The Tooth Trashtrophe

We're on the last day of chemo and this week has gone great.  The big news of the day is that the infusion center got fancy new chairs!  These new pleather chairs have remotes and Willie was quick to test it out.  He moved it up, down, back and forth.  We laughed as he tried the recline function and the chair just kept going back.  When it finally stopped reclining his feet were far above his head.  Our friends in the neighboring chair also noticed the ridiculous angle of his chair and laughed with us.  It was a good start to our last day here.
He has avoided any infection this week and overall has been feeling pretty good. 
I am the one that has fallen apart this round.  I have a tooth that I had a root canal in about 6 years ago and for the past couple of years it has progressively turned black.  When I went to the dentist who performed the root canal in January of this year he said the tooth would have to come out at some point so I've had that in the back of my mind.  For several months I have constantly been tasting bacteria from that tooth and just last week I felt the sealing on the crown is wearing thin. 
This week I reached my limit with the tooth and wanted it out.  NOW!  I called around the area in hopes of finding a holistic dentist who would follow the directions of my dentist in Utah.  We were lucky to find one in the next city over and he just happened to have a cancellation on Thursday!
He was a young dentist with deep brown eyes and impressively long eyelashes that brushed the top of the blue face mask he was wearing.  We talked about options with the tooth and he tried to persuade me to keep the tooth and have it cleaned out.  He doesn't do that type of cleaning, however; so he would have to send me to Santa Rosa.  We tossed options back and forth and I finally told him that this tooth has been one issue after another for over a decade and I just want it gone.
"I agree with your decision" he said with a soft Spanish accent "I just have to make sure you understand the options because when the tooth is gone, it is gone!"
I hate it when people put words to thoughts I already have in my head.  I know that once the tooth is out, it cant be put back; but something about him saying it out loud made me instantly regret and re-think my decision.  I stood my ground though and told him to proceed.
My only experience with tooth removal was when I had my wisdom teeth pulled and I was asleep for that.  I healed up easily from that event and because of that, assumed the all tooth removal episodes are easy. 
Boy was I wrong!
He numbed me up and went in with a pick to loosen the root.  There was scraping and pulling and cracking noises that I hope I soon forget.  He then grabbed a large pair of pliers and started yanking on the tooth.  I felt like he was going to rip my jaw right off the hinges, but the tooth didn't budge. After a few minutes of this push and pull he announced he was going to need to section the tooth and began drilling.
It was at this moment that I wanted to take back my decision to have the tooth pulled.  Suddenly the option of having the tooth gutted and filled seemed like a better choice.  I wanted to raise my hands in the air and shout
"Just kidding, I decided I want to keep the tooth and the rampant infection."
Even a constant infection sounded better to me than the shrill of the drill bit tearing my tooth apart.   The crown popped off the tooth and the whole room was filled with the smell of rotting bacteria.  It was disgusting at best, and mildly embarrassing that I have been carrying that stench around.
"You're right," he said, noting the smell in the air "this tooth is badly infected."
I didn't know he had doubted there was an infection!
He removed one section easily after drilling, but the last section was not budging.  He had to stand several times to find leverage with the pliers.  After about 5 minutes of constant movement with the tooth I was about to freak out.
"It's just holding on by thread," he said.
The statement brought to mind images from my childhood when a loose tooth would literally be hanging by a thread and I would stare at it with great fascination, wondering if I should pull it.  I doubt I would have looked at this tooth with any sort of fascination.
With one final authoritative pull he removed the tooth and I watched with a mixture of horror and interest as he set in on the tray.
"That was quite the infection," he said, pointing to different areas on the tooth.  "You can see the old root canal here," he pointed "that's probably where the infection got in."
I took a picture.
Sorry if it grosses anyone out, it fascinates me.
I know I am going to feel light years better with this trash dump tooth out of my head. 
The gaping hole left by the tooth has given me nothing but pain so far.  I had expected it to be painless like my wisdom teeth sites, but I have now learned that it is much less painful to have a tooth removed with the gums stitched up than to have it ripped out with a gaping hole. 
I am left with a swollen cheek on the tooth removal side and a puffy eye on the opposite side.
So attractive....
It's funny to think how painful this has been for me when Willie had 4 teeth ripped out of his head a few months ago and had no pain or side effects whatsoever. 
And he has cancer!
I must be a cry baby.  But I'm looking forward to better health without that infected tooth!
After the tooth removal we took a 30 minute drive over to Half Moon Bay on the coast.  It is a quaint little down with a cute downtown full of artistic shops and restaurants.  We had fun window shopping and enjoing the 70 degree weather.  When dinner time came we debated about where to eat.  All I wanted was mashed potatoes.  We were back at the hotel by that point and had any restaurant in Palo Alto as an option.  The hotel is right next to a Boston Market which Willie has not wanted to eat at, but as it got later we decided to just eat there.
We took a 2 minute stroll to the restuarant and had a dinner.  Willie had a lovley Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings and I had the most delicious mashed potatoes in the world.  We haven't heard very good reviews on Boston Market, but I thought it was great.  Willie wasn't as impressed. 
"How as your dinner?" I asked as we walked back to the hotel.
"It was a Trashtrophe!" He said.
"A Trashtrophe?" I asked while laughing "What is that?"
He laughed at himself as he realized what he had said.
"I mixed together tragedy and catastrophe." He explained.
"With a little bit of trash." I added and he agreed.
We laughed.
That will be added to the book of Willie-ism.

We are so excited about the fundraiser BBQ tomorrow.  Willie is feeling great today and is planning on coming.  We keep selling out of tickets so we have printed more and sold out again!  It will be so much fun to see all of our friends and enjoy visiting with the community. 
There are no words powerful enough to relay our gratitude for everyone who has made this event possible and to all those who will be attending.  Thank you all in advance!

For everyone who hasn't gotten their tickets yet, they are still available at the Health Habit all day today and we will have them at the park tomorrow.  The event starts at 1PM at Jensen Park.
We are most excited that Be The Match will be there to sign people up for the bone marrow registry.  The chances of someone in the community being a bone marrow match for Willie are slim, but this is a chance to help other people like us who are hoping and praying for a match.  To me, that is the most exciting part about the BBQ tomorrow.  Not only is the community giving support and hope to us, but they will be passing that on to the world by joining the bone marrow registry.
Is there anything more fantastic?!
I don't think so!
 See you all tomorrow!