A Third Unexpected Expense...

Looking back on the month of July, we did really well. We stayed in budget in pretty much every category. We kicked some butt and both of us felt a momentum going. We knew by August 1st we were going to have our Baby Step #1 completed again and have a $1,000 Emergency Fund in the bank! Whoo-hoo!

Then another blow hit... If you remember, my computer died several months ago and we had to put that on a payment plan for 6 months in order to buy a new laptop. (six months are up in September!), then there's the issue with Chris' taxes which we still don't know quite yet how much he owes. Now, a third blow... sigh.... dental work....

I have this tooth...a tooth I've been putting off being looked at for awhile knowing it was going to be an issue to deal with but being absolutely terrified to see the dentist about it. The tooth had a cavity, then it cracked and finally just completely chipped and fell out a little while ago. I was hoping I could save up the money before I found a dentist to deal with it, but no such luck.

I had made an appointment with a dental clinic but the dentist was on vacation and wouldn't be back until the 14th of August. Last week the tooth pain started... and it got bad very, very quickly. I was in such excruciating pain that I called another dental clinic that seemed to deal with issues of dental phobia. (Which I didn't even know there was a name for such a condition.)

The new dental office couldn't see me until Monday July 31st. I had to just survive the weekend with the pain. "I can do this," I thought to myself. "I can use ice, and pain killers and...hang on...."

No. No, I couldn't. I was getting two hours of sleep here or there...Waking up almost screaming in pain, running for the ice pack and downing pain meds as fast as my little body could handle it,praying that the pills would kick in quickly.All the while praying as hard as I could pray that God would just, "MAKE IT STOP!"

Friday night came after two full days of pain.  I was almost ready to let Chris whack me over the head with our heavy duty skillet the pain was so intense, but no instead we went to the ER at 1:30 in the morning.

As we were leaving to catch a cab and I felt some swelling in my left cheek. It felt...bigger there... but the pain was finally ceasing and I almost cancelled the cab as I just wanted to sleep. However, I knew if there was swelling it might just be getting worse despite the lack of pain.

We stayed there all night long and ironically about 1.5 hours after we arrived a friend of ours showed up at the ER with her own medical issue that needed dealing with. The three of us sat together in that freezing cold ER, wrapped in hospital blankets, waiting for our turn to see a doctor.

Finally at 7:30 am, just as I was to see the doctor, the swelling was so intense I was having numbness from below my eye to the middle of my neck on the left side of my face. He gave me antibiotics, which kicked in very quickly, and over the course of the weekend the swelling receded rapidly. By the time Monday rolled around I barely had any swelling at all and the dentist was able to assess how bad the damage was.

I will say, having a phobia of dentists isn't fun to live with, but I'm thankful for our baby emergency fund. It saved our butts. I've had two dental visits thus far and will be continuing with treatments to have a dental implant. This will be very expensive but we've been able to talk with our dentist about what's possible for us financially.

Chris and I were very upfront with the dentist in our debt pay-off journey. Sometimes it's best to be honest and speak about the real numbers. As a result she commended us for how far we've come and how far we have left to go. We've been given a few options to pay for my dental procedure and I'm trying to encourage Chris to see the dentist for his own needs, as well.

This dental office is amazing. I cannot tell you how pleased I am with the service we've received and the level of comfort I now feel. The Lord led us to the right people at the right time. God is so faithful!

We may not have much left of an emergency fund right now but it came in handy when we needed it and we will build it up again as soon as we can. Chris and I have said countless times since that first dental appointment, "We will never go without an emergency fund from now on." It's just too important...and we refuse to live on credit.

This will put us behind in our debt-free journey but this expedition is not bleak. In fact, we've felt a real awakening of our spirits to continue to persevere through this trial. I am still afraid of the dentist -- just a teeny tiny bit now -- but we're not afraid to keep pushing forward through our debt. We WILL get through to the other side, no matter how many mountains we have to climb. Just watch us become more determined and more stubborn. This mountain? Oh, it's nothing....just a little annoying hill to overcome... we'll see the Promise Land of Debt-Freedom soon... Mark our words....