At long last, a visit to the dentist for a check-up, my first since lockdown. In justification, I had a cursory check 15 months ago when I lost a bit of tooth and, of course, I was shielding so things like the dentist got shelved - and then I had more important things to think about once I was on chemo again. Plus, the dental surgery burnt down one weekend so they’ve struggled to make appointments till they could place dentists in other practices for now.
So my lovely and sensitive dentist did a thorough check and followed up two things I mentioned to her. First was a tiny nerve pain I get in one front tooth, when I can feel a tingle along the nerve up to my eye. Yes, it came on after I had my biopsy operation that left my eyelid numb. She did an x-ray and has concluded that the nerve has been severed (what a surprise) and my front tooth will eventually die so I will need root canal work at some time. I’m embarrassed to confess I cracked a joke that the tooth might last longer than me. Why can’t I take it more seriously?? It’s not denial because I accept all the facts. It’s a very awkward defence mechanism, maybe.
At the end of the appointment, I asked her about my face, the one that flops or sags at the end of the day, that Dr U says is down to tiredness. I showed her a photo of my face at its worst/best and she immediately went to the computer and brought up similar photographs. She says I need an appointment with Neurology (you won’t remember, but Dr U made a referral to them in 2020 because of my balance problems, there was no response and then along came Covid so that came to nothing) as she suspects I may have Bell’s palsy. I shan’t bother with that. WHAT NEXT???
Anyway, I drove past Dennis’ and my first love-nest - his rathole of a flat he shared with Kevin and a lad called Jim. When you see what facilities students have now, when they take their microwaves and TVs so it’s just like home, it’s hard to believe the absolute squalor we students tolerated in the early 70s! And I didn't think twice about it as I leapt into bed wearing long socks, a brushed nylon nightie worn inside out, a thick cardigan and a woolly hat. There was one bar on the electric fire shared between the three bedrooms and no one thought to buy an extra fire! Did I call it a love-nest???
It’s definitely a lot smarter though the road is lined with parked cars so you have to keep reversing or end up nose to nose with something coming from the opposite direction. It made me smile though and ignore the fact that I was virtually lost because all the connecting side roads have been bollarded and I couldn’t get through to the road I needed!
Last week’s CT scan at the LGI was really quick but no results till Friday week. Dr U would have rung by now if anything was wrong. The male nurse who cannulated me went straight into a vein in my hand that I didn’t even know existed. It hurt but it worked first time - and no bruising….till Sunday when I watched a lump grow and turn purple. Anyway, once I have the results I will be able to declare my Stage 4 status - so far, so good, bumps, bruises and whatever :)
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