Graduation Day

Way, way back in 2015, I went to the dentist and found out I had advanced periodontal disease. Some of you might remember reading about that back in the day.

I had to have a five hour sedated surgery/procedure to correct the issue, and it was absolutely terrifying to even think about.

When I had all this done, I was working in Fort Wayne, and I knew I needed to find a dentist that offered sedation and would understand my extreme dental anxiety. That was how I landed at the office in Fort Wayne in the first place. (To be fair, it was a combo of Google and God, heavy on God. I did Google dentists that offered sedation, but I believe God led me to this place, because he knew the exact person I needed to walk me through this multi-year journey of getting back to oral health.)

The dentists were nice, but it was the dental assistant that really made the connection with me. She was so kind and so determined to see me become a success story.

In the weeks that followed the procedure, I had to go back for checkups every six weeks...and then two months...and then three months...and just recently I was granted the privilege of returning every six months like a normal person.

Even after leaving the radio station, I continued to drive back for my dental appointments, because I only trusted these people with  my anxiety. "They know my crazy," I'd tell Ryan. It's three hours round trip in the car to go, but it's been worth it to me.

And then came this week.

I was scheduled to have an appointment at 11:00 this past Monday morning, and of course when I checked the forecast on Sunday, it showed 3-5 inches of snow falling all across my path from home to the dentist - starting about 9 a.m. Right when I'd need to leave home.

You know I hate driving in the snow. You know what I hate worse than that? Driving in the first snow. That's when all the people who have forgotten how to drive in snow try to keep their dry-weather driving habits alive and well. I didn't want to be among them

So first thing Monday morning, I called to reschedule. I knew they would understand. They knew I came from a distance. I rescheduled for Tuesday afternoon, because the rest of the week was supposed to be well above freezing.

Key words: supposed to be.

Not so much. Tuesday didn't bring more snow, but it brought frigid temps that kept the roads all icy. I paced and stewed trying to figure out what to do. I was afraid to cancel again, and I really just wanted to get the appointment out of the way. In a beautiful God-moment, Ryan was able to make adjustments to his schedule, so he could drive me to Fort Wayne. (Our county was a solid sheet of ice, all the way to the county line and then the roads were fine from there.)

On the way up, we talked about what we should do, and he said he thought I was doing well enough to look for a dentist closer to home. I knew he was right, but it made my heart sad to think about leaving my dear assistant who has coached me along for five and a half years.

At the end of the hour, when it came time to make the next appointment, I told her our decision. She told me she was impressed I'd kept up the dental commute as long as I had and she didn't blame me a bit. She said I was doing great in my recovery and it could just be my graduation day.

Words that (five years ago) I never thought I'd hear!

Ryan thought I deserved a graduation treat:

So I've graduated! And now we'll hope I can continue to thrive just as much...close to home!