June 24, 2014

Little Manatee River SP

Wimauma, FL

Having taken the prior day off to be with me at the dentist, Monte was behind on some of the things he wanted to accomplish this week including working on one of the club cars. It needed a new starter. One was ordered weeks ago and we were wondering what was taking so long for delivery. Then Monte found out that the starter had actually been delivered a couple of weeks ago. It was just sitting at the ranger station with the wrong delivery name on it-no one thought to tell him!

My misery continued on through the night. I could only sleep on my back. Every time I turned to either my right or left side, I woke up from the pain when my face came into contact with the pillow.

I really don’t like taking medications so I went into this ordeal thinking that I would take a pain pill or two the first day and then suck it up. BUT the first thing I did when I got up was to eat some applesauce so I could take something for the pain. I had made the mistake of taking the prescription strength Ibuprofen without food before going to sleep last night and the ensuing stomach ache contributed to my miserable night.

As the day wore on, the intense pain subsisted into more of a discomfort. But depression set in as I tried talking normally and found I couldn’t. My voice sounds weird to my ears. I was told this is normal and that I have to actually train my tongue. I also found that saying certain sounds, especially "s" sounds results in a whistle. So hey, as a bonus, I picked up a new skill—I couldn’t whistle before the surgery.

The ranger I was scheduled to work with on Wednesday called to see if I would be willing to work the morning shift instead of the afternoon shift. Monte told her about the surgery and informed her I wasn’t going to be up to working any shift.

Monte knocked off working early so he could shower and be ready to take me for my 4PM post-op appointment.

During the visit, I was given a rinse. What a relief because I hadn’t been able to rinse the day before so I still had the nasty taste of dried blood in my mouth. The technician made some adjustments to my partial that helped cut down on some of the discomfort I was still feeling.

When I complained about that the top denture was slipping, she applied a white paste and had me bite down for 7 minutes to allow it to harden. That helped to make a better suction.

I was given a sheet with instructions on how to rinse and clean the devices. Then the dentist came in, checked my gums and said I was healing great.

We were sent to the reception area to set up two appointments, a follow-up with the dentist and a deep cleaning with the hygienist.

The earliest appointment I could get with the dentist was for July 7^{th. The earliest appointment with the hygienist was for August 11th. No good-we are planning on leaving the area at the end of July.}

When I explained that we were not going to be in the area in August, the receptionist said the best she could do for me was put me on the cancellation list. I almost lost it when she said that I could go to any Aspen Dental for the cleaning. Really. Between us we spent over $8,000 at their office and that was the best she could for me.

As we were walking to the car, I became very emotional. Monte got me settled in the car and said he would be right back. I don’t know exactly what he said but a few minutes later he returned with a card showing I had a July appointment with the hygienist! My champion.

On the way home we stopped at Walmart to pick up a few items that I could eat as I was going to have to be on a soft diet for a while.

Back home I heated up some chicken and orzo soup. I got a little depressed again as I tried "chewing" the little bits of soft chicken. With each bite my partial lifted up resulting in pain as the partial hit my gums. All I could think about was how many of my favorite foods I may not be able to eat ever again.

My daughter, Renee called. When I complained about not being able to chew, she pointed out that this was the perfect opportunity to drop some of the extra pounds I was carrying around and complaining about. Silver lining!

Monte coaxed me into going for a sunset drive along some of the trails. 

  Despite the mosquitoes feasting on us, the ride boosted my spirits a little. 

 

 

Logically I know that eventually I will heal and get used to the denture and partial (millions of other people have) but emotionally I am finding it difficult to cope with the changes and accept that this is going to be my new-normal.