The plot thickens

So, the dentist this morning...

I went. They xrayed and poked and prodded and examined and reviewed records from my other doctors.

He told me what he thought needed to be done to correct the damage from the crash.

I left there with an appointment to return tomorrow afternoon and an appointment for the periodontist this afternoon.

So what's my count now? Four oral appointments in one week? Yeah, that's about par for the course.

Oh. Em. Gee. I just want this to be over. How many times have I said that now?

The worst part of the appointment was finding out how long it actually takes to do an implant. It's a four to six month process. That's if everything goes smoothly. Also, he's afraid my bone isn't thick enough and they might have to do a bone graft to even be able to do the implant. How much time does that add until this whole process is done?

So, if you add that to the time I'm going to spend waiting for my settlement to be complete, best case scenario is that I'll be here for another 8 months. Worst case, maybe 12 months. That's a possible year that I could be separated from Andy. I'm NOT ok with that. I'm not ok with this accident putting that much more of a dent in our lives. It's cost us so much already and it's time for something to change.

I started wondering if it was really necessary for me to be here for the settlement, when all that really goes into it is a lot of paperwork and letter writing back and forth. Some phone calls will be necessary, but do I absolutely need to be here in person for all of that. Isn't that why I hired a lawyer? Isn't he my "stand in" for a lot of this stuff? So I called him and explained the situation and he said not to let this keep me from moving with Andy.

Based on that advice, I'm moving with Andy to Colorado instead of staying here. I will still return to complete my treatment after the settlement is finalized, but I can handle that. I prefer it that way. I could find new doctors in Colorado, but everyone here already knows my history. And as I found out today in the exam room, I still can't talk about the aftermath of the accident without crying. I just can't do that again, over and over, until a whole team of new doctors is filled in on my circumstances.

So, a week from Saturday, Andy and I are driving (together) across the country to start a new life. I'm so, so excited. But I'm also slightly panicked because I have a week to get everything ready. Plus, we are leaving a lot of things here to come back and get once we are settled. How do I decide what to leave behind? How do I part with most of my kitchen? Even if it's just for a few months?

I can tell you this: I'm not leaving without my kitchen aid mixer.