Saving Face With Faith
The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to Him and are safe. Proverbs 18:10
TESTIMONY ...
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In February of 2002 I started experiencing a lot of pain in my face and teeth. A small bump started forming in the middle of my upper palate. I went to a dentist who pulled a tooth. Two weeks later the pain was almost unbearable and all my front teeth were loose. I went back to the doctor who told me that my teeth were loose because of the pulled tooth. I asked him why I was hurting so bad and he told me that I had a sinus infection. He prescribed pain medication ans referred me to an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. This started a journey from doctor to doctor for all of 2002. The pain was indescribable. There is no way to tell you how bad it hurts for cancer to eat the bones out of your face! It is horrible! My wife and I went to all the appointments and never heard any news to help me know what was going on. Below is a list of all the doctors we visited and their diagnosis. It has been a very hard, scary and painful time. We have made it so far by the grace of God and all the prayers that have been prayed for me, for us both. 3/1/2002-3/14/2002-Dr Newborn. He pulled a tooth. Said I had a sinus infection. Gave me pain med. He said that my loose front teeth were due to having the other tooth pulled. It didn't make sense to us but we hoped his diagnosis was correct. 5/22/02-5/29/02-Calhoun Urgent Care. Said I had a sinus infection. They gave me steroids and pain med. By now my teeth are VERY loose and the pain is almost unbearable! When I would close my mouth all of the front top teeth would move. Some forward, some backward. It made talking and chewing painful. 6/3/02-10/17/02-Dr. Link ENT. He said that I had a sinus infection. He prescribed steroids and pain med. 6/25/02-7/9/02- Carolyn Wills RN,CS,FNT. She said that she ordered a CT scan to prove that I did not have a sinus infection. She didn't tell us at that time but she felt it was cancer. She was the first one in the medical field to listen to me as I told her what I was experiencing. She gave me hope for the first time in months. The CT scan was read by a doctor who said that it was just a sinus infection and so I was prescribed steroids, antibiotics and pain med. She was discouraged because she knew that Donnie was in extreme pain but she was limited as to what she could do. 9/11/02- Dr. Trimble ENT. Told me I was just gritting my teeth and had some cavities. I asked for pain medication as the pain was so great. He told me to quit acting like a baby and said "no" because I might be a drug addict. I wandered if I was going out of my mind. He was very rude and seemed unconcerned. 9/30/02- Dr. Ledford PC. He did neck x-rays that showed an impacted wisdom tooth. He referred me to an oral surgeon. 10/7/02- Dr. Chung DDS. He said that I had something in the roof of my mouth and would remove it if we would give him $2905.00 on that day. We had just given him almost $300.00 for the visit that day and didn't have that much money as all our extra money was being spent each month on doctors visits and medication. We did not have insurance. He would not do the procedure because we couldn't come up with the money. Really it turned out to be for the best because now we know I would have died had he done it there in his office. But, at the time we were distraught. 10/17/02- Dr Link ENT. did a biopsy. We back in for results to be read but the doctor was called out for an emergency. He told us,by phone, that the front teeth needed to be removed by an oral surgeon. The biopsy was inconclusive. 11/5/02-Dr. Stephens DMD-PC. Referred us to the next doctor. He felt it was cancer. Said that he felt he couldn't do the biopsy, he was afraid I would bleed to death. 11/5/02-12/10/02-12/17/02-12/30/02-9/2003-12/2003.He did the biopsy. On Dec 23 he called my home. My wife was not scheduled to go in to work that day. I was at work. Dr. Lee told her that I had AMELOBLASTIC CARCINOMA. It was a scary day. 1/28/03 Dr Moore ENT. was told that I would have to loose my nose, roof of mouth and top lip as well as many facial bones. He said that I would lose my lymph nodes and have possible skin graphs done. Since then I have seen many doctors. Michael Yates is the man who made it possible for me to be writing this to you today.When my wife called the church and left a message for them to pray for me, he called his own dentist, Dr. Stephens and scheduled the appointment and took us there on that rainy day. He sat with us and went in to see the doctors with us and has been there for us throughout this whole ordeal. God bless you my friend! If you are in the medical field I ask you, I plead with you to please listen closely to what your patient is saying. I am aware that there are scam artists who just use doctors to get medications because of addictions or to sell, but really listen to the patient. If one of the doctors had just ordered blood tests or seemed more concerned with helping me rather than just getting me out of the office quickly, I may not have had to suffer as much as I did. When a patient goes to a doctor they go to get help. I was desperate for help. My wife and I went to every appointment searching to find the answers but could find anyone to hear what I was trying to say. You know your own body better than anyone does. If you feel that there is something wrong then keep on telling your doctor. Ask the doctor to take blood tests, really look at the x-rays. Keep on searching. May God bless you! Donnie