be so bad that my old roommie from college would be too scared to wake me up in the morning for anything due to my grumpiness and I guess evilness? LOL But yeah I get pretty grumpy in the morning and the earlier I have to get up the worse.

The tech knows he is late getting me but he seems a bit out of it too which annoys me even more and tries to make up with random convo. Like how am I doing and where do I live? He assumed that I wanted to get and be wired shut for 6 weeks. I told him of the 2 procedure I was told I could chose and I opted for BSSO. He was a little shocked and explained to me about the possible nerve injury and loss of feeling to my chin. I told him that I was told this and I explained that I do not want to be wired shut for 6 weeks. LOL Well these random questions occurred at the weirdest moments and wouldn't relate to any of the current convo. Poor guy, well at least he tried. So first we start with digital pics. He takes full face, 45degree, and profile pics. All with relax jaw and with big smile. Then more pics of my upper and lower arch using the mirror and my "fave" the pics with the forceps. He takes a bunch of measurement of my face, jaw, nose, teeth, mouth, lips, any and everything LOL It was interesting at how many measurements were taken. So after this, I am sitting in the chair wondering whats next but then I smell smoke from matches and him mumbling to himself about nothing working out right today. Sadly there is a big clock staring at me in the face and I sigh as he works some torch. The room begins to reek of expired matches and I am slowly becoming more and more agitated as precious time ticks away.

So 740am rolls around and I think to myself, well I should be done in less than an hour so I will be ok. It only takes 5-10min to get to work from the hospital. So he gives up with the fire and starts fitting me for the bracket that will house the molds. Well the molds they had were too small and he comments about how large my arch is and does not fit their molds. In the back of my mind I was thinking "Is this an indirect way of saying I have a big mouth?". Well it made me laugh for a sec. And got my mind off of the clock for a sec. So we finally finds a bracket that fits my upper and lower arch. Then starts up the fire and is happy to have it working. He molds one bracket and it fits perfectly.

So he fits my upper arch first but when he pulls it out, the mold stays on my teeth and the bracket comes out without the molds. So he cleans the tray and tries again. And this time he pulls it out way too soon and the mold is a mess. He gives up on the mold for a sec and moves one to this wax thing that I had to bite into. I guess its to see where my teeth are now touching. Well something was wrong with the first one so a second one was done. Then he returned back to getting the mold of my upper arch. While the mold is in, he apologizes for the delay and asks when I have to be at work. I tried to tell him but when you have the big tray with the molding in you can't really talk. He pulls it out and states that it was better. Then he starts on the bottom. Well after 3 tries he gets it. Mind you through all of this, I have this molding caught in between my teeth and brackets and all over my lips. It was a mess. I felt like this was a nightmare.

So now its 825am and I pretty much need to leave now so I can get to work on time. He informs me that I will need xrays and then I will be done which shouldn't take long. Suddenly, he goes back to mixing something and from behind me he produces another tray with molding to do the top arch AGAIN! I about lost it. I couldn't believe this was happening. I just wish I knew this a head of time so I could have prepared for it all. But alas, I am stuck there. He pulls out the tray and states that this is the best one. I would had hope so after the 4th try. He states he will put me on the list to see the xray tech now.

He leaves to sign me up for xrays and comes back. Dr Edward's fellow comes in to meet and talk with me. He did a short visual eval, observed my bite, etc He asked which procedure I wanted and I told him. He gave me the same lecture of possible nerve injury with a 10% risk with BSSO and a 1% risk for the VRO. I told him that I knew the risks but I would rather have rubber bands. He said the bands would be similar to be wired but then I stated but at least I will have movement after a few weeks which he agreed. He went over the usual things like I would have to stay in the hospital overnight and that I could it could take up to 2 days. He asked if anyone would be around to take care of me and stated yes. He also inquired about my next ortho appointment for the surgical hooks which is this friday (July 18) He asked if I had any questions (which I did) but my mind was so tired and brain dead that I was able to thing. He smiled, shook my hand, and said see ya next week. LOL I can at least saw that I really do like Dr Edwards and the fellow. They both are really nice.

So its 835am and there's no way I will make it to work. I become a little desperate and try to think of what to do. The thought of leaving my appointment cross my mind many times LOL I should have suggested on coming back later or a different day. The tech comes back and take a few more measurements with a tool I can't even begin to describe. Some metal tool with wings that I had to bite down on and I had to hold up with my thumbs. I think it was to see the level of my teeth? I ask him how much longer and he states very soon.

Suddenly I remembered my student helper and I decided to call her but guess what? I have no cell reception and there is no phone in site. I realized I am in the basement of the place. So I leave the room and head outside to make the call. Its a good thing the ER exit/entrance was close by. I call up my student and the coach in charge to let her know my situation. Fortunately, my student is able to cover for me. Great something comes through for me.

I head back to the room and I sit down slightly relieved and a little agitated. Its 9am and the xray tech calls me ready to go. A panorex, frontal, and profile xray are taken. After the pics, the tech had me wait until everything was printed properly. The fellow comes into the room and looks through some charts. I then remembered a few questions. I asked him about a splint and to my delight he said I wouldn't need one. I also jumped for joy. Then I asked about follow ups which are 2. 4. 6 and 8 weeks. then after that its 3 and 6 months. He said I will also be seen prior to being debanded but I am getting invisalign to finish off the last bit so I might be out of braces sooner.

The xray tech hands me printer copies of my xrays and I head back to my exam room. I wait 5 min before the original tech comes in and is shocked to see me there. He states that I was done after the xrays. I simply smiled, said thank you for coming back, and left the office ASAP

So now I plan on doing the bulk of my shopping tomorrow for food at sams club. I will also pick up my magic bullet that I bought a couple days ago and is waiting at the rental office. Time is flying by and pretty soon I will finally have this surgery behind me!