December 3 2022
Date
December 4, 2022
Sent By
Dad, Lance Andersen
December 3 2022
Dear Sister Andersen (my dear sweet little Zoie),
I still am not used to writing to you on Saturday night so it is late again. I worked today and then ended up driving to Uncle Chris’s after work to take some stuff to him and Annette for Grandpa. Grandpa went to their house last week, then a couple of days later Chris and Annette started getting sick. Annette was getting really sick, so she went in to the Dr and found out Thursday that she tested positive for both COVID and RSV. She has asthma and lung issues so she gets really sick when she gets sick. We are also, of course, worried about Grandpa but figure that he has already been there for several days so has probably already been exposed. They are wearing masks around him though. Anyway, I took over some home COVID tests and cough medicine for Grandpa because they called today and said the GPa said his throat is starting to get scratchy and he feels like he is getting a cold. We will have to watch him closely. They did a home COVID test tonight on GPa and it was negative so that is good. Hopefully he is not getting RSV – It hits infants, toddlers and elderly the worst and people like Annette who have asthma and lung issues.
Grandpa had his dentist appointment with Dr Brody Hart last Tuesday to get permanent upper dentures started. At this appointment he was to get 6 posts screwed or placed in his upper jaw. Then after about 3 to 6 days they would place a temporary denture on those posts which he could use to chew very soft foods for about 2 to 3 months while the bone around the posts healed solidly. Then they would place a permanent hard denture on the posts which he can then use like regular teeth to chew anything he wants. Dr Hart told him he would have teeth that look just like a movie star. GPa looked up at him and asked, “can I choose which one I look like”? So he still has a sense of humor. It did not go quite as smooth as we had hoped. His upper right side did not have quite as much bone as they had hoped from the x-ray so instead of simple drilling a small hole and simply screwing in the post he had to cut him open. Dr Hart had to make a cut in his upper right jaw about 1 to 1.5 inches long and then peel the skin off the bone so he could actually see the bone and place the posts where they needed to be the most stable, strong and secure. Then they stitched him up. He was only able to get 1 of the last 2 posts in so he only has 5 posts instead of 6. He needs a minimum of 4 posts so GPa should still be fine, as long as his jaw does not reject any of the 5 posts – we will know within the next 2 weeks. I was able to watch and it looked kind of brutal. Gpa was not put to sleep because of his previous throat surgeries and his age, so he was awake when they did this. They did numb him up really well, but still, to be awake…. He was a trooper and did really well but he will have to wait about 4 to 6 weeks now to just get the first set of soft dentures, so it put the timeline back about 6 weeks to get his permanent dentures in. I will keep you updated….
We have had more snow here and it is quite cold. But we are all excited about the snow because that means more water which we need to help avert this drought we are in.
Tell us about your week and don’t leave anything out….
Love you,
Your Papa
PS. Follow the Prophet
I still am not used to writing to you on Saturday night so it is late again. I worked today and then ended up driving to Uncle Chris’s after work to take some stuff to him and Annette for Grandpa. Grandpa went to their house last week, then a couple of days later Chris and Annette started getting sick. Annette was getting really sick, so she went in to the Dr and found out Thursday that she tested positive for both COVID and RSV. She has asthma and lung issues so she gets really sick when she gets sick. We are also, of course, worried about Grandpa but figure that he has already been there for several days so has probably already been exposed. They are wearing masks around him though. Anyway, I took over some home COVID tests and cough medicine for Grandpa because they called today and said the GPa said his throat is starting to get scratchy and he feels like he is getting a cold. We will have to watch him closely. They did a home COVID test tonight on GPa and it was negative so that is good. Hopefully he is not getting RSV – It hits infants, toddlers and elderly the worst and people like Annette who have asthma and lung issues.
Grandpa had his dentist appointment with Dr Brody Hart last Tuesday to get permanent upper dentures started. At this appointment he was to get 6 posts screwed or placed in his upper jaw. Then after about 3 to 6 days they would place a temporary denture on those posts which he could use to chew very soft foods for about 2 to 3 months while the bone around the posts healed solidly. Then they would place a permanent hard denture on the posts which he can then use like regular teeth to chew anything he wants. Dr Hart told him he would have teeth that look just like a movie star. GPa looked up at him and asked, “can I choose which one I look like”? So he still has a sense of humor. It did not go quite as smooth as we had hoped. His upper right side did not have quite as much bone as they had hoped from the x-ray so instead of simple drilling a small hole and simply screwing in the post he had to cut him open. Dr Hart had to make a cut in his upper right jaw about 1 to 1.5 inches long and then peel the skin off the bone so he could actually see the bone and place the posts where they needed to be the most stable, strong and secure. Then they stitched him up. He was only able to get 1 of the last 2 posts in so he only has 5 posts instead of 6. He needs a minimum of 4 posts so GPa should still be fine, as long as his jaw does not reject any of the 5 posts – we will know within the next 2 weeks. I was able to watch and it looked kind of brutal. Gpa was not put to sleep because of his previous throat surgeries and his age, so he was awake when they did this. They did numb him up really well, but still, to be awake…. He was a trooper and did really well but he will have to wait about 4 to 6 weeks now to just get the first set of soft dentures, so it put the timeline back about 6 weeks to get his permanent dentures in. I will keep you updated….
We have had more snow here and it is quite cold. But we are all excited about the snow because that means more water which we need to help avert this drought we are in.
Tell us about your week and don’t leave anything out….
Love you,
Your Papa
PS. Follow the Prophet
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