Childhood Terror #2: Escaped!

I have wonderful news! I'm not going crazy, I don't have to spend the precious weeks before Ukraine eating jello and whining, and I don't have to face one of my three worst childhood nightmares!

In other words, I don't have to have my wisdom teeth out, and the jaw problems I've been having are not some kind of debilitating disease; they're just stress.

I've been having bad headaches and tension all over my head, face, neck, and jaw area, and my jaw is uneven. We thought it might be the wisdom teeth I've never had checked, and decided to go to a dentist about it before I leave for Ukraine.

Then, Mrs. Michelle mentioned TMJ, a disorder in the jaw joints that is actually pretty common, I think. It can be caused by all sorts of things, from severe injuries to chewing too much gum, but it's often caused by stress. And as much as I'd like to say I've been serene as an angel the past few weeks...well let's just say there are a few things on my mind. I lay awake at night focusing on not clenching my teeth...among other things.

Anyhow, I read up on it on the internet, and apparently TMJ isn't caused by wisdom teeth. In fact, having your wisdom teeth removed can sometimes cause TMJ, because they open your mouth so abnormally wide. I was not looking forward to sitting there with my sore mouth open like that.

We went to Dr. Cloud this morning, however, still expecting I'd need the wisdom teeth out. I laid back in the chair and erupted in nervous giggles while he and the assistant poked things into my mouth. He said,

"Well, I've had a lot of criers in here, but not many laughers!" I couldn't stop. I turned red and got teary and nearly exploded with laughing, while they grinned and shook their heads at me and continued with the (jiggly) inner-mouth photography.

My mouth felt like an overstuffed broom closet, and the more I thought about the ludicrousness of it the more I couldn't control the eruptions, especially at the part where he said, "Now be really still." Was he trying to be funny? Not to mention it kind of tickled. And things tasted funny. And I've never had a stranger's latex-gloved finger stuck down my throat before. Eww for them! But, everything was so funny it didn't hurt.

And as soon as he peeked into my mouth, Dr. Cloud said,

"You've got great teeth. Who'd you get these teeth from? There's plenty of room in there!" And after a good look at the tickly photos, "I don't know why you'd want to get those out. You've got plenty of room." I didn't even have any cavities. Mrs. Audrey (the assistant) said,

"You've done a great job brushing and flossing," and I didn't have the guts to tell her I have a horror of flossing and never do it.

Well, what can I say? That I've been freaking out all these years over nothing? Pretty much :) Seriously, when I was very little, my three greatest fears were these: (in this order)

1) Getting baptized (In front of all those people! Yikes!)
2 ) Getting my wisdom teeth removed.
3)Being in a housefire.

So far I've overcome #1, avoided #3, and been miraculously spared from #2.

So, I talked with the dentist about the TMJ, and he said, "Relax!" Hm. I laughed and said, "Can you tell me something everyone else hasn't already?" "Well, try to eat soft foods and take an Ibufrofen 4 times a day..." Basically he said, quit stressing and you'll feel better when you move out of the country. Which is kind of what I was thinking anyway. It's just nice to hear it from someone else's mouth! It's not like I won't have problems in Ukraine (Deb's probably laughing), but they will be different problems than the ones I'm clenching my teeth over now :)

They said maybe meditation would help me relax :) I think God was hinting at that already...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refeshment to your bones." Proverbs 3:5-7

I feel embarressed that, as a follower of Jesus, I would be overwhelmed by stress. I'm supposed to lean on Him, right? Trust in Him completely! I guess it's just a growing process. Today was one step deeper in trusting Him because I saw awesome evidence of "Cast all your cares apon Him, because He cares for you." I'm so surrounded with His love and care.

From from my mother's womb (which was, toward the end, a pretty risky place to be since my Mom had Toxemia when I was born) God's been forming me and He knew exactly what teeth I would have and how much space there would be for them. And I don't think the TMJ stuff surprises Him either.

Now, I'll just breath deeply, and hope for better sleep tonight...