Monday, January 8, 2007

01/08/07


Current mood: nauseated
Last week, I went to Urgent care for some pain in my jaw and ear. I was given antibiotics for a gum infection and told to see my dentist.

I did that this morning. I saw my dentist. I was not excited, but anxious to get this road behind me. I had my x-rays done and was left to watch one of those disgusting movies that shows what could happen if you don't brush. I became naseuated. I worried about losing my teeth.

I expected to hear the words root canal, cavity, small infection. What I did not expect was gum surgery. I had my wisdom teeth removed when I was 17. I was always suprised that the holes never closed up. Well, one decided to. One actually got so excited at the thought of closing up that it grew too much. It grew over my other teeth. I needed to have immediate surgery to stop the pain and to save the teeth.

The dentist told me I was lucky, the periodontist just happened to be there now. So, I signed consent forms, moved rooms and prepared for gum surgery.

I received no fewer than 15 painful shots of novacaine throughout my mouth. It hurt like crazy. I then waited for 5 minutes while I became numb. Then, with a pick, some scissors and pliers they removed tissue the size of a marble. The clipped away at my gums, they sucked up what felt like gallons and gallons of blood. Then they grabbed the sewing needle and thread and began suturing. I tried to paid attention to her knots so I could practice them on Kaitlyn's pageant outfits, but I was trying not to look.

The novacaine is now wearing off. It hurts like hell. I want to go to bed for the next 3 weeks, until the sutures are removed. And to think, I thought I had just bit the inside of my cheek.

Thursday, January 4, 2007

01/04/07

So, for the past 3 or so days, I've had an awful pain in my mouth. It's along my jaw line in the back on the right hand side. At first it felt like I had bit my cheek and it was taking a while to heal. By last night it had radiated to my right ear and I could barely talk.

So, today I decided had to be seen by the doctor. I got all my work affairs in order and at 1:00 PM I headed out the door.

My doctor's office told me they didn't have a single appointment with anyone so I had to go downtown to Urgent Care. Joy. I got to Urgent Care at 1:45 and got all checked in.

At about 3:00 I was seen by the triage nurse. That took all of 5 minutes. At about 3:30 a woman came in. She was in her mid-fifties or so and very well dressed and composed. She began to check her adult daughter in to be seen. The receptionist gave her the warning that it would be a while. Oh my what happened next better belongs on daytime TV.

The woman began sobbing hysterically, her daughter was dying. She was so sick and dehydrated she wasn't going to make it. The whole way there she was talking to God and walking to the light. She had to be seen immediatly. The receptionist didn't miss a beat, ignored the water works and asked for her insurance card. The dramatics worsened. This woman began to tell the nurse that she had to save her daughter, that she would give her anything money, car her kidneys anything at all she had to be seen right then.

The nurse walked up and asked what was going on. The water works continued. The nurse decided to bring them back to triage IMMEDIATLY! I looked at the adult daughter, dressed in designers full make-up, not a hair undone sipping on gaterade walk back into triage as though she owned the world.

They put the girl into a room while her now well composed mother finished the paperwork. She didn't say a thank you, she didn't breath a word of her daughter's illness again. She actually got on her cell phone and began to speak about something else while the receptionist was talking to her. The triage nurse came back to the receptionist and the mother inquired about her daughter. The triage nurse explained it was a stomach virus. There wasn't a fever and no signs of dehydration.

Because I didn't pull out what I learned in Sophomore drama, I wasn't seen until 5:00 PM, go figure.