Trip to the Dentist

Gosh I hate going to the Dentist, but I am done again for six months.  Far Guy is not so lucky, he is scheduled for Oral Surgery, he has a wisdom tooth coming in sideways and a fistula. (Left over from a root amputation or a wayward bone fragment.)  He is not crazy, many times over the past few years he has said “Something is not right up there in my mouth.”  Well he was right and not crazy..the X Rays prove it.  He doesn’t get the famous Olympian Hockey playing Baker this time but another fellow.  I will let you know when it is over.  I have asked that they gel foam the incision and stitch him up to try to avoid a dry socket..we will see.  He has asked for Nitrous. This is his last Wisdom Tooth…he should have had them all removed at once when he was younger…he had two done at once and swore never again…well never again is on round two.

We go to a further away little town to the Dentist.  He is a Finnish lad.   His wife who shoulda been a Dentist is the hygienist. We schedule our appointments back to back, since it is a 40 minute drive over there.

Chance and I went wandering about town and the immediate area while Far Guy was in the chair.

We stopped by St. Urho and then headed out to the forest fire area.

This area burned last summer.  It was part of the Green Valley Forest Fire.

Sad to see wide open spaces that used to be filled with pine trees.  There are huge piles of brush and some wood is being chipped into small pieces.  What logs could be salvaged are long gone.

I found this great bunch of Halloween decorations.  Someone has the Halloween spirit!

While I was in the chair Far Guy and Chance went to visit a classmate of his who is in assisted living.   He has a memory problem that was induced by overindulgence in alcohol following the death of his girlfriend.  He can remember everything in the distant past, but cannot remember if he ate today or who visited him.  He always remembers Far Guy.  I am not sure how much company he gets…but if he cannot remember does it really matter:(

Never Again

Yesterday we got up early.. the trip North was filled with birds. First Canadian Geese, then a Bald Eagle that raced with the car, it was very impressive to see him or her all stretched out just thirty feet from the car. Then we saw a huge flock of Red Winged Blackbirds..are they grouping already? Then another Bald Eagle..this one feasting on the body of a tiny spotted fawn on the edge of the road. The big meany, but I guess a big mean car or truck already did the killing part..he was just getting an easy breakfast. Then something unidentifiable..maybe a young Eagle or maybe it was a young vulture. There was no time to stop for photographs.. we had a mission. One that neither of us had been looking forward to.

Can you believe that Far Guy was trying to get a wisdom tooth at his age? One of those way late, who woulda thunk it after all these years things. Years ago he had two of his wisdom teeth removed..he got painful dry sockets. So he said "Never again" ..well he shouldn't have said that. Never sometimes sneaks up on you. Never again was yesterday. This stupid wisdom tooth was coming in sideways pushing against another tooth, it was part way through the skin..and part way covered and stuck. A real troublemaker. It had to go.

What might be routine for someone else..becomes a big deal for someone with Trigeminal Neuralgia. The Neurologist said " Anything can happen, your pain could get better, or worse, or stay the same. Call me if you think we need to change medication dosages again." Fat lot of help he was. Anyway we got an Oral Surgeon.. a famous Hockey playing one at that..and the tooth is history. A little Nitrous Oxide and Far Guy was feeling no pain during the procedure. It was a rough day, especially for me, all I could do was dole out pain pills and Advil. I just hate it when there is nothing I can do except push pills. I got so stressed out, I had to nap. Today is better than yesterday..but the TN pain is worse. The famous hockey player turned Oral Surgeon said " Quite a big hunk of sinus bone came along with that tooth, but I don't think I tore a hole in your sinus cavity. " I asked Far Guy, "How do we know if that happened or not?" He replied "I guess if you blow your nose and air comes out the spot where your tooth was..you have a problem." I think perhaps I should take his temperature for a day or two. It hurts Far Guy to talk today..so he just listens and I talk..I could actually just do his part of the conversation also, but then it wouldn't be called a conversation would it? Yesterday he talked to practically everyone in the free world, he hurt too much to talk to me or the dog after all his phone calls. He is a trooper, eating soft foods and taking his medications. We are still just doing one day at a time.

If you are curious William (Bill) Baker was the Oral Surgeon, he scored the goal in the 1980 Olympic game with Sweden that tied the game. That goal gave the American team the momentum to be carried forward..some books say "Like a Rocket" So now you know what happened to one of the Miracle on Ice Hockey Players, never again will there be such a game or such a team and Far Guy says he is never having another wisdom tooth removed ever again. He only has one left..:)