Sawzall and All
When I was a kid, I wanted so badly to be a Ventriloquist. So much so, one year, I got a Charlie McCarthy ventriloquist doll for Christmas, along with this little gizmo you stuck in your mouth that helped train you to throw your voice- you know, talk so no one can see your lips move.
Turns out, that skill I developed so long ago has paid off today!
This was some surgery today. This morning, I was very tempted to call it off. I really thought my doctors were making a mountain out of a molehill. I haven't been in very much pain at all so it just didn't seem like surgery was the reasonable next step.
I showed up despite my desire to stay home.
It was a swanky place! I was pretty surprised when I walked in and because I already had a preconceived idea of the whole experience from the somewhat cold exchange I had earlier with the secretary, I felt nothing but dread. I prayed hard that somehow, the doctor would be honest and smart and not just do a horrible procedure for the sake of making money.
He was awesome! His nurse was even better. They were both so kind and humorous which helped a ton because I get pretty sarcastic when I'm scared. They helped ease the tension with their own brand of humor and sarcasm. They did several more x-rays and even a 3D one that was very cool to see all the bone structure and teeth etc. Sure enough, the abscess in the bone was pretty bad and had spread beyond what could ever be fixed with antibiotics. It did not at all match what I felt because honestly, I haven't been in that pain at all. He was very good to show me the problem area and had a thorough plan to fix it.
Unfortunately, he did have to perform surgery and had to remove two small sections of bone. I definitely would have preferred to be asleep for this. He numbed me up really well with Novocaine and I opted to pay extra for 'Happy Gas'. She started the gas out pretty low but said I could give her a thumbs up or down if I wanted more or less. Once we were halfway through, I thought to myself...'Why on earth and I'm not taking full advantage of this happy gas because this sucks!' So, I gave her a thumbs up! Ha ha...I felt I deserved it.
I was shocked at how rough it was. In my head, I was prepared for him to make an incision, a small one in my gums and maybe scrape away the infection with a spoon or something, throw in a stitch and be done. NOPE. There were drills going and I'm pretty sure at one point a Sawzall was pulled out to remove the bone! OMG, it was something else! Way worse than anything I have experienced and I wish I hadn't been awake to hear the crunching and the drills and all the things!
The nurse was really the sweetest. I could tell she loved her job. When he left to talk to someone part way through, she said, "Guess what, I saved the bones he took out! It's so cool, I'll show you after!" The only time I have ever laughed while laying in a dental chair. She was geeking out hard core over this procedure. I loved her. I never did see the bones though which is fine. She also wanted to show me a video prior of what they would be doing to me...I said "No way!!" That was a wise decision.
Recovery today has been rough. I'm really swollen and in a lot of pain. I have 5 stitches in my gums and a few stitches in between some teeth. I can't eat any solids for 3 days and then only very soft, bland food. I can't brush my teeth for 6 days!!! Gross! They are all coated in blood and I"m still bleeding tonight. For three days, I can only sleep sitting up. No activity or raising my heart rate. I can't talk, it hurts so bad to move my mouth. I can barely fit a straw in my mouth to drink water. Tonight, I managed to make and eat a few spoonfuls of very runny pudding.
I had a really big bone spur coming out of my gums just in front of this abscess. It's from my lovely disease I have where my joints and muscles are becoming calcified. He cut into that part of the bone as well and sawed that calcification off which was very nice of him and he didn't charge me extra. In fact, the total bill came in about $600 less than I was told it would be!
I'm glad it is over and I'm glad it ended up being a decent experience for what it was. Now, I hope nothing crazy happens to complicate things. I asked how this could have been prevented and I guess it was just a fluke thing. My teeth weren't bad or anything. Just something weird that happened. I've got a 6 week recovery but 6 months until the bones are healed.
Turns out, that skill I developed so long ago has paid off today!
This was some surgery today. This morning, I was very tempted to call it off. I really thought my doctors were making a mountain out of a molehill. I haven't been in very much pain at all so it just didn't seem like surgery was the reasonable next step.
I showed up despite my desire to stay home.
It was a swanky place! I was pretty surprised when I walked in and because I already had a preconceived idea of the whole experience from the somewhat cold exchange I had earlier with the secretary, I felt nothing but dread. I prayed hard that somehow, the doctor would be honest and smart and not just do a horrible procedure for the sake of making money.
He was awesome! His nurse was even better. They were both so kind and humorous which helped a ton because I get pretty sarcastic when I'm scared. They helped ease the tension with their own brand of humor and sarcasm. They did several more x-rays and even a 3D one that was very cool to see all the bone structure and teeth etc. Sure enough, the abscess in the bone was pretty bad and had spread beyond what could ever be fixed with antibiotics. It did not at all match what I felt because honestly, I haven't been in that pain at all. He was very good to show me the problem area and had a thorough plan to fix it.
Unfortunately, he did have to perform surgery and had to remove two small sections of bone. I definitely would have preferred to be asleep for this. He numbed me up really well with Novocaine and I opted to pay extra for 'Happy Gas'. She started the gas out pretty low but said I could give her a thumbs up or down if I wanted more or less. Once we were halfway through, I thought to myself...'Why on earth and I'm not taking full advantage of this happy gas because this sucks!' So, I gave her a thumbs up! Ha ha...I felt I deserved it.
I was shocked at how rough it was. In my head, I was prepared for him to make an incision, a small one in my gums and maybe scrape away the infection with a spoon or something, throw in a stitch and be done. NOPE. There were drills going and I'm pretty sure at one point a Sawzall was pulled out to remove the bone! OMG, it was something else! Way worse than anything I have experienced and I wish I hadn't been awake to hear the crunching and the drills and all the things!
The nurse was really the sweetest. I could tell she loved her job. When he left to talk to someone part way through, she said, "Guess what, I saved the bones he took out! It's so cool, I'll show you after!" The only time I have ever laughed while laying in a dental chair. She was geeking out hard core over this procedure. I loved her. I never did see the bones though which is fine. She also wanted to show me a video prior of what they would be doing to me...I said "No way!!" That was a wise decision.
Recovery today has been rough. I'm really swollen and in a lot of pain. I have 5 stitches in my gums and a few stitches in between some teeth. I can't eat any solids for 3 days and then only very soft, bland food. I can't brush my teeth for 6 days!!! Gross! They are all coated in blood and I"m still bleeding tonight. For three days, I can only sleep sitting up. No activity or raising my heart rate. I can't talk, it hurts so bad to move my mouth. I can barely fit a straw in my mouth to drink water. Tonight, I managed to make and eat a few spoonfuls of very runny pudding.
I had a really big bone spur coming out of my gums just in front of this abscess. It's from my lovely disease I have where my joints and muscles are becoming calcified. He cut into that part of the bone as well and sawed that calcification off which was very nice of him and he didn't charge me extra. In fact, the total bill came in about $600 less than I was told it would be!
I'm glad it is over and I'm glad it ended up being a decent experience for what it was. Now, I hope nothing crazy happens to complicate things. I asked how this could have been prevented and I guess it was just a fluke thing. My teeth weren't bad or anything. Just something weird that happened. I've got a 6 week recovery but 6 months until the bones are healed.
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