FLIP + CHING

Dental Adventures from Brian’s Perspective

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Brian under Health, Life.

Now that you have read about my adventure from Ching’s point of view, I think you’ll want to hear it from the horse’s mouth… so to speak!

So, all of what Ching said is true. It’s my own fault that I’m in the situation that I’m in and, had I just pushed my anger down, and attempted to speak to the management at Wichita Endodontics I wouldn’t be in the situation I am currently in.

At the end of 2019, I was informed by my dentist that I had a small infection above my left front tooth. I was told that I needed to have a specialist take care of it due to the nature of the infection and the potential for further treatment that may be needed. It was just outside of the scope of what my dentist could tackle. Back then I was not as busy at work and taking the time to deal with these things was fairly simple. I was referred to Wichita Endodontics. Back then, they were at their old office. I went to my appointment, paid my $160 (a fee that was not able to be absorbed by insurance), and got all of my x-rays and images needed to get the procedure done. I was given two different methods that would take care of the problem and given the percentage of success for each. One was a root canal method. The other was a small incision over my tooth. The incision had a greater chance of success. I chose the root canal method because it was less expensive, less invasive, and I just really didn’t like the idea of being cut open. All was decided. I explained everything to Ching (which she has forgotten) and she was all for it. We had a few things going on, so I scheduled my procedure for about 2 months later. Well, as Luck would have it, this is when Wichita finally decided to shut down — literally 4 days before my procedure. So, I get a call from the endo telling me that they are going to have to cancel for now, and they will call once everything is sorted and they are able to see patients again. I understood completely, given everything that was going on I figured that there would be something like this and I was already mentally prepared for this.

Fast forward, it’s now almost the end of 2020. I get a call from the endo — they are ready to reschedule my appointment and get the procedure done. I was thinking, this means pick up where they left off. No! The person that called stated “Oh, by the way, we will need to do the scans again and you will need to pay the fee again.” I asked if she was sure and she said, “Unfortunately, yes.” I replied with “Well, unfortunately… No!” and hung up the phone. Was this the right thing to do? Not at all. I should have requested to speak to someone, work out the details, and see if they would just do the new scans given that I already paid. I know now (in hindsight) that this could have been resolved right then and I would not be in the situation I am in.

I proceeded on with life, not thinking about the growing infection in my mouth. I was not in any pain. My life went on as normal. I was reminded every year when I saw the dentist that I needed to get this taken care of and every year I reminded him of why I didn’t want to speak to them and on more than one occasion I was advised, in a very professional way, to grow up.

Now we come to my most recent appointment. My dentist takes the x-rays, comes to me and the first thing he says, “You really need to get this taken care of.” I shrug my shoulders and the doc says, “No, we’re getting this fixed.” He gives the details to the hygienist and she takes me to the appointment desk. She hands the business card to the lady behind the desk and proceeds to tell her “Brian is having an issue making an appointment. Can you call and get something scheduled for him?” And she does just that. I don’t blame them for treating me like a child as I was acting like one — an old, grumpy child. Shortly after my appointment was made is when the fistula appeared. Since I had the appointment, I toughed it out. I was told that the fistula is a result of the infection spreading and that if I didn’t get this take care of it would only get worse, and there is a chance that it already is, and I may still need oral surgery by this time next year.

I did tell the doctor of my issue in the past and why I didn’t do this sooner. He informed me that had I just come and spoke to someone then this could have been resolved very easily and I would not be in the mess I am in now. Reconfirming that this is really all my fault! On the plus side, the doctor did make it right, even after all these years, and he really didn’t have to. I mean seriously, ultimately, it was me that made the decision to just blow the whole thing off.

Well, we move to the day of my procedure. I can say with absolute certainty that they mean what they say. It was the first root canal that I have ever had done that I didn’t feel anything. Even after the numbing wore off, I only had a slight tingle in my upper gum and tooth and that’s it. I did take an Advil that night, mainly for inflammation (it was highly suggested in the follow up paperwork) and then a Tylenol the next morning — more as a precaution than anything, I didn’t really need it, but I had to go back to work, and I didn’t want to risk feeling any pain as the day progressed.

Now I have to wait. The first thing I have to wait for is the fistula to go away. They said I had to wait about four weeks and, if it’s not gone by then, I have to let them know. They advised it may flare up before it goes away (I think that happened this weekend, at least I’m hoping that’s what happened) and, if it doesn’t go away in that four weeks, I have to call them back for another appointment and it may mean oral surgery for sure. If the fistula does go away, then I have to wait another six months. They are going to call me in 5 to schedule an appointment. This will be to see if the infection is going away, if the infection is going away on its own, then I’m in the clear (meaning – no surgery). If not, then I will have surgery by this time next year.

I have to say that several lessons have been learned from this adventure.

