Gums, Germs and Steel

Well, I think the dentistry went well, though it’s hard to tell from the memory fragments I’m left with.

I remember laying down with a drip feed in my arm, and some sedative being introduced, and feeling a bit spacey.

And then I remember being helped into a wheelchair, putting my feet on the metal footrests.

And then I remember someone saying to be careful not to hit my head on the roof of the car as I got into the passenger seat.

I remember rothko helping me walk through the back yard to the house.

And I remember waking up in bed late yesterday afternoon.

That’s about it. I feel like I ought to remember the 20 minute drive home, or walking up the stairs, or getting undressed and into bed, but I don’t. I certainly remember nothing of steel instruments slicing into my mouth.

Something gave me hiccups yesterday, probably drugs and liquids on an otherwise empty stomach. They’ve returned twice, but today I’m eating soup so hopefully they’ll go away. I can also drink coffee now, thank the bean gods.

The mouthwash isn’t as disgusting as the stuff I had when my wisdom teeth were extracted. I can actually taste things. So that’s a plus. I feel vaguely hamster-faced, like I have Silly Putty in my cheeks. At first I thought this was because I do, in fact, have the medical version of Silly Putty in my cheeks. However, a couple of bits fell off and I threw them away, and now the left lower gum has no putty but still feels like it does.

There are also some surgical threads here and there. I’m trying to ignore them but my tongue wants to play.

This whole gum surgery thing has been hanging over me for about 4 or 5 years, so the minor discomfort is more than overshadowed by the sense of relief that I finally did something about it.