Clearing a hurdle

One of the biggest hurdles for me, personally, in my quest to become a healthier person, is that I am actually quite fearful of the whole medical profession. Like, really fearful. I've gotten better around doctors over the years, because I've had to deal with them, though no one would ever say I'm "good" about it, and I tend to freak out for days before a new appointment and be a nervous wreck the whole time. My friends love dealing with me through this.

In the list of "scary" medical professionals, dentists rank pretty close to the top of the list. I don't know why, really. I don't have any especially horrid memories of my dentist as a child, though I remember hating having to go see her. But just picking up the phone to make an appointment can be enough to send me into a sweat. Plus, dentists are really expensive, and I don't carry health insurance. As a result, it's been a *long* time since I've seen a dentist. Like, more than a decade. Closer to sixteen years in fact. But, my teeth are a very big problem, have been becoming a major problem, and I know something has to be done, so this week, I decided to bite the bullet (so to speak) and actually contact a dentist.

I had met a few of the doctors from Victoria Court Dental at the health fair, and they have a very snazzy website which offers the option of emailing their New Patient Coordinator. Since I dislike phones almost as much as dentists (brief stint as a telemarketer), email seemed like a nice, non-threatening option where I could think out all the questions I wanted to ask and still run away and hide at any time if it got too scary (people think you're strange when you do that mid-phone conversation).

Angela was very patient and answered my hundred and one questions, and on February 11, I have my first appointment with Dr. Rix. I'm only freaking out a little. Don't worry, it'll get worse.