Medical blues...

Poor hubby. He got last Thursday a procedure to check how his nerves are doing and basically what the docs did is poke a hole in his spine so they can dye the spinal fluid so it's easier to see how the nerves are via the CAT scan. (I know, so medically technical here, ain't I?)

Well, week later he's having some nasty migraines caused by the hole in his spine not healing up, so they had to do a blood patch yesterday. So the docs drew some of his blood and put it in the original hole to force the body to plug it up so he'd quit having those horrendous headaches. Which left me driving home from the hospital.

I'll admit driving is not my favorite activity, namely because there's so much to keep an eye out for and so many other potential distractions that could be had. Driving it right up there after house work for me, especially on the freeway - got to love those who drive that spell Preparation with an H and use stealth blinkers...really got to love folks who plan ahead on what exit they need and prepare for it by driving nearly horizontal to the exit from the farthest lane from the exit.

So to give my nerves something to do, besides drive myself nuts, I started chewing some sugarfree gum and started towards home from the hospital. I don't even get on the freeway when I feel something yank out of a tooth and stop chewing for there was sudden change from the sticky and soft texture of the gum to hard and very solid. Got it out of my mouth and whined to myself - there went my temporary filling. *sigh*

So we got home, and then called the dentist. He wanted to see me now. I brought a friend a long for hubby needed to rest and I hate going to the dentist alone. Doctors? No problem....but for some reason I get edgy with dental work being done. I can't blame my childhood dentist for a traumatic experience, for that's a lie; but those military dentists on the other hand, um, some of them probably lead to my anxiousness for dental stuff. Just have a dentist start drilling 'fore your numb completely a time or two and well, I don't blame you for getting a heart rate spike for just setting down in the chair!

So the dentist put in another temp filling - I was squeezed in and my appointment is later this month for getting my tooth closer to finish. Root canals, oh the joy...but to be fair, the dentist I go to is a great guy and has a easy-going, gentle demeanor with eyes that sparkle with humor. But after he was done he asked how the first temporary filling came out. I told him I was doing something I usually don't do: chewing gum.

"Why were you chewing gum then?" he asked.
"For hubby had a procedure out in Bethesda and I had to drive THE BELTWAY !!" was my exasperated reply with my hands flying about in emphasis. "I was trying to get myself to relax a bit for I was so tense." (For those not in the Washington DC area, I-495 and I-95 make up the infamous Beltway.)

He chuckled at that. Looking back I can't blame him, for I must've looked pretty silly explaining myself like that with half of my face feeling fat and happily numb...