Taking a scenic route back from the village on an overcast and humid morning.
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Three times a day now I am wrapping thermal packs around my jaw, the intention being to re-educate the muscles and perhaps reduce persistent head and other aches.
Pain management was keen for me to consult a doctor who deals specifically with temporomandibular joint disorders and after a wait of several months I finally saw him recently.
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What the pain management person failed to tell me was that this practitioner is actually a DMD – a doctor of dental medicine which would have been helpful to know considering I do not have dental insurance.
However, the man was very pleasant and spent some time discussing the sort of problem he believes I have and perhaps over time the heat packs will have an effect. In addition, I will get a night guard. I have tried these in the past and found myself unable to sleep with such a thing in my mouth, but I grind my teeth at night and frequently jolt awake after biting my tongue, which is quite painful.
The device this doctor showed me looked smaller and fits just the lower jaw, so I agreed to have my teeth scanned. Only then did I discover the cost which was impressive.
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Last Tuesday the clinic called to say that the scan was unclear and I was supposed to go back to Albany the next day to have it repeated, but in the morning we realised that Muffin was failing fast and there was no way we could not stay with her.
So the scan was delayed till next week.
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In the meantime it’s back to the pain clinic tomorrow. After four years of good results, my last encounter with the doctor’s assistant was very disappointing, so my expectations are not high, but it will be good to finally determine if they have decided not to help me further so I can make a different plan.
Then again, our government seems bent of removing many of us from healthcare, in which case it will all be moot!
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It seems like yesterday the fields were bare. Corn is growing at an extraordinary rate.
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Turning a corner, we set two deer to flight back into the woods.
Much safer for them than the highway they’d been heading for.
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Back at home Grant dropped me off so I could meander slowly along the path he made through the tangle in the lower field.
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Lots of good stuff for bees and butterflies.
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Last year we’d been dismayed at the condition of our transplanted maple tree. The trunk was cracked and we were afraid the tree would die.
Yet it has shot up and appears to thrive.
One more thing to be grateful for.
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But what I am especially pleased with is the milkweed crop.
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Which is healthy.
And abundant.
Thank you, Carolyn, for the interesting post. I love your path and so many wildflowers in your meadow. You are right, there are always many things in life to be grateful for, including the fact we are alive!
Joanna
It’s good to have a meandering path through the field. Less chance of nasty beasties hitching a ride on your legs!
Great pics and anecdotes, as always. Thank-you. All the best for that pain management situation.
I agree with the others, it’s nice that Grant made a path for you through the field. Enough reason to take a little walk every day and admire the beauty around you. I hope there is good news for the pain you are experiencing and that it can be treated.
Reading about your experiences with doctors and dentists in America makes me even happier that we have the NHS. But with this new Labour government talking about a major ‘review’ of medical services, we have to do our best to keep it.
Best wishes, Pete.