Stay on top of your brushing, make sure that you brush at least twice a day, at a minimum. I personally have also started to use medicated mouth wash as well, mainly because I still suck at flossing. But my oral hygiene has improved due to this.
If something needs to be done, don’t wait. Do it, get it done. You have no idea how bad things can get if you put it off. There are just some things that your body will not fix on its own.
Don’t let your emotions govern how you take care of yourself. Had I just spoke to someone and worked it out, I wouldn’t be in this situation. I could potentially lose several of my teeth because I let my emotions get the better of me. Unfortunately, this is a family trait.
Finally, all things can be resolved through communication. I should have known this, my wife an I practice this. We believe that communication is key, not only in a relationship, but in life in general. If you’re having an issue, work it out like adults and have a discussion. Had I just spoke to someone other than the attendant that called me, I could have gotten all of this resolved and not be in the situation I’m in.

In the end, I’m grateful for my wife Ching. She is always there for me. She takes care of me when I need it and tells me how bad I’ve screwed up when I need to hear it. I don’t know where I’d be without her. Probably toothless.

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Post Dental Work Brunch

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Ching under Food and Drink.

Little kids get suckers or lollipops after a visit with the doctor or dentist, Brian gets a trip to his favorite breakfast place. Which works for me too because I also love HomeGrown. We usually go to the Bradley Fair location.

Brian’s coffee was dual purpose that day: (a) he can’t function without coffee, and (b) he enjoyed the warm cup on his numb face. As for me, I took advantage of my day off to have a mid-morning mimosa.

The mango tango mimosa was refreshingly delicious. Food pics below:

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Brian’s Dental Adventures

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Ching under Health, Life.

I asked Brian to write about his experience as a warning to everyone out there not taking care of teeth but he’s not going to write about it so I’m going to do my best to tell this story from my perspective. I’m probably going to mess up parts of it but that’s what you get from hearing about what happened second hand(ish).

Last year Brian told me he needed to get some dental work done. He had this tooth that was bothering him and it had caused an infection of some sort. I urged him to get it done at the end of the year because, at my last dental appointment, our dentist’s office told me we had “unused benefits” for the year. In my brain, I’m thinking “We better spend it!” However, I didn’t need anything further done beyond the fillings which I actually got done last year because, for the first time ever in several years, I had cavities. Well, Brian always drags his feet to do things so he didn’t get the treatment needed before the year ended.

Fast forward to the beginning of the year, when the infection was finally causing him significant pain and discomfort and finally needed to be dealt with… Even then, though, he probably still wouldn’t have scheduled an appointment with the endodontist. Yes, a specialist had to deal with this situation because the problem had gotten so bad that it was far beyond what our regular dentist is capable of handling. Anyway, at the end of his last dental appointment, they actually called the endodontist office and scheduled his appointment for him because they didn’t trust that he would do it. I had no idea that this problem actually went as far back as before the pandemic (more on that in minute) but, considering how long he had been putting this off, I wouldn’t trust him to deal with it either.

Here are some pics that I took at the endodontist’s office when we were there for this procedure a couple of weeks ago. I have almost 30 days of vacation time (and no pickleball tournaments to travel to) this year so I have a crap ton of time to burn. I decided to use one of my three personal days offs (I think most people just get one PTO bucket but our work gives us three “personal” days in addition to our vacation time and we can use those “personal” days however we wish) to “take care” of him. I was mostly just there for moral support. He didn’t really need much caring for but I’m glad I got to keep him company. I always appreciate the days we get to spend together.

I had never been to the old Wichita Endodontics office but Brian was there a few years ago (when he should have dealt with this problem and didn’t) and he says the new office is much nicer. The waiting area is comfortable and decorated beautifully. Their furniture and decor reminds me of the decor at the Belmont — like 60s modern. Anyway, I also appreciate that there is free public WiFi in the lobby.

I went with Brian because he wasn’t sure if they would knock him out for the procedure and he would be too groggy to drive home. He wasn’t knocked out so he was totally fine but I think he was grateful to have me there. Besides being there for support, and in case he needed a driver, part of me was hoping they would let me livestream the whole thing – lol. No such luck. They wouldn’t let me back there with him so I was glad I planned ahead and brought my book to read. Shift is book two of the Silo series. I can tell you more about it in another post rather than hijacking this one.

Here are some pictures of Brian’s mouth x-rays from his pre-op appointment. So back in 2019-2020 time frame, the infection was only the size of a pea (left). He didn’t do anything for several years so it grew to the size of a ping pong ball and eventually a fistula formed. Don’t look that up. It’s gross.

I didn’t even know about the problem back then or, if he mentioned it to me, I had forgotten about it. The first time I’d caught wind of this issue was last year and, even then, I encouraged him to take care of it immediately. You’re probably wondering what happened in 2020 and why he didn’t take care of it then. I wondered the same. Well, the pandemic happened.

