Abscess makes the heart grow fonder

This is a special year for Hubby and me. July will mark exactly 20 years since we met back in driver's training.

20 YEARS! Two decades.

Holy crap.

In October, we'll celebrate our ten-year wedding anniversary. (That's the tin, aluminum or diamond gift year. Hmmm... think I'll ask for some tin earrings. Ha!)

Ten years of marriage. Twenty years together.

And it hasn't all been pretty.

But you know what? Sometimes the ugliest times make you realize how great your relationship is.

And it doesn't get much uglier than this. This is me Monday morning.



On New Year's Eve, I developed a bad toothache in a tooth where I had a root canal years ago. For years, this tooth has bothered me from time to time. I'll get a toothache for a week or so, and then it'll go away. A few months later, I'll get another one. Then it'll go away. I've been to the dentist and had it checked out a couple times during the toothaches, and the X-rays didn't really show anything. The dentist said it could be a cracked root in the tooth, but it was hard to tell. There wasn't much that could be done.

Well, this time it turned out a bit different than other times. The toothache got REALLY bad. Of course, it was a holiday, so the dentist's office was closed.

The pain got worse and worse. I was taking ibuprofen and acetaminophen at the same time as well as sucking on mass quantities of Orajel, and still, it barely touched the pain. I couldn't even THINK straight, it hurt so bad.

Luckily, Hubby was off work at the time, so he could help me with the boys.

Sunday I woke up in such extreme pain--I had considered going to the ER the night before, and had begged Hubby to punch me in the face and knock me out--I gave in and called the dentist at home. He called in a prescription for antibiotics and vicodin for me and said come in the office later in the week.

Well, overnight the pain got even worse, even though I was taking the strong pain killer, and my face swelled up. (See above photo)

I pulled an all-nighter Sunday night, feeling like a junkie, counting down the hours until I could take more vicodin. I couldn't make it more than three or four hours even though I was supposed to wait six between doses. I watched TV, I went on Facebook, I cried, I watched the clock. It was like really severe labor pains, but in my head, with no break. Fun times.

Monday morning found Hubby back to work, Logan back to school and me counting the minutes until the dentist opened at 8, all while trying to manage Jordan. I could barely talk by the time someone answered, but managed to make an appointment for 12:30. Longest 4 1/2 hours EVER!

My BFF came to pick me up (I had driven Logan to school earlier on Vicodin and realized it wasn't a great idea for me to be driving) and dropped me off at the dentist. Then she took Jordan and her son to the store to shop while I was in the torture seat.

When I walked in, all the people that worked there looked at me with extremely sympathetic eyes. They could tell I was in a lot of pain just by my face. The novocaine shots made me feel better than I had in days, though, and the extraction wasn't nearly as rough as I thought it would be. It was done before I knew it.

I went home even more swollen with hunks of bloody gauze in my mouth. Yum.

But then, Hubby came home early so he could pick up Logan from school. Just after they got home, the novocaine wore off and the pain hit me like a brick in the face. I had the most severe headache I'd ever had, on top of the throb in my jaw and mouth. I seriously thought I was having a stroke. I took some more Vicodin, cried for a while and then passed out for a couple hours and then I felt good enough to get up and try to eat some soup, but my stomach wouldn't allow more than a couple bites.

During that time, my WONDERFUL Hubby took the boys to the basement to play, so I wouldn't have to even hear anything. He also VACUUMED down there (it was badly needed) and cleaned up and then went out and got them Subway for dinner and got soup for me in case I'd be able to eat it. He basically just made all the noise and mess disappear, and that was by far the best thing anyone could have done for me.

Then, when I apologized for looking so bad, he was so nice. He said "You don't look gross. It's just what happens. I know it hurts."

My sweet, sweet man.

I slept well last night and woke up today feeling much better. I've been off the vicodin since last night and am just taking ibuprofen now, and the swelling has come down a bit. The pain is WAY less than it was with the tooth in there.

So, anyway, I don't think I could have ever made it through yesterday evening without my husband. I know it must have been difficult for him to come home early after being off work for almost two weeks. I'm sure he has tons of phone calls and emails and meetings built up, but if I had been home alone with the boys when that numbness wore off, I don't know what I would have done. I was a mess.

I am so, so very grateful for my husband coming home from work and taking charge when I needed him most. It's the times like these that make me realize he really, truly does love me. In sickness AND in health.

Even if I'm really, really not pretty!