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There I am, in my dentist’s office, mouth full of gauze, trying to tell him and his receptionist about Steve Jobs’ last words. It is reliably reported Jobs’ last words before he died were: Oh Wow! Oh Wow! Oh Wow! What I am waiting to hear about is the expression on his face as he said those words.
I had finally screwed up my courage to make a dentist appointment to have an errant root removed that was breaking through my gum and annoying my denture. My regular dentist had been quite ill but I like his son, Dr. Ron, quite well who undertook the project. First came the injection of anesthetic, three shots, the one into the palate being the most painful. Then the x-ray: The root is in two parts, one part still in the jawbone and another sliver that is projecting out. The actual removal doesn’t hurt at all – only a crunchy feeling as the big part separates from the bone, then the sliver just slips out. Then a good long wait biting down on gauze and the final dismissal, biting down on fresh gauze. There didn’t seem to be much bleeding.
I drove home and removed the gauze. Still no real bleeding. I was really hungry since I had lost my appetite in anticipation of my ordeal. I warmed up some soup and slurped that down, then ate a Greek yogurt, with honey (yum) and tumbled into bed, fully clothed except for shoes.
After that, who knows? I finally woke at 3 AM to go to the bathroom. Face is feeling real good. No pain unless I seriously scrunch my face. Lips dry; apply Vaseline. My backdoor was still unlocked. After warming up a cup of Ovaltine, with a mocha touch, I found four Scrabble games waiting on the computer. I won two of them, made good moves on the other two, and went back to bed, still clothed, hoping to go back to sleep.
VERY THANKFUL!!
I did sleep until 4:30. All the fascinating O’Reilly Factor stuff that I missed the night before is right there waiting for me. Nice that they repeat last night’s show again in the morning.
A glimpse into the secret life of an old lady — just for you. If I didn’t write about it, how would you know?
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Cowards die a thousand times before their death. The valiant only taste of death but once. — Shakespeare
Tooling around your blog, I see that you and I have both had similar experiences this Fall. i.e.tooth exraction and skin surgery. I find that interesting because I wonder if it’s related to age.
My dental surgery was bloody, but not for long and it healed up nicely.
The skin surgery was for basal cell carcinoma.
I, too had to hang around for the results, but not nearly as long and ardous as your experience.
My malignant cells were on my forehead above the left eye. Of course it turned black and blue along with swelling. I drew a lot of sympathy from the residents here, but then their attention to it lasted too log. I had the surgery mid September.
A month later I went in to ask why the eyelid was still swollen. The nurse told me it was common to have the swelling, and that it could take up to 90 days for the eyelid to return to normal. So I’m still waiting for it to subside.
They assured me they got all the malignant cells.I pray that your recovery will be complete soon.
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Dorothy Vining reply on November 17th, 2011 8:31 am:
Thanks so much for your story and glad your in the healing phase. I haven’t yet had the skin cancer surgery and really appreciate your prayers. God bless both of you & love.
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Oh wow, you drove home?!I assumed that after 75 it wouldn’t be possible to drive anymore due to slower reflexes, loss of depth perception, inability to see at night,takes too much concentration to drive, can’t handle speed or highways,etc,etc,etc. Good to know there’s hope after all.
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Dorothy Vining reply on December 10th, 2011 11:57 am:
Yes, slower reflexes, etc., etc. However, I only drive in daylight, on familiar roads, no highways. Just have to live with my limitations but really want to keep on driving awhile longer for the freedom of it! P.S. Thanks for thoughtly reply on the Human Sexuality site.
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