Monday, February 22, 2010

St. Louis


Dr. Simon Yu, M.D.

I first heard about him maybe a year ago.

I went to him for the first time about eight months ago.

He uses both conventional, and unconventional medicine.

Definitely less invasive.

I will admit, I lean towards Doctors that are like that.

Believe it or not, I'm giving conventional medicine an equal chance.

Dustin and I are opposite in this, as well.

He leans conventional.

I unconventional.

We balance each other out.

The problem is, every time I go to a conventional sight it scares me. The last one was Chemo Chicks, or something like that. One lady was talking about her "Chemo Brain." I guess Chemo is known for giving you short term memory loss that can happen at any random time. And it sounds like it is something you live with for the rest of your life. I could be wrong, though. I need to check that out more.

In all fairness, Dr. Yu has made me raise my eyebrows several times, as well.

Like when he told me I had an infection in a tooth two visits ago.

Not just any tooth, either.

A tooth that happens to relate to the lower lobes in my lungs.

Exactly where my tumor is.

He said that getting rid of the infection could help my lung heal.

I know, your eyebrows are raised, as well.

He mentioned pulling the tooth.

Pulling my tooth!?! You have got to be kidding. I've never had a problem with that tooth.

I left.

Didn't pull my tooth.

I hadn't had a problem with him before, but this? It was too far out for me.

It did make me go to the Orthodontist, though. Thinking that maybe my problem was in my bite after not wearing my retainer for 5 years.

I did have a bite problem, and do wear my retainer now.

So, I decided to try out Dr. Yu one more time.

No luck.

The pesky tooth still came up as my problem relating to my lung.

So.... I pulled it.

No, just kidding. :-)

I went and had a 3D CT scan done. I'm a doubting Thomas.

Dr. Yu told me a story about a woman who had severe lung problems. She refused, like me, to get her tooth pulled. After a year of being in and out of the hospital, then getting close to dying, she finally agreed to have it pulled. The Dentist informed Dr. Yu that the tooth had nothing wrong with it. Dr. Yu pointed out that she was dying so what could it hurt to pull it.

He pulled it.

Guess what? Massive infection underneath.

They cleaned it out and guess what else?

The lung cleared up.

I know, crazy, but I took the bait and had the CT scan done. I knew I would always wonder if I didn't.

What if????

Monday morning, just before we went into Mayo, Dr. Yu called me.

I held my breath, praying, in a crazy way that there would be an infection there.

There was.

I'll admit you could have pushed me over with a feather at this point.

I couldn't believe he had been right.

He was able to use the energies in my body to find an infection that he is 85% certain relates to my lung problem. He has never, ever, given me any percentages before this. He has refused, in fact, before this one.

We had already decided that if the CT scan checked out with what he was saying we would try that before anything else.

After all, even if the tooth has to be pulled, I would much rather do that than Chemo, or surgery, or whatever my other options will be.

For those of you who lean more towards the conventional, as my husband does, though even he was a little impressed by the tooth thing, don't worry.

We still have my appointment with my Oncologist. We are still very much listening to them.

And we are going to get the tooth taken care of a.s.a.p.

Infection in the mouth is bad, no matter what. I have heard several stories since then where people have pulled teeth and things really do clear up.

Crazy, but true.

So pray, the big choice right now is which Dentist to choose. One with years of experience, or an Oral Surgeon. I'm leaning towards the surgeon. That just has a comforting ring to it. :-) The problem is that they are both in St. Louis, and thus both not in our insurance range. Pray that possibly the insurance will cover it a little bit. These things tend to get expensive. :-) But... we know God will provide. He always has.

So.... that is my St. Louis story. A little hard to believe, and we still have our doubts, but we also have a little bit of hope, as well.

After all 3D Ct scans don't lie. :-)





This picture is just because they are so precious to me! It has nothing whatsoever to do with the Dr. in St Louis.

5 comments:

Patty said...

Hey Becca,

You got me intrigued with the tooth story. I've heard of how teeth can be related to other body parts. Have you had a periapical x-ray taken of the tooth in question? There are two types of teeth infections. One is a periodontal infection which involves the supporting structures of the tooth (bone/periodontal ligament/gums). The other infection is related to the tooth itself and involves the nerve. Both infections will show up as a dark "ring" around the tooth. Depending on where it is at depends on the type of infection you have. Our bodies can fight infections on their own or sometimes need a little help. Just because you have an abscessed tooth (infected tooth) doesn't always mean you need it pulled. I hope this helps you out. Have you consulted with your general dentist?
Thanks for sharing your life with us all through your blog! I'm praying for you!

Love,
Patty

beccarankin said...

I will ask these questions when I talk to one of them. :-)

Rosanne said...

Hi Becca, I think you are very wise in seeing the doctors you are. My sister has a kidney disease and was warned having children could be very risky. She saw a physician in Canada that sounds a lot like your St Louis doc that was able to help her so much, and she now has 2 healthy little kiddos. The nice thing is, the doc isn't against conventional medicine at all, but uses those means too. Trischa has told me some of the stuff she's done, and it some sounds a bit wacky, but you know, sometimes it works! So anyhow, I think seeing different doctors is a good thing!

Jennifer said...

Good for you for listening to all sides of things... It's so hard to know who to listen to, but there's so much information out there! We will be praying for wisdom for you guys; it's soooo hard to know what to do!

Anonymous said...

Apparently you blog a bajillion times a week now, and I need to be more dilligent in making sure I read every single one of them. I just read like five I have never seen before inbetween ones I had.... Maybe I have chemo brain fog? UUghhg. I'm just special needs.