Here’s the story that Brian told me: The dentist discovered the problem in 2019 and referred him to Wichita Endodontics. He went for his pre-op, got x-rays done, and paid whatever amount it was he needed to pay for all of that pre-work. Then everything was shut down because of the pandemic so the operation that was scheduled and set to go got canceled. Months later when everything reopened and people figured out a way to continue with life in the midst of a raging pandemic, he contacted them to try and get the procedure done. However, they wanted to do all the pre-op stuff again. Fair, because it had been months and the situation in his mouth may have changed (things could have shifted and so forth) and so they wanted to do all new x-rays and stuff. Brian felt that it wasn’t his fault that they canceled his operation and was pissed off at this whole situation so he was like, fuck that — I guess I’m not going through with the operation. He was thinking he was punishing them by not giving them any more money but in reality he was really just punishing himself by not dealing with this infection thing. Anyway, rather than talking to them about the whole thing and telling them exactly why he is angry, he pretty much was like, “Okay. Never mind. Thank you.”

Dr. Hoffman at Wichita Endodontics was great to work with. Brian told me that after he told the doctor what happened, the doctor told him he should have said something to them instead of just suffering in silence all these years because they would have made it right. I mean, they actually did make it right. They gave Brian credit for what he originally paid for because the original operation never happened. Anyway, here are some more x-rays of Brian’s teeth:

They had to do a double root canal, which was the first step to clearing up that infection. Brian has a follow up appointment this week to see if the infection has drained itself and has pretty much healed. If things look good then he won’t have to go through oral surgery. If the root canals didn’t solve the problem then he has another operation to look forward to because this time they’ll have to do actual surgery remove the infection.

Let’s hope and pray that the infection is gone because all of this dental stuff has not been fun for Brian. Kudos to Wichita Endodontics and Dr. Hoffman for being awesome. May we not have to see you all again. LOL.

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Blast Off Bay at Goddard Sports Complex

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Ching under Life.

Finally got to check out Blast Off Bay at the Goddard Sports Complex. I think this place is sometimes also called the Genesis Aquatics Center. Admission is free on Thursdays for Genesis members and kids under 48″ are only $10.

I didn’t really check it out. I just took pics. I was mostly there to check out Melissa’s Zumba class which I wasn’t really sure she was going to make because she was at the Pitbull, Ricky Martin, and Enrique Iglesias Trilogy Tour concert in Kansas City the previous night. She made it, though.

Anyway, here are some pics of the facility.

I think it was busy because it was Sunday. Probably best to come during the week if you want to avoid the crowds.

There’s multiple lanes for the lap swimmers.

The water park/aquatics center is attached to a hotel, which I thought was really cool. So if you’re visiting from out of town, you could totally stay here.

As far as the gym itself, it was pretty quiet. The water park was busy but the gym not so much which is what my friend Kimberly Howe says she really likes about it. This is her main gym that she goes to for workouts.

Missy’s Sunday class in Goddard is small but it was super fun. I didn’t really know anyone besides her so I’m glad Kimberly went with me.

Missy has some work stuff going on over the next two weekends so she asked me to fill in so I guess I’ll be out there teaching Zumba from 1:30 to 2:30 PM over the next two Sundays. Come and join us!

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My Solo Weekend Without Brian

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Ching under Food and Drink, Life.

Brian went out of town last weekend so I got to experience an entire weekend alone. I’m usually the one going out of town so this reversal of roles was quite a change of pace. The first day was super easy because it was a work day. Brian left first thing in the morning so it was just me and Saki the entire day, but it wasn’t really different than any other Friday when Brian goes to work and I’m working from home. Except this time he didn’t come home.

Brian picked up his dad from Oklahoma and the two of them drove to Mississippi to pick up some of his late Aunt Sandy’s personal items. It’s quite a drive so he didn’t come home until Sunday. In the meantime, I had the whole weekend to myself. What to do? What to do?

I didn’t have a commitment until my 4 PM team league at West YMCA so I had a nice leisurely Saturday. I kinda spent most of the morning in bed, reading my Silo book and napping. I actually finished book one (Wool) last weekend. And then I grabbed some lunch and picked up a donation for Picklemania MMXXIV from Top Golf. Came back home and read some more before heading to the Y for league.

My schedule on Sunday was much more structured. I started out at Chicken N Pickle, filling in for Kendra during Team Freddy’s practice because she had to go out of town. And then I was off to the Sandbox to deliver some iPickle Nation awards and also stream the games. Then it was a quick bite to eat before heading to the Genesis in Goddard to hit Missy’s Zumba class.

And then it was time to feed myself and Saki. I made one of our Hello Fresh dinners. It was so relaxing, I felt like that Alena Skaya lady on Insta who always shares the “love myself” reels. When Brian came home, he ate the rest of the Hello Fresh dinner I made and I did some more reading before bed. It was a super relaxing weekend.

Meanwhile Brian sent pictures of their dinners while he was out of town.