We Should Get The Results In About Two Weeks

This is a follow up to the post Root Canal Gone Bad. We finally found a dentist that takes Beth's insurance and Chuck took her to an appointment last week. She told him that she didn't know if Beth's tooth could be saved until after we know the results of the biopsy.

Well, Tuesday was the biopsy. The only oral surgeon we could find that takes her insurance is at Harborview, our states top trauma hospital. Beth was a little nervous today but she did really well.

Chuck and I picked her up from the bowling alley and headed downtown. We waited in the waiting room for a while, then her and I went back. I tried to explain to her what exactly they were going to do but to be honest, I wasn't really sure myself.

A nurse came in and introduced herself and asked if we wanted any water. She said they were running about an hour behind and asked if we had parked in the garage. When she brought the water, she also gave me a couple of parking validation tickets.

Harborview

At first I thought she had fallen asleep, but she opened her eyes after I snapped the picture. :)

 

We were in a corner room on the 4th floor and had an amazing view! We even watched a helicopter land on the building. We drank our water and read magazines.

Centurylink Field (foreground) and Safeco Field (left)

Just over that hill in the background is Seatac Airport

After about 2 hours, the doctor finally came in. He had a southern accent and wore cowboy boots and kept calling Beth Sweetheart. We loved him!

Before he did the procedure he looked at it closely, then told me he was fairly certain it was nothing to lose sleep over. Beth sat silently during the procedure although I could see her knuckles turning white as she gripped the arms of the chair. I would lean forward and just rub her leg a little bit, just to let her know I was still there. Mostly though, I buried my head in my magazine, being careful not to see the needle, or any part of the process actually! And then, it was over! The entire process took about 15 minutes and he decided to take out the entire growth and not just the cyst. He put in the stitches and that was that.

When he took his gloves off he told Beth she was the best patient he'd had all day. The nurse looked at me and said, "No really. He's not kidding!" Beth sat in the chair a few more minutes and then said she was ready to go.

Everything went so well, there were no food restrictions or anything. She's been careful when she eats, but she's eating all her usual foods. She has dissolving stitches so we don't have to worry about going back in to have them removed. The first couple of days she didn't have much pain, but now she's taking Tylenol almost regularly. But she's doing great. Even went to art and karaoke the next day!

And now we wait.