Tuesday, August 12, 2008

=(

I've finally done it.

This morning, I reported to National Dental Centre at 8am. Usually I'm quite serene just before an operation, but today I was feeling a sense of trepidation that I don't normally feel, despite having gone through 3 prior operations, one on my right eyebrow,one on my... err never mind, and one on my thigh bone. Yes I'm scared.

I was briefed on the operation by 2 separate doctors, one to take my declarations and another by the anaesthetist. All sorts of horror situations was briefed to me, including the fact I might not wake up from the general anaesthesia and suffer an unexpected death 0_0 As you can see, I have every right to feel scared. Alhamdulillah I didn't suffer that fate.

Luckily the doctor taking my declarations was pretty. For once it's not the nurse that's pretty, it's the doctor. Helped to soothe my nerves somewhat.

I changed into an oversized blue robe that had me looking like a Samurai Ninja in an oversized Kimono, and laid down on the operating table. Breathed in some oxygen from the mask over my face, and I conked out.

Next thing I knew, nurse woke me up, and I was feeling a numbness on my lower jaw that I couldn't even feel my lower lip. Turns out that on top of the oxygen mask, the doctor had also jabbed my jaws (Jabberjaw?) with some painkilling injections while I was asleep. Tried to walk to the sink, but after swaying left and right the nurse caught hold of and stabilized me. Was too giddy and my walk too wonky for the doctor to allow me to be discharged. The numbness was so... well, mind-blowingly numb, that I had to look into the mirror to refer to where my lower lip was when swallowing the painkillers. For a while I couldn't close my mouth. Saliva was producing by the buckets and blood was free-flowing. Doctor told me not to spit it out, and instead, swallow, so I guess I became a vampire for a while.

I tried to sleep, but the pain was too intense that even the effects of the oxygen couldn't get me back to sleep, so the nurse stuck some cream inside my mouth that had it sort of paralyzed enough while waiting for the oral painkillers to kick in.

Got home and straight away I zonked out, waking up only to find my pillow wet with saliva and blood 0_0 THAT is a most disgusting sight. Even my T-shirt was blood-stained, so now I have to sleep with a tissuebox beside me =(

Was super-hungry, after all, I had hadn't eaten since midnight because I had to fast up to 6 hrs prior to the operation. But I could only eat a soft diet, porridge and such, and that sucks! I'm perpetually hungry and I can't even have hot food because hot food would make the blood clot expand and promote more bleeding. MC given til the 19th, on which day I would return to NDC to take out the stitches. Here's to a fast recovery...

Swollen jaws, puffy cheeks, bloodied pillows =(

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