an update on surgery

Here is an update on my surgery timeline. Thank y’all for your encouragement regarding a previous post. I’m beginning to embrace the idea of orthognathic surgery. This post is focused on the practical side of things, but I also have some thoughts on how my decision affects my family. I think a lot of us struggle with this. More on this later.

After each uncomfortable adjustment, I yearn more for an established timeline. It seems like so many decisions in my near future hinge on surgery plans.

· Another baby - my husband and I are ready to welcome another child into our family. The longer I postpone surgery, the longer we wait on this. I really like the spacing between my first two children (21 months). My body has finally recovered fully and other family items are in order.
· Family vacations – there are some neat opportunities to meet up with extended family this summer. Until we have a better idea about surgery, we can’t commit to spending savings or vacation days. My husband has offered to stay at home with me & the children post surgery for two weeks.
· A new car - we’re ready to purchase a family car, though I think we can delay this purchase until our next child is on the way. With each month that passes, I have to adjust my formula for investing in our current automobiles, planning trips, etc.
· Remodeling our house – like most folks, we have a long list of “someday…” house projects. :)

The good news is that my teeth should be ready by late July/early August. Remember how excited I was to be classified as medically necessary? Well, because there are not any oral surgeons in my insurance carrier’s network, I discovered I’d have to pay about 85-100% of surgery services out of pocket. Ouch! There is one oral surgeon in the state who bills through a hospital, which means I could cap out my expenses at the hospital max. This fee is more reasonable but would still require a significant sacrifice.

I have an appt with Dr. T in SC in late April. I feel like I’m cheating on Dr T in NC. I am finally comfortable with the idea of him performing surgery. And his office staff is great, too. If necessary, I’ll consider working with an oral surgeon in a nearby state. We’ll see. Open enrollment for insurance plans is mid-November. By then I will have reached a decision. In the meantime, my husband has most graciously listened to me evaluate the possible scenarios ad nauseum, listed here in my preferred ranking:

**have surgery in mid August, try for baby #3 in the November, buy a family car in January
change ins. plans in November,
**have surgery in spring ’09, try for baby #3 in summer ’09
try for baby #3 now, buy family car in fall
**change plans in November, have surgery in summer ’09 (though this might mean weaning baby #3 early…)
**don’t have surgery

It is an excellent opportunity to for me to rely on God. Perhaps I'll be blessed with an open door/closed door moment. Even if I don’t have a clear answer on a decision, I know that I can trust His character. If I keep my heart focused on Him, then I'm confident I will act within His will.