Time and Detours
October 2024
Flying to San Jose the second time was more routine.
On this trip I did NOT drop my ball of yarn while knitting
and ‘meet and greet’ fellow travelers as my yarn rolled underneath four seats!
The rental car routine, however, was an unfortunate nightmare, with a 90 minute wait for the car.
And, while waiting, I received an email from my osteopath’s office stating
that I had a dental appointment in Campbell, California at 1:00! Whoa!
Where was Campbell, California and would I get my car in time?
This was only the preamble to unforeseen detours not to mention surprising dental adventures
about to occur during the next 48 hours.
At long last, my rental car and I ventured onto the freeway to find Campbell, California – which fortunately happened to be ten miles from the airport on the way to Santa Cruz! And my traumatic dental history and life was turned upside down and inside out when I met this referral and colleague of Dr. Turzo – a dentist with 20 years of working with cranial osteopaths. Quite a welcome change from any previous dentist – and I probably had encounters with 15 – 20 across the country over the years. I walked out of the office with yet another dental appliance, approximately the 15th in my disastrous dental history with resulting debilitating and uncommon consequences.
The unforseen discovery of my ‘left canine’ tooth disturbance at the end of the September visit opened the door for speculation and wondering. One fact was obvious: this appliance would definitely change the canine occlusal (bite) issue along with my jaw position. Was this affecting the supposed sphenopalatine ganglion nerve irritation? And would this alleviate the bizarre symptoms of fluid and sharp pain? How would my body respond to the shifting of the mandible (lower jaw)?
Why and how can this common mandibular device cause such repercussions? That is the unknown of my medical history. And here I am again…repeating the past or paving the a new path in the future? This remains to be seen. Both the osteopath and the dentist have no predictions – other than take it out of your mouth if you can’t handle the change or the pain.
It’s been 16 days – a little more than 2 weeks. Change: radical and remarkable; excessive and extraordinary. My body has been on a roller coaster – a challenge in adaptation and adjustment: extremes in pain and/or no pain moving through my body in fluctuations and undulations. The impermanence of this rapid change is foremost in my awareness; nevertheless, the extremes are most difficult to live in and through. Where will I land? No one knows. I only know what happened before. Can this be reversed in the present?
My Santa Cruz osteopath is working me into her overloaded schedule. Thank goodness I will be returning in ten days, November 11. The dental piece of this orofacial puzzle is paramount; the communication between osteopath and dentist
is critical and as uncommon as is my history. A second appliance, cast from the same mold as the original device but cut in half at the midline, will hopefully provide some occlusal stability and allow my jaw, head and neck to shift more easily through the powerful changes. This also remains to be seen.
My Phoenix osteopath and physical therapist provide untold help as my body charges through these rapid changes triggered by reaction and response to a piece of lightweight plastic that fits loosely over my bottom teeth. My local dental community will not help with adjustment of the appliance… ONLY the California dentist can do this, which mandates that I return monthly.
My body is exhibiting stunning and surprising vitality,
resiliency and adaptability that my practitioners
uncover and facilitate during treatment.
Amazing responses, however, do not negate the difficulty
of radical, transformative change.
Walking through my home and my iPad playlist spontaneously begins playing – for whatever reason – a piano solo entitled Stronger. Tears roll down my cheeks. This music outside of me soothes me within. As I ride the roller coaster of provocation and change in order to attain new heights of functionality and health, this song now sits on my piano. I not only hear with my ears but play with my hands .
My body talks to me and says, “This is very good”. My heart overflows with gratitude. The embodiment of transformation.
And I am Stronger.
The universality of the power of the body to heal is beyond language and belief.
Let it Be – Thy Will Be Done
Fear is replaced with Courage.
Hope is replaced with Groundlessness.
And I wait…
in groundlessness and in impermanence
sustained by the Great Architect.
The only constant is change and courage
within this Boundless Presence.
Thank you Pema Chodron and Andrew Taylor Still
for language that resonates
within me and through me.
