Yesterday seemed like a comedy of errors. I was having 'one of those days'. Tuesday I had made this plan to accomplish a number of things on my day off- Wednesday. I checked my calendar to see what was on my agenda for the day, and noted that at 2:40pm I had a dental appointment for a root canal in preparation for a crown. This would be an hour appointment provided all went as planned. So my plan for the day was decided.

8am I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock letting me know my day of organization was about to begin. I got myself out of bed and ran to the bathroom and then to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. The plan was to have a cup of coffee and then hit the shower, dress, get something for breakfast, get our bills paid and up to date, and then the various chores that needed done before lunch. It was a good plan and working already...

Except I neglected to factor in the cell phone. Yes, well.. by 8:30am, one of my patients called me and had a problem that needed some investigation. She went into great detail explaining her plight, and asked for me to intervene.. to be an advocate. I'm an infusion nurse, and don't get into the financial end of my position. That's done by one person in the office who handles and has handled all of those details. So I tried to call the office and got no one. Hmmm.. I'd try later and keep trying till I could pass this on to someone else. Meanwhile, I called the help line for an assist and got the information I needed to proceed to find some other bits of info.. which led me to a dead end. I had to turn this over to someone else.

I was stalled, but not to any great extent.. I'd just keep the present plan in mind and go on to the next item on the agenda.. the shower. I never made it to the bedroom door before my cell phone again rang, and I turned around to see who was calling. My patients all have long distance numbers, and this was one of them. So I figured I'd better answer and see what the scoop was.. Another patient with a personal request for Thursday, and could I grant that request? Well, yes.. it wasn't a big deal.

Before I went to the bedroom door again, I thought I'd better try the office again. No answer. It rang, but there didn't seem to be anyone there. When I opened the bedroom door, the smell of the coffee was overwhelming and I decided to have another cup before the shower.

In the kitchen, I emptied the dishwasher and refilled it and turned it on.. Oh.. dumb. Though it doesn't use a LOT of the hot water, I wanted a shower, and wasn't going to risk getting a cold one, so I went back to enjoy my coffee.. I had time..didn't I? It was getting later..I stopped to blog along the way and read my email. I'd get breakfast in a little bit.. no hurry , right?

By 10am, I was rearranging my agenda thinking I'd probably have to do the chores later ..after lunch. A couple of 10 minute solid attention to some hot spots would be good.
I tried the office again, no answer. It was then I noted my battery on the cell phone was low. So I plugged it in and planned to hit the shower. Except it rang again, and it was Wendy. I answered the phone and sat down in the bedroom to talk. Another block of time passed, and our conversation ended when Cory called Wendy on the other phone, and I got up to shower.

This time it was Wendell.. he wanted breakfast or lunch or whatever.. he was feeling hungry. I've been so proud of him and the way he's been trying to stay on the ADA diet.. I'd hit the shower- make it a fast one, and then get brunch. Yeah.. that would work.

But the phone rang again, and I was plugged in at the bed, so I answered it there. It was Wendy and she needed to vent and talk.. so Wendell and I sat down and listened.. on loud speaker. It was a little after noon when I realized I was really not getting anything done, and we ended our conversation at that point. Wendell was hungry, and I was still in my bathrobe waiting to get a shower.
I really didn't have time for the shower now.. so I simply washed up, got dressed, put my face on, and ran to the kitchen. I made us grilled cheese sandwiches and left over soup. Good lunch.. but I needed to get myself ready for my appointment. It takes about 40 minutes for me to drive to my dentist's office.. maybe a few minutes less, but the plan was to leave at 2pm to get there in good time. I always have to wait a little when I get there, so I gathered my crochet stuff and packed it in a bag with the thought that I could put a few rows on when I got there.
It was after 1pm.

I thought about what I would need for my appointment.. the checkbook to pay on the small balance I'd now have, and my calendar.. I put these things in my purse. Oh, my chapstick.. my lips get so dry at the dentist.. and some pens.. the crochet hook... and my little wallet that has my insurance card and emergency money..just in case. Time was off the essence, so I didn't empty out the loose change and the other little bits of stuff including about 10 pieces of Clorets that had fallen out of the box. I was in a hurry..

