Tedium (and postcards)

The summer weather has finally begun to break a little, finally. While it's still seasonably hot midday, the mornings are definitely cooler now that the days are getting shorter. Over the next four days or so the temps are finally supposed to drop in a real way, and I'm so ready for it. What a long, hot, boring summer it's been. I'll be glad to see the back of it.

Gregg is continuing to heal, and while he despises the "immediate" dentures (just as he was warned he would), things are better by the day. Food is still something of an issue, but that's getting better too. He's moved on from mashed potatoes, applesauce, and yogurt to things like soft scrambled eggs and bites of grilled cheese sandwich dipped in soup. He's still taking an antibiotic but has almost quit taking pain medication entirely. (Thanks to everyone for all the encouragement and good wishes, by the way).

 I'm feeling a bit stir crazy at the moment. I hate to admit it but I'm sick of hanging around the house day after day, only leaving for work or necessary errands, and trying to help keep things cheerful for a man who's in pain and having a rough go of things. I'm used to periods like this in our marriage, and I know that he'd be right there for me if our situation was reversed, but I could still really use a break. I feel guilty about that, but it's the truth.

One way I've passed some of this boring time is helping my friend Karen write postcards to Texas voters. She's been hosting weekly postcard writing parties at her house this month and several of our book club friends attend. I haven't made it to any of her Sunday afternoon gatherings, but I did go over the night before Gregg's dental procedure (he was working late) and helped write some. I also brought home 50 names on the Texas Democratic voter rolls and some blank postcards to write. It always feels good to know that I'm helping get out the vote. It's my small way of contributing to the cause. During the 2024 election I personally hand wrote and mailed about 600 postcards to swing states. 

For those of you who may be wondering, Postcards to Swing States (and other political postcard writing campaigns) are not trying to change anyone's mind about who to vote for. They're meant to encourage folks who usually show up to vote for the Democratic primaries to vote, period. Preference is given to people who didn't vote in the last election. When and if you vote is public record; how you vote is not, of course. So we're not trying to sway MAGA, we're encouraging and reminding registered voters (that probably lean Democratic) to vote.

God, how I hope James Talarico wins in Texas. 

That's most of the news from my house. I'm sorry I haven't been more present on others' blogs lately! Things have been simultaneously boring and busy, if that makes any sense.

The first three days

So, the issues with Blogger continue. No updated reading lists, no updated sidebar. I wonder if anyone is trying to solve the problem or if this platform is slowly going kaput. I hope not. I'd be willing to pay a small amount to keep it around and to have some recourse when issues like this arise. Oh, well. I hope we can all keep in touch if things continue to go wrong. There's always Wordpress and Substack, I suppose, but I'd sure hate to lose all these years' worth of blogposts and discussions. This has been my life diary for a very long time. I wish I knew of some way to save and back up everything up till now.

Gregg is doing okay. The sedatives they gave him to take prior to the procedure worked so well that he actually fell asleep a couple of times while they did the extractions. Even better, he doesn't remember any of it. Everything took almost three hours, and I was relieved when the nurse texted me that everything had gone well and I could come pick him up. When I got there and first saw him, he was white a sheet, and still high on the sedatives. He just stared at me blankly for a moment...then his lips parted and a stream of blood ran down his chin. Whew! What a sight! The nurse scrambled to wipe his chin and assure me everything was okay. 

He spent the rest of that first afternoon in bed with gauze clamped between his immediate dentures to catch the oozing blood. (This is normal and expected). He was able to take pain medicine (and an antibiotic) with small sips of water throughout the day and did okay. Yesterday morning, though, he woke up nauseous, and, just as I feared, started to throw up and dry heave. The same thing used to happen when he had chemotherapy and got dehydrated or was taking meds on an empty stomach. Luckily the dentist had asked me to bring him back to the office first thing, so he was able to address it right away. He said everything looked good, and for Gregg to get something on his stomach before taking any more pills to help with the nausea. His suggestion was yogurt, and it turned out to be a good one. Gregg ate some in tiny bites over the next hour and also sipped some apple juice, and that did the trick. 

Since then he's had some pain and swelling, but they're both under control. We keep a written log of when he takes his pain medication and antibiotics. He's been able to eat yogurt, applesauce, and mashed potatoes so his stomach has stayed settled. This morning he's restless and a bit bored, but it's still too early for him to do much but rest and heal. I wish I could think of a good distraction, but no movies or books sound good to him and that's the extent of my ideas. He's also feeling really down about this whole situation. It's traumatic to have most of your teeth removed, for a whole lot of reasons, the least of which is the physical pain. I'm doing my best to be supportive and positive, and I keep reminding him that he's going to get through this and the results are going to be great. This is just a rough (but necessary) part of the process. But it's still hard for him. 

One thing that really reassures me in this whole ordeal is how great the dentist, Dr. Thomas, is turning out to be. He's a young Indian guy with the kindest and gentlest demeanor. He's soft spoken and patient and shows so much empathy and care. Late yesterday afternoon he got my phone number from the nurse and texted me to ask how Gregg was doing. That was a real surprise, and I was so grateful.

MVP Patient

Next week Gregg has an appointment coming up that's kind of a big deal. He's getting almost full mouth dental implants, and Thursday will be the worst part of the process: lots of extractions and then temporary "immediate" dentures to wear while his mouth heals. The final placement of the implants won't happen until January, so until then he's anticipating a very rough time. 

We picked the highest rated local practice to do the work. My regular dentist is there, and I've always been really satisfied with them. In addition to everyday dentistry, they do oral surgery and all kinds of dental reconstructive work, and their reputation is excellent.

They're also one of the pricier local options. I tend to think you get what you pay for, and it's worth it to me to be assured that something as major as dental implants will be done right. We have dental insurance, but it only covers about 20% of the total cost. To trim some more off the price, we've taken advantage of the 7% discount they offer if you prepay everything up front with cash or a check. I wrote two large checks last week that cover almost everything.

So. Much. Money. Thousands of dollars. 

We've been planning and saving for this and expecting it, so it's not a shock, but wow. Writing checks that big makes me wince. They've assured Gregg he's going to love the final results, and I sincerely hope that's true. So, with all that being said, this morning an unexpected package landed on our doorstep, addressed to Gregg. We were confused because neither of us had ordered anything. What could it be?

Check this out. Have you ever?

The dental practice sent Gregg a gift basket with candy, cookies, and 

peanuts "with love and gratitude". 

Friends, I howled. That just struck me as the funniest thing ever. "Thank you for spending a ton of money with us, and oh yeah, here's some candy and peanuts....eat 'em while you still can!" Gregg and I both got a good laugh out of that. 

(It's still a nice gesture, though).