Oral surgery

I had three wisdom teeth removed last Thursday. All things considered, the process went extremely smoothly, as well as I could have (realistically) hoped. In anticipation of being unable to work my normal shift on Friday, I shuffled my schedule and ended up working two twelve-hour shifts on the preceding Sunday and Wednesday. I got saddled with a late call on Wednesday, so I got home later than planned, but fortunately there was still time for dinner before entering my pre-operative fast at midnight. And since Ellen prepared a special "last meal" homemade pizza with hamburger and veggies, I would not have wanted to miss that.

Intellectually, I knew that the fast was for the best, and that it would be highly unsafe to eat or drink just before general anesthesia. My stomach had other ideas, though, especially when I joined eight other men from the church for our Thursday morning study ... which takes place in a bakery. My resolve held in the end, and I arrived at the oral surgeon's office hungry, thirsty, and nervous.

Once I checked in, there was very little waiting-around time. The assistant brought me back to the procedure room and got me all situated. This included taking a set of vital signs and asking me what kind of music I wanted piped in through the overhead speakers during the procedure. That all set, the oral surgeon came in and answered any last questions I had, and then it was time to get started. The most discomfiting part of the experience was actually when the assistant removed my glasses. I would have preferred being able to see what was going on while I was still awake.

Near the end of the procedure, I became faintly aware of the oral surgeon working in my mouth, but I didn't feel any pain. And once he was all finished, the assistant helped me to the recovery area and went to retrieve Ellen, who had been in the waiting room the entire time. They didn't keep me in recovery long--somewhere between five and ten minutes--and then released me into Ellen's capable hands. I had already filled all my prescriptions earlier in the week, so all that was left to do was be driven home and begin the recovery process.