Needle Phobia
Dead tired and more exhausted than I have been in a long time, I dragged my ass out of bed today at just after 5:30am (only 2 hours AFTER finally falling asleep). Lit a cigarette and tried to keep my eyes open while waking up. When suddenly, some of the fog lifted and I realized I had awoken 30 minutes before the damned alarm!!! Grrr!!! I could swear that I heard it buzzing, but since the alarm was clearly set for 6:00am, I must've been dreaming. I hate that!
Oh well, might as well try to get moving. Gonna be a busy morning and I can't miss it.
Had to take my sister to the dentist to finally have her 4 wisdom teeth pulled. I was lucky to have had mine out 17 years ago, when I wasn't such a sissy about dentists. She'd been putting this off for YEARS, but a couple months ago, the pain and irritation was just too much to take, so we made the appointment. This was our 3rd visit to this office, and they knew us well. Kinda hard to forget a 34 year old needle-phobic woman and her hand-holding sister.
She wanted to be knocked out completely...no chance of knowing what was happening around her. I tried explaining that the gas would only relax her and make her "not care" about what was going on. "WHAT?!!" She was suddenly panicked, as she hadn't realized this before. THANK GOD! So I asked the nurse, and she concurred with me, but pointed out my sister WASN'T being gassed. "Ummm...yeah she is. Otherwise all you're gonna see of her is the blur of her running out the door!" Nurse checked the chart but couldn't find the doctor's notes saying my sister was deathly afraid of needles and would need gas for any procedure involving needles or pain. So there was a slight delay in getting this approved and bringing the gas mask in to be hooked up. GREAT! Just what she needed was more time to worry about what was going to happen.
My sister asked the nurse and I how much extra it was gonna cost for the gas.
Nurse: "I'm not sure."
Me: "Does it really matter right now? You NEED it!"
She agreed and tried to relax.
Doc comes in. Picture "Larry" from "Three's Company." This doctor was his flamboyant twin. I'd noticed him strutting around the office on our last visit, chest pushed out with the v-neck scrubs, gold jewelry and large gold pendant hanging from his neck. Doc doesn't say a word to either of us, but started to rearrange the gas line and mask. Puts it on my sister and finally says hello. Then, without warning and without the use of a cotton-swabbed anesthetic FIRST, he grabs the first of 12 needles and begins to shoot her gums up with medicine! At least he was pushing it slowly, but she was not a happy camper! She whined and wiggled and squeezed my hand so hard my finger was literally turning purple and feeling tingly. We make it thru the first 8 shots fine, and then Doc had a brain-fart the size of Texas.
"OK, now I'm gonna stick a needle in the roof of your mouth to numb that too."
The nurse and I shot each other a fierce glance! My sister just about came out of that chair, but the gas kept her from being able to stand, so her legs just kinda slid off the side and she grabbed my hand for leverage.
"OH MY GOD!!! DON'T TELL HER THAT!!! JUST DO IT!!! WHY DO YOU THINK SHE NEEDS THE GAS???," I snapped at the Doc. The doc quickly apologizes and helps get her calmed down again before continuing. Idiot! After shooting her with 4 more shots he leaves to help another patient while the meds kick in. And that's when the fun really began.
Why didn't I bring a camera? Or camcorder? Oh yeah, cuz she would've killed me! LOL! Sitting there watcing her fumble to speak, slapping herself and wiggling her tongue while trying to talk and say things like, "mye mouff fevfs swowwin," had me in tears from laughing so hard. She was definately feeling the gas now!!! "Eye fevf watawdid. Nowz eyes nofes how watawdid ppeeeple fevf." Her eyes were glazing over and I couldn't help but notice how much she reminded me of my mom in her worst times, at that moment.
Now, I've never been one to shy away from the sight of blood and guts (except in horror movies), so I watched a little bit of the oral surgery. Very interesting. But I hadn't eaten since last night and I could feel myself getting sick, so I turned away and concentrated on keeping her relaxed. Rubbing her arm while holding her hand; unclenching her left hand when she was clawing at her jeans. And in just a matter of minutes Doc tells her it was over.
"Youf donef awreafy??"
"Well, yeah, unless you want me to keep going and take more out!"
