How Great is My God

A week ago Friday morning, while at work, I noticed that I had a toothache. The pain increased to the point where I knew that I could not wait another two hours until my lunch break to buy some Advil.

When my children were small I noticed that they always got sick on Friday evenings, right after the doctor's office was closed for the weekend. My toothache was following suit. My dentist closes his office at noon on Fridays. However, I didn't feel that an appointment was going to be necessary. I was sure that the Advil was going to be my victorious solution.

It wasn't. The pain that I endured over the weekend was constant. There was nothing that I could do to alleviate it. I kept popping Advil and rubbing Oragard on my gum. The only time the pain dissipated was during a time of immense glory during our church conference on the Saturday evening. Once I left church that night the pain decided to say 'hello' again.

I called the dentist Monday morning and was told that they couldn't get me in for a week. A week??????? Don't they leave openings for emergencies such as mine????

I survived the week. I kept the Oragard close and popped Advil pretty much every night. Each night once I laid my head down my head would ache.

This tooth pain was nothing like I'd experienced before. I had bought a new toothbrush and switched to Sensodyne - as one friend suggested would probably be all the dentist would tell me to do.

I went to my appointment yesterday morning. I explained my symptoms and let him know that I had already used the Sensodyne which I was expecting him to prescribe. He pulled out my x-rays from my recent February check-up. Examined my mouth. Then requested his assistant to take a new x-ray of the tooth in question. Of course, the normal routine x-ray caused more pain.

I was ready for him to tell me that I'd been brushing too hard along my gum line and to continue with the Sensodyne. Or, perhaps he would discover that something had got stuck under the gum, remove it and send me on my way.

After viewing the new x-ray he returned to the examining room where I was waiting and said, "We are going to have to do a root canal."

"WHAT? I didn't come here for that!!!" I anxiously explained to him. I was experiencing a very slight case of shock. Do I get to agree? What if that is not the diagnosis that I am willing to accept???

He very nicely talked me through the entire procedure and invited me to watch in the mirror. This would be difficult as my hands and eyes were both clenched - watching the procedure did not appeal to me.

Once finished, he explained that today's visit would be part one. Part two will conclude in one week. At that visit my mouth will be frozen and the procedure will take a little longer. I have to wait a week because I need to be on penicillin for 7 days to kill the infection that caused this whole ordeal.

He also explained that the Advil and Oragard wouldn't have been able to help me and that when I laid my head down at night the pain would have worsened due to the lack of blood flow. At least I now know that I wasn't imagining it all.

At the end of the visit the dental assistant asked me to wait in the examination room while she checked to see if anyone was out at the counter. She wanted to walk me out. I assumed that she realized that this whole ordeal was causing me to feel a little light-headed and that I would need assistance walking.

She returned for me and we left the room together. Part way to the desk she stopped and in hushed tones revealed to me that a root canal would cost me $1000. Oh!! So, she wasn't worried about my 'condition' after-all. She was worred about me being light-headed for a complete different set of reasons.

But!!! She said, "You are covered 100%!"

Praise God!!

So, my mouth is getting better and my pain will be gone and it won't set us back. I served a great big God!!

RhondaY