YOU KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE A BAD CHRISTMAS......
Socks given to me by my son.
Bad, bad Christmas. Wife and I both caught nasty colds in the week before Christmas. Christmas Eve, we went to the wife's brother's house for dinner. Took dyspeptic father in-law with us, and one granddaughter as well as daughter-in law in process of divorcing our son. Good food. Father-in-law had nothing to say and couldn't wait to go home. They had to force him to stay. As soon as we started eating, I felt a pain in my jaw, running from the ear down to the chin. Thought it was just a muscle cramp, but it didn't go away.
The father-in-law drove his car to our house from Fresno, as we live about midway between Fresno and Visalia, where the dinner was. Then wife and I drove f-i-l to dinner in his car. Wife's brother decides (rightfully so I guess) that 96 year old dad shouldn't be driving at night and it had begun to rain as well. (Truth is, f-i-l should not be driving at all. Ever). So, we hatch a scheme whereby I drive pops home and wife will go with daughter-in-law and granddaughter. F-i-l is not happy. So we take off with brother in law in followup vehicle so he can pick me up in Fresno and drive me the 25 miles back to Kingsburg. We get to Veteran's home where f-i-l resides, and I park his car and he goes inside. As we're leaving, I see f-i-l's parked car with the lights on. SHIT! I run back in and catch f-i-l before he has entered his room. Get the key and try to return through the building which we had entered. Doors locked. Rain starts. I'm pounding on door. Security guard shows up. I get in and run out to car in rain. Turn off lights and return key. Now I'm not only pissed off, but wet too. We get to my house, and brother-in-law let's me off. I had given my keys to the wife when we left, and she had not returned them. She hadn't come home yet (yeah, I guess she was having fun :-(). So in the rain I'm digging through a flower bed in the dark, looking for the damn stone thing that has a key in it. Would any burglar with half a brain not be able to find these things and use the key? Well, I can't find it because it's dark. Finally get in the house. Mood not good. Jaw aching.
Christmas morning it's breakfast at 7:30. Good food, but can't much enjoy as dyspeptic f-i-l is being his miserable self, and I'm in pain. Presents opened we go home and I hit the sack. That afternoon we were due to have lunch at a nice restaurant in Fresno with son, his now love, grandkids, and--you guessed it-- dyspeptic f-i-l. Once again the pain kept me from enjoying the good food. Son gives me socks for present. I note that when you stretch them out, it starts to look like an asshole. Then the obvious made itself known. It IS an asshole.
Finally home by 6 p.m. and Christmas is over. But the pain gets worse and worse and by now the right side of my face is swollen up like a rotten watermelon. Visions of root canals were pleasant compared to the other potentials. Like would I be the next Elephant Man with a football growing from my head? Oh, I was thinking the worst. Believe it. The pain got so bad that I couldn't stop shaking and became nauseous. The wife calls Kaiser advice nurse. Run through the history, and then she wants to know if I have a fever. Wife cannot find a thermometer. (It just gets better and better, doesn't it). So, seven or eight at night on Christmas Day the wife heads out the door and hits a couple of neighbor's houses. Nobody answers. I guess they were all out having fun, while I was experiencing the wrath meted out to non-believers on Christmas. Wife gets in car and drives to daughter-in-laws for thermometer. Get's back and now we get a call from the doctor in the ER at Kaiser. Fever is just 100.5. Doctor makes an appointment for me the next morning with my regular physician, and advises that if I have a fever--any fever--I'm to come in to the ER, which is 35 or so miles away. By now, I'm thinking the only way I'm moving is if someone comes in and carries my carcass out of the house. So we took a chance. The night was long, but made bearable by the powerful painkillers the wife has. Without them, I would have had no choice but the ER.
Doctor says she doesn't think it's and abscessed tooth and not a tumor. It's good to know that a tumor will generally not provide the experience of excruciating pain. And that's the good news.
Today the swelling is way down. They injected me with antibiotics, and set me on a ten day course of oral antibiotics. Still painful to touch right side of face, but I'm a very happy camper.
And this post is about the first thing I've accomplished since the whole episode began unfolding.
Hope you all had a Merry Christmas or Fabulous Festivus or whatever.
Sorry to write bummer stories at the time of year when you all are celebrating the birth of Jesus and are full of hope for 2019. But on the bright side, it all seems to be getting better. All, except a certain POTUS, which I'm trying to ignore at least until we get into the new year.
Wish you all well.
