Would Rather Have The Hurricane!

I debated posting about everything, but I have always been fully transparent. So please be aware this post may trigger anyone who cannot handle stress-related topics. Buckle up, everyone! At the end of July, I went to the hospital thinking I was having a heart attack. I was having all the symptoms. It was not a heart attack, thank heavens. But I was diagnosed with Pneumonia. The staff that I saw that night was great, and at 4 am the following morning, I was sent home with a pile of prescriptions and told I needed to rest and stay calm because I was in the running for a heart attack. The pains I felt were a pre-curser warning me about Pneumonia and what could happen if I did not slow down.

During this time, we had an event happen at my home, which I was not involved in or was even home during. This event shifted our entire home, and we are still dealing with it. Then came Hurricane Helene, which caused me to miss a lot of work. Thankfully, we only lost power, work time, and food. Thankfully, that was all for that hurricane.

I missed a few days worth of work. But with that and the Pneumonia incident,  I was already financially struggling. I am behind on all my bills and am working on getting caught up. Then, Hurricane Milton decided to join the party. Three days before Milton hit, I discovered I had a filling fallout. Well, I went to get one of these nonpermanent caps because I was worried about the nerve exposed or more damage to the tooth. I can hear people ask, why didn't you get into a dentist before the storm? I tried to contact and find a dentist for emergency care, and all Dentist's offices were closed in preparation for the hurricane.

Then Hurricane Milton struck. I worked the best I could until the internet dropped, and I could not work anymore. We relaxed as the storm rolled in, and my mouth hurt so much. The power went out right after we finished cooking dinner, and we watched the storm as we fell asleep. Let me rephrase that. My partner fell asleep watching the storm. I was up all night due to the pain. That night, I wanted to sit in the hurricane wind gusts instead of having the pain in my mouth. The next day, I went to the ER at the hospital near me, and the Doctor on duty said, "It's infected, and here is an antibiotic that should help."

The Doctor said, "You should go to the dentist that put the filling on and have them fix it instead of coming to the emergency room." 

Not that I didn't already try that before the hurricane. I was angry, exhausted, and sarcastic. I said, "Got an Ouija board? He passed away over ten years ago."

I was sent home from the ER after being told to find a dentist. This task was nearly impossible because all offices were closed due to the hurricane. I was able to fill the prescription after finding an open pharmacy and started taking it right away. 

Waking up at three am the following morning, I felt so sick, and my face had swollen to the point I was having difficulty breathing. My neighbor took me back to the ER. The ER Doctor dismissed my claims of having issues breathing and said, "You walked in here just fine. I will give you a pain shot. See a dentist."

It was three in the morning on the Saturday after Milton. I even asked, "Well, do you know a dentist open on a Saturday after a major natural disaster?"

She told me that was not her problem, and after they gave me a shot for pain, I was discharged and told again to find a dentist. They ignored my problem. I mentioned that the space underneath the tongue swelled, and I received shrugged shoulders and no assistance. That shot they gave me gave me three hours of sleep. 

After those three hours of sleep, I woke up still swollen and called my neighbor. I asked her to take me to the other hospital near us because the swelling scared me a lot. She did. I explained everything that had been happening to the next hospital, and the new PA was pissed. She explained that with the swelling in my face, the breathing issues could be a precursor to a larger and not dismissed. She agreed that I did need to see a dentist. She also said that  I needed to function. Both the PA and the attending Doctor in the ER decided that I needed pain meds and advised me to keep up with the antibiotic.

On Monday, I went to make an emergency dental appointment. I was scheduled the following day and tried to work the best I could in a lot of pain. The following day, I got to the appointment, and the Dentist tried to do X-rays. The Dentist couldn't get a good X-ray because my mouth and jawline were so swollen that I could not open my mouth much. The Dentist did not tell me to return when the swelling went down to try another x-ray. However, she insisted that we needed to have the tooth removed.

I was given the referral and went to the place to get an appointment to get the tooth pulled. The office said the swelling had to go down so we needed to wait till today. I arrive and get new x-rays and the Dentist tells me they cannot pull the tooth. Why? Because now I have jaw bone exposed and need to see a dental surgeon consult as the case now needs surgical intervention. I do not have dental insurance. I do not know what I am going to do at the moment. From what I have read the bone could be exposed due to delay in medical care and the infection.

I went to one last Dentist appointment this past week. During the visit, the jawbone exposed is more than likely from the infection. However, due to the exposed jawbone, the regular office cannot pull the related teeth. The Dentist referred me to a bunch of different offices. A lot of these offices are supposed to be income-based. However, more than half of the offices are out of the county, and those offices do not accept people from our county. The last two referrals are for a charity group that no longer does dental and Shand's in Gainesville, which does not return calls. So, unless I get a call by Friday, I will return to the trauma hospital on Saturday and see if I can get assistance.

If anyone wants to help with the medical expenses, my cash app is $angelaelting123, or PayPal is mycrazylifeagain2@gmail.com.

Usually, I would never put that there, but this adventure in my life is well beyond what I can do. I will need to pay for the surgery and all my bills, and at this time, I do not have it due to missing work due to not being able to talk. When I joked that I wanted an adventure, this is not what I was talking about.

Also, I had let this post sit unfinished for a few days because I had a few appointments. As of today, Halloween, nothing has been resolved. Unless I come up with the funds, I cannot get this fixed and will have to live with this pain. With everything going on in my life, I am at the point where I want to lose it. But I can't lose it. There is no option.

Please pray for the situation my family is going through and for my health. I have never felt like this before, and I am scared.