Warning to the reader: I am under the influence of Vicodin as I write this blog. Or is it Oxycodone? Either way...
Let's backtrack. I had a tooth extraction on June 6th. We haven't said too much about it here in the blog, but if you are one of my family members or close friends, you have been hearing me bitch about it for three and a half weeks. My bite wasn't right, then I developed a dry socket, then a small infection, then more trouble with my bite. So, over the last 26 days I have been to the dentist (twice), the periodontist (three times) and the ER (twice). I reached what I thought was the low point on my birthday last Friday when I canceled all plans because I wasn't up to golf or dinner or anything other than icing my face. The low point was yet to come.
By this morning, my face was visibly swollen and we returned to Mayo where they were certain that there was now an infection, possibly a small micro fracture of the bone or possibly debris in the extraction site. Off to oral surgery where it was determined that we should open it up and clean it out, get some faster acting antibiotics via IV and hope that helped me turn the corner. Little did we know...
Erin and Dan saw me go back to be sedated and they headed out for some frozen yogurt. Almost immediately, Dan was paged and Erin was asked to wait in the lobby. I can only imagine Dan's fear as we are certainly gun-shy about bad news from doctors. Turns out that my lower right jaw bone was completely infected and two more teeth had been compromised and needed to be removed. Dan gave consent and the doctor yanked the teeth and then scraped away all the dead bone. They will be watching the healing process closely and monitoring for any more signs of infections. Mouths are tricky and things like infection can travel fast. Let's hope this is the end of it.
I'd be remiss if I didn't share a couple of interactions we had today. Shannon interactions. A nurse who helped us this morning recognized me from 15 years ago when she played tennis. She made a point of letting us know that she was so sorry about the loss of Shannon, but also that she enjoyed getting to know her through what she read.
Then on the surgical unit this afternoon, we ran into one of our close friend's brothers who works there. Small world. The nurse who had been helping us then felt comfortable acknowledging that she knew who we were and what we had been through. Turns out many of the nurses on that unit had been following us and wanted us to know how much they all learned from our family. Wow. Sincere and touching and really nice to hear. The ripples of Shannon's life continue...
So, now we are home and I am resting with this handy-dandy icepak that wraps around your head and ices your cheeks. Looks like a bra for your face. I have allowed Dan to take one picture for the archives, but it will not be appearing here on the blog!
I am hoping against hope that I rebound in the next 36 to 48 hours and we can still make our family trip to Lake Hubert for at least part of the holiday weekend. Cross your fingers...