By 1:50pm, I was , what I thought, ready to go and I grabbed my jacket and struggled with it for a few moments. My shoulder was sore.. better take some strong medication.. so I went back and got it. I scooped up my bag of crochet and my purse and went out the door.
Whoa!! Wait. What had I forgotten? And as I hurried to my car, I suddenly realized I'd forgotten to take my pre-med. Back to the house.. now where did I put that script? Oh, no.. I'd actually forgotten to pick it up at the pharmacy, and now what? I'd look around to see what I could find. I located a bottle of Clindamycin from last summer when I'd had some dental work done, and needed the abx.. I didn't have to complete that round of med, and just tossed it in the drawer. I'd take that.. but didn't know how much, so I took 2. I'd later find out that I underdosed myself by half. Well, it would have to do and I'd explain that to the dentist when I got there. It was already after 2pm, and if I didn't get going, I'd really be late.

I hopped in the car and started. About 10 minutes into my trip, I started feeling sick to my stomach. The Abx was causing a general stir there. Nuts! I'd have to find something to ease it.. so I reached over and felt around on the seat for anything that could help. I found a goldmine! The bag of snack mix I'd taken to work with me the day before. It was perfect, and I started nibbling on it. The snack mix was great, but dry. It had hull-less popcorn, crunchy rice crackers, and wheat chex in it.. I needed a drink of something. I looked down and saw the open bottle of vitamin water I'd taken to work the day before.. Oh, yes.. perfect! I took a huge big slug of it, and nearly puked on the spot! It tasted like dishwater! YUCK! It was wet and that was okay, but now I needed more of the snack mix to settle my nausea yet again. I ate about a half cup of it and headed to the dentist.

I realized that my teeth were now full of snack mix, and I didn't want to open my mouth for the dentist with all those little strings of wheat chex hanging from between them..
I am almost never without dental floss.. so I could floss on my way and be okay.
Now, what did I do with my floss? I reached over to see if it was on the car seat under my bags, and when I did, I knocked my opened purse onto the floor.. directly upside down. Oh.. what a mess! It would have to wait till I got there before I could clean it all up.... but I still needed my floss.
The glove box was my next area to check, and there it was.. white dental picks with a band of dental floss .. I pulled one out to floss while I drove. I was almost there.
Some days, things go perfectly as planned. Yesterday was not one of them. I whipped that pick around my teeth with perfection. Almost done.. I saved the area with my new crown for last. That was when the pick suddenly got wedged and wouldn't move in any direction. Now what?
There I am, if you can picture this.. driving down the road with this white pick hanging from my mouth.. unable to budge it in any direction. I prayed I wouldn't get stopped by any police.. this would be difficult to explain. I got to the office and parked. It was just a couple of minutes before my appointment time..
I am a nurse. Nurses always have scissors, and I'm no different. I got out the emergency scissors I carry in my car, and cut the floss strip. Now, I had to pick up all the contents of my purse and go in and explain myself to the dentist. I picked up my cell phone to put it in with everything else, but had to turn it off.. and missed the 'off' button.. I took a picture of the mess I'd created.. accidently.

I have the best dentist in the world. She is so understanding and just a blessing to me. I explained my problem (to the hygienist) with the antibiotic and then told her about how I had this piece of floss caught in my teeth and that I thought I'd damaged the new crown as my bite was way off. She seemed concerned and understanding. By the time the dentist got to me, she was hard pressed to suppress laughter at what had transpired. In fact, the whole office was giggling about it..me too. It surely was a comedy of errors.
2 hours later, I was ready to go.. I'd have to go back on the 18th.. a week or so.. to have the procedure completed. She told me I have a 'curvy' root. I may have to see the endodontist.
Been there........ done that before. It seems all my roots are 'curvy' and the molars were the worst and the endodontist was slick. He was able to do the necessary things to deaden them.
In the mean time, I'm on 'no chewable foods' till I get everything done..
It was quite the day.

Today is office day. I'm feeling good and more encouraged. I hope and pray yesterday held all the 'flukes' and none will surface today.
Pray for me.. and for my patients too..that all will go well with no problems.