Five years later, my dirty past is catching up with me...

[ar_wahan]

On May 19, 2002, I went out in the evening to feed the horses. At the time, we had a dog, and to keep him from dragging halters and bridles and lead ropes, etc., out of the barn to chew on, I'd put up a wide baby gate between the part of the barn he was allowed in, and the tack and feed area. I had gotten used to simply stepping over it.

I unloaded a fifty pound bag of Blue Seal Strider pellets from the car, carried it into the barn, stepped over the gate... and caught my foot on the top of it. Down I went,  hard, my face hitting the floor -- on a rock that had worked its way out of the dirt floor.

I was stunned for a moment, and then realized I was bleeding heavily and that ... oh shit, my right top incisor was in the wrong place! It hadn't been knocked out, but it had been pushed back in my mouth. My thighs had landed higher than the rest of me, on top of the grain bag.

When my tongue felt my tooth in a new location, I panicked -- and then I felt a quiet, older female presence behind and above me, gently telling me not to worry, I'd be OK. I still am not sure who that was, but it may have been my father's mother (she had a lot of dental problems later in life; don't know if that's relevant.). I did feel calmer after that. Or maybe I was just in shock.

I ended up in the ED for a tetanus shot (because I'd hit a dirt floor in a barn), got lots and lots of stitches (I had a deep gash from the rock that ran from my upper lip toward my nose), and was told to see an oral surgeon the next day. A wonderful oral surgeon worked my tooth back in place, wired me up with braces, and gave me more stitches, since the ED fellow had done a lousy job and I was still bleeding. I had to be on a soft diet for more than a month. BUT, he'd saved the tooth. He did warn me, however, that years later, its nerve might start to die.

I had a noticeable scar on my face for a while, but now it's hardly noticeable.  I also had the most interesting bruises (for ages and ages) on my thighs, which had landed on the grain bag. The bruises had the shape of the grain pellets!

So today I went to the dentist for a routine cleaning. Yep. The nerve's dying. I'm going to need a root canal -- on May 22, five years and three days after I injured it. *sigh*

Then I get to go back a week later for a temporary crown and a veneer on the other incisor, so they will "match" in color, and then return on June 19 (five years and one month exactly) for a permanent crown.

And...O.O  I just realized this!  If she were still alive, my paternal grandmother would turn 105 the very next day! (June 20)

Gee, maybe that was her spirit in the barn...

You can call me "Your Majesty" after that. But the royal coffers will be somewhat depleted by my dental insurance co pays. Ah well, I'm lucky, I guess. Some plans don't cover these things at all.

Feeling rather grumpified by all this, I decided to go to a nursery on my way home, and bought some lettuce plants, more pansies, and some perennial  herbs. It was in the high 70s today. If it starts to get cold again, I have a cold frame I can put over them. Still too early for tomatoes and other, more tender plants.

When I came home, two of the horses were sunbathing. I might post a picture later.

Comments

[sapphirescarlet.livejournal.com]

Well dang! But you got a good run out of that tooth repair. Five years is a long time.

I've never known a dentist yet who didn't put more than one temporary crown on a tooth. Sometimes it seems like they jerk you around a bit. Hope this turns out well for you.

[ar-wahan.livejournal.com]

Five years is a long time.

I was told it might be ten years ... but ya know, if I'd had to have this work done five years ago, the co pays would have been really hard to meet. Complain as I might now, they're manageable.

So maybe that's what my grandmother did -- she bought me time.

[kendokamel.livejournal.com]

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

[bookglowwurm.livejournal.com]

Ooooo. Yuck. The older I get the more I hate dental work, though I haven't had any horrible experiences. BTW- I'm reading backwards but I wanted to add that the horse sunning photo is adorable.

[human-beans.livejournal.com]

I thought I was going to pass out reading about how you fell. :o OW.

In '95 I went out for a walk in the evening. A nice long walk around my relatively new (to me) neighborhood in northern California. While out walking in the dark I started to feel a little woozy/faint. I crossed the street and stepped up on the curb & kind of scurried past a tavern that was right there. Just past the tavern my knee buckled and down I went. My chin broke my fall. I lay there stunned and cars driving by didn't stop to help -- they probably figured I was some drunk from the tavern. My hand was scraped up and my knee hurt. I walked slowly down the street picking rocks out of my hand and watched it bleed. I had an itch on my chin and rubbed it and realized I was bleeding like a stuck pig. I made it home, looked in the mirror and I had bit my upper lip in two. The swelling was immediate and immense. I looked like I had some weird beak.

I ended up needing stitches. I was so glad I didn't break any teeth.

[ar-wahan.livejournal.com]

Yikes! At least I have a good reason why my horses and dog didn't call 911!

[daily-rant.livejournal.com]

Goodness! That was some fall! I'm sorry that it has come back to haunt you. My son got pushed down in pre school and it turned one of his front teeth brown---they said blood filled the tooth but it was a baby tooth and the nerve was fine...so not to worry because it would fall out soon. Um FOUR YEARS of brown tooth in photos before the sucker fell out. They also declined to stitch the split lip, and he has a scar from that, too. :/

[bodacia.livejournal.com]

Wow, you know how to take a fall in style. I'm just glad your injuries weren't worse! Yikes.