UPSON DOWNS

Decades ago there was a popular musical duo in this area named Upson Downs that were awesome. Two men who were great singers with one who could do Elvis impersonations quite well, and the other that played trombone and I think some other instruments. I believe they spent a few years doing a show in Las Vegas, too, and later spit up with only one of them staying in this area and performing alone. But this post is not about them.

This is about the ups and downs of life, sometimes a constant roller coaster. Recently I was pleasantly surprised to find a check for $133 in the mail! It was for my service on the jury roster for two months. We got paid for each day we showed up at the court house to see if we would get picked to serve on a jury. Thankfully I did not end up one of the twelve for either case. We did all have to report three times so I was paid for those three days plus mileage. That assuaged my grumbling about not receiving the requested excusal until I had already reported for the last time and only two days before our term was up.

Just a few days later there was a huge downer. On Wednesday I had been to the dentist for my 6 month cleaning and all went well. Then on Sunday a large molar crown broke off for the second time. About 2  years ago it broke off the first time and I convinced the dentist to cement it back on, knowing that it would not last a long time but postponed a huge bill.  . . . . until now.

The best option is to have what is left of that tooth and the iffy molar next to it extracted, put in two implants with a third molar bridge to give me a good chewing surface on that side, since there was already a gap there. I asked what that would cost and he said the best he could do is between $6,000 to $8,000!! Just for replacing 3 teeth! I do not want to put a 'new' used car in my mouth!

The first house we bought was $14,000, and brand new cars could be bought for $3,000. Can you imagine what my parent's generation would think if they were still alive? They lived through the depression. Back in the 1960's when I was first married, my husband earned $67 a week and I did not work. We could by groceries for a week for $12 or so. Gas was 25-35 cents a gallon. Ground beef was 50 cents a pound and a loaf of bread was 10 cents. Now you want me to spend thousands of dollars in my mouth??

I do have two other options. One is a partial, but in order to get one to fit well I need to have a bony bump removed from my gum, which means dental surgery. I don't know how much that will all cost yet. I know it won't be cheap either, but should be less than the implants, providing Medicare will pay for the surgery. The last option is to have the two teeth pulled and then gum it for the rest of my life.

I went to get a second opinion, hoping to get things done cheaper through a health care center who has a sliding scale for low incomes, and they do have a dentist that works there. But he doesn't do implants and would send me to a specialist, and the sliding scale would not apply anyway.

My dentist does not set up a payment plan and I don't blame him as it gets to be a big hassle getting some people to make their payments, plus the bookkeeping involved, and he is not a bank. He told me about a place I could apply for a loan online but they did not accept me even though I have good credit history. There is another one that other people have told me about and I checked them out online but did not apply yet. I first need to have a consult with my dentist to get a final cost before I can really apply for a loan. There is a big different between $6,000 and $8,000. Then I will apply for a loan again, but this time I will call to explain how I plan to make the payments.

Today I am supposed to go to the neighboring town to have my 6 month checkup with the eye doctor. She wants to check my eye pressures because of glaucoma, and do a vision field test to see if that has changed more since the cataract surgery. But we are getting freezing rain and I am not going to attempt to either travel or try to walk on sidewalks that might be icy, so I am going to postpone the exam until later this week when it is supposed to warm up enough that there will be no ice. Winter just does not want to leave!

Now I need to get busy and make some phone calls and try to get life in order for this week.