Up until a few weeks ago, I
was working on my pre- surgery appointments.
It was necessary to once again drive back to Miami to have my blood work
re-done, and once again ship it to Orthopedic Analysis for panel two metals
testing. Begrudgingly, I did this.
After my CAT scan with
contrast, I only had one other random doctor’s appointment, which was at the
nueroradiologist. This appointment was
also at the hospital. He explained how
he was going into my veins through both sides of my groin, snaking a catheter
up my body, and putting stents in to block blood flow on both sides of my
temporamandibular joint. I had many
questions, and he was very patient, informative, and nice. He decided that he was going to do this the
morning before my total joint replacement (TJR) and that I would be able to
leave the hospital around one. I was
excited because that meant I could eat anything I wanted to the day before surgery.
After that appointment all I
could do was wait on my metal testing results.
Friday, October 23rd, I went to work. It was a planning day, and I had several
meetings I needed to attend. After my
first meeting, I called the lab and they said they would email the results
shortly. I anxiously participated in my
second meeting. About 30 minutes into
the meeting, my phone vibrated and I knew it was the results. It was exciting
to realize that my surgery date was going to set within the hour and that my
life was going to be changing in a positive direction once I was healed.
I opened the email and
downloaded the attachment. I was stunned
at the results. I am allergic to a
variety of metals, including Nickel, which is what the implants are made out
of.
These are the results-I was shocked
I barely held it together for
the remainder of the meeting. Shortly
after, I left work and called my surgeon.
The lead nurse explained what I already knew to be true; I am not a
candidate for these implants because of my allergy. His office uses TMJ Concepts (the name of
the company that makes the implants) and they only make 5 titanium implants per
year because that is all the FDA is allowed.
My name will promptly be placed on a waiting list; however, it is going
to take several years. There is another
company that creates TMJ implants, but my doctor doesn’t use that company. In fact, most places do not use that
company.
There are moments when I feel like this
I was devastated, and it felt
as though any hope that I had left had vanished. I was nauseous just thinking of my
future. I had to face the facts, this
means that I am going to live in constant and sometimes unbearable pain, I have
to adhere to my soft food/liquid diet (I was cheating on occasion because I
thought I was getting a new and improved bionic jaw), and that my jaw can potentially
get much worse before this is all over.
Even though this is
disheartening news, even I can acknowledge that finding out I am allergic to
Nickel is a blessing. If my doctor were
not as thorough as he was, and many are not, he would have just performed the
surgery. Perhaps everything would have
been fine at first, but eventually I would have exhibited signs of an allergy. He would then have to go in, remove the
implants, and wire me shut until he could decide what to do. Because of the surgeon’s
professionalism, attention to detail, and his perfectionism, I didn’t
experience that. I am deeply thankful
for his expertise.
I also appreciate the support
of my friends, family, and pet. Even
though most do not know the news because it’s been upsetting to talk about or
even write about, they are always there for me to help me get my mind off of
things or to plan fun activities. They
are also understanding of my diet and my limitations.
Last weekend, I went camping with friends :)
Right now I am in a state of
disbelief and am trying not to get depressed over the news. I have decided the best course of action for
me is to do nothing at the moment. For
the past few weeks I have not done any research, worked on my blog, bothered my
doctor, etc.
This is how I am dealing with everything at the moment!
In fact, this will be my last
blog post for a while. While I was using
this in hopes that someone else who has the same degenerative joint problem as
I do would find it helpful, I recognize that at the moment I am going to have
patient and wait until I have further news in order to better inform other’s
who have the same issue that I do. My
goal is to one day have a successful surgery and be able to share it with others
who have the same problem. Until I have
more news, I am stepping away from my blog.
