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.