YOU KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE A BAD CHRISTMAS......
Socks given to me by my son.
Bad, bad Christmas. Wife and I both caught nasty colds in the week before Christmas. Christmas Eve, we went to the wife's brother's house for dinner. Took dyspeptic father in-law with us, and one granddaughter as well as daughter-in law in process of divorcing our son. Good food. Father-in-law had nothing to say and couldn't wait to go home. They had to force him to stay. As soon as we started eating, I felt a pain in my jaw, running from the ear down to the chin. Thought it was just a muscle cramp, but it didn't go away.
The father-in-law drove his car to our house from Fresno, as we live about midway between Fresno and Visalia, where the dinner was. Then wife and I drove f-i-l to dinner in his car. Wife's brother decides (rightfully so I guess) that 96 year old dad shouldn't be driving at night and it had begun to rain as well. (Truth is, f-i-l should not be driving at all. Ever). So, we hatch a scheme whereby I drive pops home and wife will go with daughter-in-law and granddaughter. F-i-l is not happy. So we take off with brother in law in followup vehicle so he can pick me up in Fresno and drive me the 25 miles back to Kingsburg. We get to Veteran's home where f-i-l resides, and I park his car and he goes inside. As we're leaving, I see f-i-l's parked car with the lights on. SHIT! I run back in and catch f-i-l before he has entered his room. Get the key and try to return through the building which we had entered. Doors locked. Rain starts. I'm pounding on door. Security guard shows up. I get in and run out to car in rain. Turn off lights and return key. Now I'm not only pissed off, but wet too. We get to my house, and brother-in-law let's me off. I had given my keys to the wife when we left, and she had not returned them. She hadn't come home yet (yeah, I guess she was having fun :-(). So in the rain I'm digging through a flower bed in the dark, looking for the damn stone thing that has a key in it. Would any burglar with half a brain not be able to find these things and use the key? Well, I can't find it because it's dark. Finally get in the house. Mood not good. Jaw aching.
Christmas morning it's breakfast at 7:30. Good food, but can't much enjoy as dyspeptic f-i-l is being his miserable self, and I'm in pain. Presents opened we go home and I hit the sack. That afternoon we were due to have lunch at a nice restaurant in Fresno with son, his now love, grandkids, and--you guessed it-- dyspeptic f-i-l. Once again the pain kept me from enjoying the good food. Son gives me socks for present. I note that when you stretch them out, it starts to look like an asshole. Then the obvious made itself known. It IS an asshole.
Finally home by 6 p.m. and Christmas is over. But the pain gets worse and worse and by now the right side of my face is swollen up like a rotten watermelon. Visions of root canals were pleasant compared to the other potentials. Like would I be the next Elephant Man with a football growing from my head? Oh, I was thinking the worst. Believe it. The pain got so bad that I couldn't stop shaking and became nauseous. The wife calls Kaiser advice nurse. Run through the history, and then she wants to know if I have a fever. Wife cannot find a thermometer. (It just gets better and better, doesn't it). So, seven or eight at night on Christmas Day the wife heads out the door and hits a couple of neighbor's houses. Nobody answers. I guess they were all out having fun, while I was experiencing the wrath meted out to non-believers on Christmas. Wife gets in car and drives to daughter-in-laws for thermometer. Get's back and now we get a call from the doctor in the ER at Kaiser. Fever is just 100.5. Doctor makes an appointment for me the next morning with my regular physician, and advises that if I have a fever--any fever--I'm to come in to the ER, which is 35 or so miles away. By now, I'm thinking the only way I'm moving is if someone comes in and carries my carcass out of the house. So we took a chance. The night was long, but made bearable by the powerful painkillers the wife has. Without them, I would have had no choice but the ER.
Doctor says she doesn't think it's and abscessed tooth and not a tumor. It's good to know that a tumor will generally not provide the experience of excruciating pain. And that's the good news.
Today the swelling is way down. They injected me with antibiotics, and set me on a ten day course of oral antibiotics. Still painful to touch right side of face, but I'm a very happy camper.
And this post is about the first thing I've accomplished since the whole episode began unfolding.
Hope you all had a Merry Christmas or Fabulous Festivus or whatever.
Sorry to write bummer stories at the time of year when you all are celebrating the birth of Jesus and are full of hope for 2019. But on the bright side, it all seems to be getting better. All, except a certain POTUS, which I'm trying to ignore at least until we get into the new year.
Wish you all well.