"Breathe nice-n-deep for me..." Dr. Dunn gently instructed once he had setup the Intravenous sedation equipment on my nose. I followed. The screens in front of me showing blood pressure and heartbeats started to blur.
"...and tighten your fist." I involuntarily complied. The kiss of a syringe was aphrodisiac enough to kick in the hibernation.
"Think of something pleasant and breathe nice-n-deep." Before I could follow, I had already slipped into the dreamland. The only thing I remembered was the slow voices of the doctor and his assistants and the music of the equipments making their way into my mouth.
1, 16, 17 and 32 were gone when I opened my eyes. Although it was for good, I instantly missed them. It's so true - we take many people and things in our lives for granted and don't realize until they are gone. And your wisdom is the last thing you want to lose; I just did, assuming I already had some.
Roshan was the designated driver and caretaker for the first half of the day. He drove me back home and got everything I needed; medicines and ice. Once he was gone, I tried to read the post-surgery instructions Dr. Dunn had given (3 printed pages), but that was too much. The priority was to fill the empty tank (I was not allowed to eat or drink anything before 8 hours of the surgery). But before I could eat anything I had to wait for the bleeding and pain to stop; it never did for an hour and red cotton packs piled up steadily. I took the pain reliever medicine and it was time for some adventure.
I reached up to the bathroom sink to clean the blood in the mouth. Few gargles and it was all clean. Out of bathroom and the world started to marry-go-round. The last thing I heard was a thud. Then silence. When I opened eyes after {don't know how much} time, I found myself lying on the floor just outside the bathroom. Easy, go to the bed and sleep. I did. The sleep was over soon and so was the memory of what happened just an hour ago. Again restless. Again blood. Again bathroom sink. Again the rotating world. Again a thud, louder this time. This time I was aware what was happening. I felt a brief pain on the shoulder and head. But before it could become more pronounced, again silence. Eyes opened again and deja-vu was obvious. I noticed this time I was lying on the right side of the bathroom (last time it was left side). Easy, easy, go to the bed and sleep, and never get up again until someone is around you. I did. After that I did not dare to leave the bed for anything, not even for food. In the evening when Akshay and Snehal were back home, I enjoyed the jelly roll and milk. Snehal prepared the soft dal-rice for dinner and after eating, the bleeding, pain and hunger rested in peace. The second crash would show its effects the next day when I would see a big bruise on back of the left shoulder and I would thank the carpet-ed wooden floor for saving my head despite the head-on landing. Easy, sleep.
Like many other misconceptions about myself, I had always believed that my teeth were in healthy shape until my gums started bleeding occasionally a few months ago. And like in most cases, laziness took precedence over corrective action. It was too late when I with the help of dentist realized that the gingivitis, or, more scary name - periodontal infection, has fallen for my teeth. And they were bold enough to show their affair in public, on the expense of my blood! The events that followed were not too pleasant to go through, some of which you read above. Other than that I had to appear for 4 cleaning sessions and 2 filling sessions to control the bacterial beasts. And not to mention, all this was while I'm in US, so you can imagine the money you have to shell out; even while having insurance. I won't care much about monetary details though (not that I'm very rich or something, just that it doesn't matter.)
In short, I would advise my friends to take good care of their teeth. And even if it looks and feels OK, go for regular professional cleaning every 6 months at least. Be aware of the bacterial infections and be ready to fight it right in the roots. I wasn't planning to scare you, but sometimes it works. Almost.
