Sunday 2 November 2008

say aaaahhhh...

october has been a marathon medical month for me. it began with my first ever stay over in hospital and first experience of general anaesthesia, and ended with my first dental op under general anaesthesia. boy am i glad for medical aid.

while going under is quite intense it's a million times better than being present for your own dental op. believe me i've had to try banish the memories of a number of apisectomies, extractions, bone implants all under local, all whilst i was fully aware of the surgeon's every movement around my mouth.

of course this time was different. i had my wonderful and caring husband by my side most of the time. i was administered both general & local anaesthesia injections which lead to strange & disturbing dreams. the oxygen smelt of coconut. i woke up very groggy wanting only to go back to sleep, away from the bright lights, the feeling of complete dejection and aloneness, and the terrible pain in my throat from the intubation. thankfully i didn't spend too much time in the recovery room & was returned to my ward. my sweetheart was there to comfort my tears, give me cold juice for the throat & feed me. small things make a big difference.

i'm almost back to normal again with the swelling in my face concentrated on my top lip. i also have to get used to the plate & denture they fitted while i was under. while it covers the gaping hole in my front teeth (for which i am grateful) it also causes me to lisp and sound a lot like sean connery. when this is all over in a year or so i may giggle about it... up till then i'm going to concentrate on surviving the days of small embarrassments and mountains which would normally be molehills...

2 comments:

pauljacobson said...

I think I would have all dental work done under general anesthetic if could have it my way. I shudder whenever I read/think about all the dental stuff you have endured. Hope you feel better very soon!

victoire said...

@pauljacobson: :) thanks... i wonder sometimes whether it is bravery or just plain stupidity! any which way i can't wait for it all to be over.