I Survived Oral Surgery

The surgery went fine. It went really, really fast. After Jennifer and I arrived at the office, I signed the consent form (which was very, very scary...you say that you understand you could be maimed or die) and paid the bill. A few minutes later they took me to the back and to a bed/gurney which must have been made in the 70's based on the brown vinyl covering it. I put on a hospital cap to cover my hair. Then I laid down and they put some sort of monitor on my chest. You know, those pad things which was hooked up to a machine that beeped a lot. Then started working on my arms. On my left, they took my blood pressure and put a pulse monitor on my finger. On my right, the doctor found a vein and put in the IV which had the anesthesia. They put an oxygen mask over my nose and I started to feel really strange. For a second, I panicked because I certainly didn't like the feeling. Then I gave in and was out.

I woke up thirty minutes later as they were putting gauze in my mouth. At first I worried that I was waking up in the middle of the surgery, but soon they rolled me out of the room and into a waiting area. They kept an eye on me for another thirty minutes. I thought I could hear the nurse talking with Jennifer about all the things I was and wasn't supposed to do. Once I felt up to it, the nurse helped me walk to the car.

I was a little nauseous in the car on the way home, but it wasn't bad. When we got home, Jennifer helped me change my gauze and I fell asleep for a couple hours. I've been up for a little while and I feel good. My mouth is definitely tender and I suspect that pain medication will come in handy soon. I don't feel nearly as groggy as I expected to feel and that's certainly good. Eating was a bit tough - soup and mashed potatoes - but it was SO good. I was starving since I hadn't eaten since dinner last night.

In a few more hours the pain medication I was given at the doctor's office will be wearing off. I hope I'm not in too much pain, but I suppose that's what the pills are for. Thanks, everyone, for the kind wishes and the phone calls! That's certainly the best part of this event. And a HUGE thanks to Jennifer for helping me and staying with me through all this. She is a true, true friend.

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