Weekend Terror

Weekend Terror

I got off about two on Friday afternoon and headed home. I was feeling pretty good all things being equal. My grand daughter was coming over for the weekend and I was actually thinking of doing some grandfatherly things with her. I go home—I was cold and snow was beginning to fall. Snow was scheduled to be round all weekend. Cable TV, dvd and what ever and lots of good food it would be a splendid weekend.

I got home and was sitting by the stove top where a warm breeze from the furnace was making it’s way up from the floor vent. There was a baggie of bacon from earlier in the week. This was a brick of bacon, the kind people like us buy . You think you are getting a deal because you feel like you are getting so much for so little when in fact you get jus a few pieces of meat and mostly fat. It’s good fat though and the pieces of meat which are there are usually thick and tasty. I was chewing on a particularity thick piece of bacon when I realized a vacancy had developed in one of my molars followed by a sharp edge pain. My tongue swept by back tough and sure enough there was sharp pain followed by the ragged jagged feeling freshly exposed tooth—the meat of my tongue sunk into the hole left from the lost filling followed by a sharp pain and the terror that what else might fall off. In an instant another reality swept me: it’s 4:30 Friday afternoon on what looks like a cold went weekend. Each intake of take caught on the exposed pulp sending razors of pain up through my eye and into my brain. Each sweep of the trauma ite with the tongue also sent wave after wave a nausea thinking “How and I going to be able to do this all weekend long? I

I must have been in shock, Dianne could tell something was wrong and I just gagged something about my damn tooth and there goes the weekend. Dianne was supportive but rational. She had a granddaughter to tend for the nest 40 hours or so she did not need s 50+ boob to add to the load. She calmly handed me the yellow pages and told me to call Drew Luke our dentist and see if he would take me that after noon. Of course—no one as there, probably the winter storm had caused a couple of patients to cancel and hat ever and Drew Luke had send his staff home for a much deserved early weekend. I held a second on the line and the “service the answering service came on –I explained to her the situation and she came indicated she was only the”Service” and Drew Luke would be getting back to me shortly. What can you say, there is no one or way to argue that you are feeling helpless and that you are just going to have to wait.

The pain had not so much subsided as much as became a regular rhythm of pain and monstrous fantasies of what the weekending would hold. Or having to roll out into the frigid, darkening near eve and drive across the city to meet a professional called back to his office after he had already let the week go and was already into his weekend. Hell, I would not have been surprised if Drew was half way up the mountain for a skiing weekend or off to Sundnce for a weekend of film watching. Either case there was no way he was coming back this evening. I suddenly started doing bargaining behavior: The 7 Stages of Oral Pain. “OK I’ll tell him I can hack it out the night and I’ll meet you at your office at 10:00 or what ever works for you tomorrow.” I bet if I load up on ibuprobin(sp?) I can make through the night.

When Drew Luke finally did call—he was like at home. One chills crying and the other trying to get to the phone—both kinds under four. Drew had his hands full. He listened to me tell him what happened but I could sense Drew was keeping his distance—the last thing he wanted was to go back into the office this evening. I tried to explain to him that I was in discomfort= I hurt and what are you going to do”

“Well, I can get you in Monday morning”
“What!!” I scream inwardly, “ Monday Morning I could b dead from oral pain turning to heart failure by Monday morning.”

“What time can I write you in” he said
“What? You have your schedule book right there” I was impressed
“No” I could see him sheepishly grinning , “I’ll make a note and tell the girls to be expecting your call.” Then “Oh wait, I will be one assistant short by then—can you make that 1:00? I will be back up to full staff by 1:30.”
Kids screaming in the back ground—he was actually wrestling with one. I could tell this was going no where—I was not going to get his hands in my mouth tonight.
“ How bout that stuff they sell in the drug store—like gum made to fill cavities? How abut that does that stuff work?”
“ Oh sure that will work—that’s will get you through.”

Why did he not suggest this early especially since he had no intentions of coming into the office.

Two hours later Dianne had gone to the store and found a “Temp Dent” or something. A small container of a gummy substance you roll into a ball and place on the trauma site. Work the substance in and let cure an hour. I did not think it would work. The piece of tooth broke off from as side I did not think there was anything to cling too. Dianne worked it into a ball and tried to apply but I was too freaked out and I ended up trying to stuff the material to the tooth. It was painful, at first but soon there was no pain. I have been pain free ever sense. The first hours following the application I was terrified the whole thing was going to collapse any second. It didn’t, This morning I felt great slept through the night and no pain. I cannot believe how good the stuff works. Tomorrow I see drew and he will fix the breakdown and I will be underway. I still have some major dental issues and I m sure I will hear about them from Drew but maybe I am ready now.