"NO!" and we all laugh.
Where was the darned camcorder when you need it????
Oh well, might as well try to get moving. Gonna be a busy morning and I can't miss it.
Had to take my sister to the dentist to finally have her 4 wisdom teeth pulled. I was lucky to have had mine out 17 years ago, when I wasn't such a sissy about dentists. She'd been putting this off for YEARS, but a couple months ago, the pain and irritation was just too much to take, so we made the appointment. This was our 3rd visit to this office, and they knew us well. Kinda hard to forget a 34 year old needle-phobic woman and her hand-holding sister.
She wanted to be knocked out completely...no chance of knowing what was happening around her. I tried explaining that the gas would only relax her and make her "not care" about what was going on. "WHAT?!!" She was suddenly panicked, as she hadn't realized this before. THANK GOD! So I asked the nurse, and she concurred with me, but pointed out my sister WASN'T being gassed. "Ummm...yeah she is. Otherwise all you're gonna see of her is the blur of her running out the door!" Nurse checked the chart but couldn't find the doctor's notes saying my sister was deathly afraid of needles and would need gas for any procedure involving needles or pain. So there was a slight delay in getting this approved and bringing the gas mask in to be hooked up. GREAT! Just what she needed was more time to worry about what was going to happen.
My sister asked the nurse and I how much extra it was gonna cost for the gas.
Nurse: "I'm not sure."
Me: "Does it really matter right now? You NEED it!"
She agreed and tried to relax.
Doc comes in. Picture "Larry" from "Three's Company." This doctor was his flamboyant twin. I'd noticed him strutting around the office on our last visit, chest pushed out with the v-neck scrubs, gold jewelry and large gold pendant hanging from his neck. Doc doesn't say a word to either of us, but started to rearrange the gas line and mask. Puts it on my sister and finally says hello. Then, without warning and without the use of a cotton-swabbed anesthetic FIRST, he grabs the first of 12 needles and begins to shoot her gums up with medicine! At least he was pushing it slowly, but she was not a happy camper! She whined and wiggled and squeezed my hand so hard my finger was literally turning purple and feeling tingly. We make it thru the first 8 shots fine, and then Doc had a brain-fart the size of Texas.
"OK, now I'm gonna stick a needle in the roof of your mouth to numb that too."
The nurse and I shot each other a fierce glance! My sister just about came out of that chair, but the gas kept her from being able to stand, so her legs just kinda slid off the side and she grabbed my hand for leverage.
"OH MY GOD!!! DON'T TELL HER THAT!!! JUST DO IT!!! WHY DO YOU THINK SHE NEEDS THE GAS???," I snapped at the Doc. The doc quickly apologizes and helps get her calmed down again before continuing. Idiot! After shooting her with 4 more shots he leaves to help another patient while the meds kick in. And that's when the fun really began.
Why didn't I bring a camera? Or camcorder? Oh yeah, cuz she would've killed me! LOL! Sitting there watcing her fumble to speak, slapping herself and wiggling her tongue while trying to talk and say things like, "mye mouff fevfs swowwin," had me in tears from laughing so hard. She was definately feeling the gas now!!! "Eye fevf watawdid. Nowz eyes nofes how watawdid ppeeeple fevf." Her eyes were glazing over and I couldn't help but notice how much she reminded me of my mom in her worst times, at that moment.
Now, I've never been one to shy away from the sight of blood and guts (except in horror movies), so I watched a little bit of the oral surgery. Very interesting. But I hadn't eaten since last night and I could feel myself getting sick, so I turned away and concentrated on keeping her relaxed. Rubbing her arm while holding her hand; unclenching her left hand when she was clawing at her jeans. And in just a matter of minutes Doc tells her it was over.
"Youf donef awreafy??"
"Well, yeah, unless you want me to keep going and take more out!"
"NO!" and we all laugh.
Where was the darned camcorder when you need it????
posted by Zette at 8:00 PM
1 Comments:
Thank you for stopping by my blog and your lovely, supportive comments! I sincerely appreciate it and it means a lot to me.
Oy, can I sympathize with your sister. I wish you could take me to the dentist! You're a very good sister that's all I can say!
Please come by often and "hello" nice to meet you!
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