I think I love drugs!

WARNING: I am on drugs as I type - I cannot be resposnible for revealing any deep, dark secrets.

I had to get my wisdom teeth out, I've been putting it off for way too long. Having switched to good insurance recently was also a helpful persuasion, that and also the on and off again pain I was having with the one impacted tooth.

So I called up the oral surgeon and scheduled the next available appointment. It was about a month before I was going to get in. I let Paul know right away because they require you to bring someone who can both stay during the entire procedure and drive you home. Paul has the craziest schedule I know: He doesn't really even have a choice, the judges tell him when to be in court and then he goes.

So, of course Paul had several court cases already scheduled for the day I had scheduled my surgery. And Paul is a lot like me, he doesn't like to ask anyone else to do his work. Then one day, Paul is in court and the judge is scheduling more cases: He sets it for June 8th. Yes, another court case that will have to be changed or given to someone else to cover on top of the rest of them. Paul pleads to the judge:

PAUL: "Can we please not pick that day? My wife is having her wisdom teeth removed and I already have several other cases that I might have to find someone to cover. I am trying to find a friend to take her though."
JUDGE: "Mr. Shipp. You will not have a friend take your wife to have her wisdom teeth removed, YOU will take your wife."

So, I like to say that he was court ordered to take me. :o)

I had not felt too nervous about the procedure until this morning. We had to be there by 8 a.m. so I didn't have much time to think about it, we just got up and went. The closer we got, the more nauseous I felt.

We arrived right on time and after checking in, they called me right back. I think I was mostly afraid of the anesthesia. Afraid it wouldn't work. If I had woken up in the middle of it, I would have freaked out!

They attached the blood pressure cuff and the oxygen saturation sensor. The doctor came in and started my IV. He had to use a type of brace around it to be sure it wouldn't be ripped out.

Then, he administered a drug through the IV. (Usually, I am pretty nosy and want to know EVERYTHING. I will ask things like: what is that? what is it for? what does it do? why are you using it? what happens next, etc - but I was way too nervous. I didn't want to talk at all). The doctor tells me that I will start to feel sleeping and I will feel like I can't focus anymore. The nurse starts to lay my chair back and I start to feel the effect of the drugs instantly. I felt dizziness and my vision was blurry. I decided to just shut my eyes and not fight it. I remember wishing that I could to go to sleep.

Next, I heard - wake up, Jennifer. I was done! That was so awesome. I don't remember ANYTHING and that's just how I wanted it to be.

I couldn't open my eyes. Paul said that I was just moving my eyebrows up and down. The room was so bright and I had to force my eyes open for one second. I could barely move. I was like a sloth getting into the wheelchair. They took me to my car and it was so cold that I quickly covered myself with a towel (I brought it just in case I started puking).

We came home and Paul gave me Sonic ice cream to eat while he picked up my drugs. They gave me oxycodone and propoxypene. I started with the oxycodone and that just knocked me out! I slept on the couch all day. After several doses of medication, I don't feel any pain at all. I hope that trend continues!!

I don't have any energy to get up and move around so I'm hanging out on the couch with my laptop, blackberry, remotes for the tv, home phone and wiener dog. Here's hoping that tomorrow is only better.

What a Day!!

The day started out pretty well. I picked up O so that I could take him and Maeve to camp. We were a few minutes late - no biggie. Then Brennen and I headed off to work. We were interviewing for an open position but knew I'd be back by 2:30 to pick up O and Maeve.
My office is 30 minutes from my home. I like to take HWY 40 home because it's the quickest and most direct route. I'm often told that I should be avoiding that road b/c it's way to curvy and dangerous - well, what these Kansans don't know is that I'm from VIRGINA and they don't really know the meaning of a curvy road until they've driven in Virgina! I remember when I would drive to work in Virginia that there was a mountain that I had to wind around and slow down to about 10 miles per hour just to stay on the road. And when I did home visits for the hospital, we had to take a 4 wheel drive out to some folks homes b/c the terrain was so bad. HWY 40 is a piece of cake.

Anyway, today my boss and I decided we should leave the office a little early and stop by another site to check it's progress. So we start out and pretty soon I hear something odd going on with my tire. I tried to move over - to see if it was just a spot in the road - but nope, it was my tire. Right next to me is the last gas station for miles, so I pull in. (Had I taken HWY 40 - there would have been NO gas stations....NO stores....NO anything. It's all rural).

By this time, I am SURE that I have a flat tire. I pull over, jump out and check. Yep, it's flat! I call my boss and she pulls over. Luckily she knows the area, so she calls the local garage. The guy is out in 10 minutes. We were all in the convenience store when he arrived. I ran out there to greet him. I felt kinda dumb, I mean - shouldn't I know how to change my own tire? Nope, I don't. Heck, I didn't even know where my spare tire was! (Hey, it's a new car - at least I know now).

So, I'm standing around, just watching this kid change my tire. I'm no help at all. I am pretty much useless watching him single-handedly change my tire for me...I'm serious...he SINGLE-handedly changed my tire. He only had one hand. So, I'm feeling pretty lame since I can't even find my spare tire and here is this guy with one hand - jacking up the car, removing the lug nuts, changing the tire by himself. This guy was awesome!!



I run back inside the convenience store to check what things my kid was trying to purchase. I say something to my boss about the guy changing my tire having only one arm. I thought she might know him (it was a small town). Well I guess you know who was listening because as we are walking back to the car, my son and I have this conversation:

Brennen: (rather loudly) He does have two arms!
Me: BE QUIET!!!
Brennen: but he does have two arms!
Me: Shhh. Don't say that.
Brennen: Why not? I'm only saying something positive. He has two arms, just not two hands.
Me: Can you please stop talking? NOW!

About 10 minuets and $10 later, we were on our way! Really, if I was meant to have a flat tire, I couldn't have asked for it to happen any other way. I'm so glad that I decided to go with my boss to check out that other site. I would have been stranded on HWY 40 with my kid otherwise, not knowing who to call or what to do. I didn't get back in time to get the kids for camp. Thank goodness for friends and cell phones!!

Needless to say, I'm getting new tires tomorrow. I hope they are done quickly b/c I really want to get back into the office tomorrow for the rest of the job interviews.

Maeve's swim team practice was canceled due to lighting/thunder so I took the kids to see UP in 3D instead. It was a nice end to the day.