So much to talk about!!

It has been a while and a lot has happened since my last post. There were times that I really wanted to post but was so afraid I would jinx myself (stupid, I know) so I waited. Well, to start at the beginning of all that has happened in the last couple months.. in August (I believe), I was told by my ortho that I was getting close to being ready for surgery and that I could make an appointment with the surgeon so that he could check things out and look at the progress and see if he thought I was just about ready as well. So, I call up the University of Maryland (this is where my surgeon works) and come to find out, he no longer works there. He had just left and started his own practice. Ok, no reason to panic. I just got the new telephone number, called him and set up an appt. Of course they told me I would have to have all my medical records transferred so I paid to have them delivered to me. So, long story short, I took a half a day off of work and went down to see him to find out that he does not accept my insurance. I was devastated and almost broke into tears right in the middle of the waiting room. I was told I could still see him that day, but I would have to pay out of pocket and it could be hundreds of dollars. Not to mention, if I switched insurances (Dec 1st, when my company renews insurance), I was afraid that seeing him that day might screw up my insurance approval. And yes, I had already gotten the authorization from my insurance co. to have my surgery with him when he was at UMD. So, I basically decided even though I wasted all that time to drive down there that I would not see him that day. And after talking it over with my insurance person at work and speaking with my ortho, I decided it would be best to just go with another surgeon at UMD. My ortho reassured me that any surgeon there would be excellent. It took me a while to get over this (I mean I had been planning this and believing he would be my surgeon for over a year and a half at this point!!), but after a few days of calming down, I was finally ok with the switch.
So I spoke with the insurance person at UMD (I mentioned this in a previous post, but just have to say again that she is amazing and has basically guided me thru most of this process) and I told her I wanted to set up an appt with one of the other surgeons there. She said this was not a problem, but I wouldn't be able to see him for a consult until mid to late October!! This was not good since i wanted to have my surgery by late Oct/early November. She said if I scheduled the surgery with her right then, I could schedule it by mid November. So, I took both appts right then. I thought it seemed a little odd to schedule the surgery when I hadn't even met the doctor. It made me quite nervous actually. But, I knew if I didn't schedule it then, I had no chance of getting the surgery before tax season which would mean I'd have to wait till next May!!! um, I don't think so. ha!!
So, anyway, I finally, today, had my long awaited appt (and very first meeting) with my surgeon. I really did like him a lot and he seemed to only need a few minutes of looking at my teeth and the x-rays and molds that I brought in order to tell me exactly what I will need done. One thing in particular I really like about him is that he is also a cosmetic surgeon. I mean his focus is on orthognathic surgery, but he is a cosmetic surgeon as well. Can't hurt, right? :) So, he took molds of my teeth (which i had already endured two of these in the last two months) and honestly I have never had so much trouble with them. I gagged sooo bad on the top one. :( And they used that weird tool (I forget the name) that they stick in both your ears and it wraps around the front of your face. It's really strange, but it's used for all their measurements. And the best news of all, he says there should not be any problem to have everything ready to go for my surgery which is scheduled on November 17th!! I have to come back in two weeks for the pre-op appt and I will have the surgical hooks put on 6 days prior to the surgery. So, it sounds like things are all set.
Honestly, I think now that I know that things are set in stone (or as much as they will be), I am getting really nervous. I have calmed down at this point some, but earlier today I kinda freaked out. It's really happening in 4 weeks! AHHHH!!! Well, I have let this post drag on too long.. so I will save all my nerves and other feelings and more details of today for the next post. I will probably be updating much more frequently now. But please feel free to comment me with calming thoughts!! :)