The first two days of this week have been huge. Sunday night was miserable as I realized that the 10 weeks we have left of school was really only 5 weeks for me because I have so many rotations. You might be thinking, "Didn't you know this was coming and plan accordingly?" Well, that's true, in a way...but I've had such tunnel vision as I've plugged away on whatever I've had to do, carefully keeping track of my numbers and really just trusting that it would all work out in the end. A little irresponsible? Maybe. So I've been very methodical in my return from Spring Break, making sure that my time is being used to my benefit. This sounds selfish and not very patient-centric, but within the confines of ethical practice, I have to get done what needs to be done to move on to 4th year. It has to happen.
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
So on Sunday, despite my general feelings of hopelessness and demise, I cried out to God with the speck of faith I had left that He could really get me through this. Faith of a mustard seed, right? I realized that the phrase "oh, ye of little faith" (a category I found myself very comfortably sitting in) is always such a put down...but all it takes is a little. A mustard seed. Maybe that was just a way for Jesus to remind folks that while, yes, they were capable of having more faith than they possessed at the moment, they still had a little faith - enough for God to pull out all the stops and amaze them - at least. So despite all odds, I told God that yes, it was still possible to pass a progress exam where just about everything (except my actual work) went wrong. Yes, it is still possible for Him to provide all the right patients and situations to get my requirements taken care of. Yes, it is still possible for a tooth with a possible hopeless fracture to just need a root canal.
Monday: tooth with possible hopeless fracture is restorable and I start the root canal
Tuesday: passed progress exam - a true miracle
: get new patient who doesn't need perio and has class IIs (I need them!) and crowns (I need them!)
: get my Nanna in to fill an opening in my schedule, do 2 fillings, complete my DAU requirements, and get her appointed for my last progress exam
It's not just that things are going my way, when they haven't been in weeks past. It's not that I'm just more optimistic after some careful planning and swift execution. It's been a real kick in the pants of how little I trusted that God could do anything about my situation, so much so that I didn't even ask. Didn't even try.
Lesson learned.
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Endo: 0/2 -
Accessed #19 on Monday and will start RCT on #8 tomorrow. Wow, what a blessing! All in one week! I'll keep praying that everything goes as planned and if not, that another will be provided.
Fixed: 3/13 - prepped #4, have some leads for a bridge
Operative:
31/50 - two more planned this week
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Progress Exam Status:
Operative -
2/3 (1 is scheduled for this month)
Perio -1/2 (second one in the works)
Fixed 0/2
DONE - Oral Surgery, Endo, Removable
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D3 Finishes!
Finished with DAU!
Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (3/9 to graduate, 3 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate)
All assisting is complete!
So, my potential bridge is gone, class II pt rescheduled, my second endo on a molar is crazy hard, and I lost two more crowns to fillings only. The best laid plans, right? So now I'm just on fire to get all of my class IIs done so I don't have to suffer this summer. I just haven't had the pts that need them. So I've done a little trading, and God is working a minor miracle for me by bringing my favorite patient back! The only problem is that this is all last minute and we all know that nothing in dental school is set in stone until it's swiped at the end of the treatment. Patients cancel, reschedule, get sick, treatment changes, and more pressing things arise like root canals or major surgery. I'm just going to have to do what I can. In 3 weeks....
