A First

Yesterday was a first for me.  It was the first time I have ever been under general anesthesia (as far as I know!!).  It was the first time I have had a surgery of any kind (as far as I know!!).  Anyway, I have been through about three months of some intense mouth pain, and $3500 worth of dental work.  After a root canal and some crowns, I was still in really terrible amounts of pain.  Upon seeing the dentist again, they couldn't figure out exactly what was wrong.  They sent me to the endodontist, who also could not determine the problem, but said that it could possibly be a wisdom tooth that has partially come through on one side, and that it needed to be removed.  The oral surgeon at my dental office couldn't see me until next week, and with the amount of pain I was in, I was not going to make it a week.  I went into the dentist, who said he could remove the tooth, but it would be under local anesthesia and "messy."  He said it was a difficult extraction, with the tooth being so close to a nerve canal.  So, they called around, and were able to find an oral surgeon who could see me in Santa Barbara.  When I got there, they said that they could remove the tooth, but only do local anesthesia.  This made me nervous but at the same time, I really, really needed some relief from the pain, so I was willing!!  Then, he checked a couple of things: 1. Was there someone to drive me home?  YES!!  and 2.  Had I eaten anything? NO!! (Dental pain is a great diet plan.)  So, they could put me "out" and get to work.  I will say that it went remarkably well in that I didn't feel anything, and I woke up and it was over.  The bummer is that I am still experiencing quite a bit of the same pain, so I am not sure that tooth was the culprit....???  But we will wait and see what happens.

I normally watch my nieces every other Tuesday, while my sister-in-law cleans a house.  Well, her and her cleaning buddy Cristin came to my rescue and watched my kids so I could have mouth surgery!!! You girls are awesome.  My sister-in-law was even so brave as to drive around the "Beast" (our big Suburban) so she could fit three of mine and two of her own!!!  Thanks Kelly, you are so kind to me.  And, it worked out so that my mom could drive Ezra and me to the appointment and keep an eye on me.  Thanks Mom.  You all have taken good care of me.  Now, if we could just get rid of this pain!!!  =)