“From Despair to Triumph: The Unexpected Lessons of Confronting My Inner Demon!”
I opened my laptop, and filled out the contact form on the new dentist’s website (they’re closed on Fridays). Within seconds, Dr. Filler called me!! He told me to go to the hospital. He explained that Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga has an oral surgeon on call. It was starting to get late in the day and I knew there would be traffic so I popped more Advil and Tylenol, tried to get something in my stomach (the pain was causing waves of nausea), and tried to sleep. THAT didn’t work.
Early the next morning, Brian drove me to the emergency room. They were very kind, and it didn’t take long. However, I learned that they only call the oral surgeon if there is swelling that makes it difficult to breathe and swallow. Oh, I forgot to mention that my cheek had swelled up like a squirrel who only hoards nuts on one side. And, my lower lip was numb. The ER doc said the swelling was my body sending fluids to the injured area to try to heal it. Since I could still breathe and swallow, I’d have to keep living with the demon for the time being.
