Toothache, to say the least...

Mike visited the oral surgeon today. The oral surgeon will not perform the surgery unless Mike stays on the coumadin, after conferring with the cardiologist and his family doctor. Basically they will remove the tooth and then use a special medicine to stop the bleeding. The medicine is called (something) acid. The oral surgeon has only used it once, but he thinks that it will stop the bleeding. Basically, the medicine is some kind of expensive mouthwash that Mike will have to use 4 times daily during the days following the surgery.

In addition to the wisdom tooth, Mike has 3 other teeth that need attention. The oral surgeon said that each of them will have to be looked at before the heart surgery can be scheduled. Each tooth runs about the same risk of infection as his wisdom tooth does, according to the doctor. The doctor thinks that he will be able to save the teeth, at least for now. The plan at this point is to extract the wisdom tooth and see how Mike's body handles it, paying special attention to the bleeding, obviously. After the wisdom tooth is taken care of, the oral surgeon will proceed with addressing the other teeth, but his treatment will depend on Mike's reaction to the first extraction. The wisdom tooth is scheduled to be extracted on October 18th, though it could be delayed until early the following week, we're not sure about that yet.

November 27 is the date that the skin cancer will need to be removed, but, once again, that depends on the outcome at the oral surgeon's office.

Mike is depressed of this recent news. He's going through a lot of pain and is uneasy about his heart condition. The last week has brought a lot of answers, but it has also initiated another waiting period. I know it must be agonizing having to wait on everyone else to decide when they can treat you and how-each decision being a major factor in your own quality of life and health. Mike is beaten down and struggling, I know that he could use a phone call of encouragement, if you have the time.

Please pray that my role will be clearly defined in all this. I want to be as supportive as I can, but I want to concentrate on the right things. For now, I just need to love on that boy and encourage him, he's got a whole world of pressure on him right now. I better go for now. As always, ask questions if you have them and I'm sure mom will help clarify what I've written above as well.