Off to the Dentist

Over the weekend I chipped one of my lower front teeth so Monday morning found me in as an emergency for a fix. It turns out I need a veneer but I was not prepared to sit in the chair with my mouth open for that long. I got a temporary fix instead and the cost of that will go toward the cost of the veneer later.

The problem I discovered almost as soon as I sat down and a technician looked at me was the pain I experienced as soon as I opened my mouth. When my dentist came in to do the repair and I had to keep my mouth open for about 15 minutes my lower job started trembling from the pressure of just keeping my mouth open.

Afterward, my jaw hurt all the way up through my eyes and out my ears. Even all of my teeth hurt, although he had used no anesthetic. I worry how I am going to manage it when I have to keep my mouth open for more than 30-45 minutes for the drilling, molds, etc. to be done. The Parkinson’s part of this disease has really hit me harder than I had thought.

On another note, I had posted a rather negative post over the weekend which I have deleted. I am human, I admit, and I have down days like everyone else, but that one was too down to post. I see my therapist today and will go over it all with him. He responded to my email over the weekend and that helped. I am still not 100 percent back to my cheery, sunshiny self, but I will get there soon as we go to Utila in less than 2 weeks.

One technique I used while I was down was to visualize an experience I had on a night dive in Utila. I found a small, baby peacock flounder who was only about 4 inches long. I shone my light down right in front of him and lay in the sand and watched him eat. His little eye stalks looked from me to his food and he was so cute. I use he as I have no idea how to determine a flounders sex. I lay in the and about a foot away from him where I could study him up close and personal. After about 15 minutes I looked up and realized I was the only person in the water and surfaced back to the boat. I just love those eyeball to eyeball glimpses into another creature’s life.

I just read an interview with Michael J. Fox in the Reader’s Digest. It inspired me and made me feel somewhat embarrassed to let some bad moments interfere with my experiencing life in all its glory. I am glad, though, that I was able to calm myself with something from my diving experience. Those memories and visualizations are an important arsenal in my fight against depression, anxiety, and this disease. Thank you, Michael J. Fox, for your inspiration and your help to fight Parkinson’s Disease, and, hopefully, help us with MSA also get assistance in finding a cure.