Firstly: could I just thank very much all the readers who took time to give wisdom re wisdom teeth!
It has reassured me a lot about the whole procedure and what to expect afterwards. Also, some great suggestions like the salt gargling - good old-fashioned common sense stuff. (Remembering my salt baths after having babies ...)
Tomorrow I'm going to make a list ( in consultation with the patient) and shop for whatever soft foods she wants to have; plus things like proper ice packs. Also a list of glossy magazines she doesn't own and so on. Her favourite foods in the world are smoothies, eggs, ice-cream and Greek yoghurt so if she wants to eat any or all they'll be in the house.
I'm not particularly bothered by the hospital side, nor is she, I've had a day procedure and a general anaesthetic so we've talked through that.
She's just received the orientation program (for university) in the mail and it's only 10.30 a.m - 1.00 p.m ( course on a small, specialized campus) so it's not a week of boozing and scavenger hunts and what-have-you.
Secondly, the surgeon looks like actor Bob Balaban, who has been in a heap of television shows and films, but we know him best as playing, on Seinfeld, Russell Dalrymple, the fictional head of NBC who became obsessed with Elaine and then drowned falling out of a Greenpeace boat!
OK.
The book I read this week was called A particular eye for villainy by Ann Granger.
This was a pleasant cosy crime novel, i.e. one not very gruesome murder at the very start, lots of interesting characters, a few red herrings, a lot of Victorian period detail, husband and wife sleuths between them solving different puzzles regarding the crime. Many carriage rides, servant girls, descriptions of bonnets and hats. A good light read.
The other book I've been reading is C.J Dennis' A book for kids, his wonderful book of Australian comic poetry, first published in 1921. My grandmother read it to my mother and her siblings; then she read it to me, my siblings and all our cousins; I read it to our kids. Years ago I found the same edition we had as children - dusty yellow cover - published in 1967. I can still hear my grandmother's voice reading it to us when she would look after us from time to time. I remember the way she emphasised certain words and read so excitingly. Dennis drew the illustrations:they are WONDERFUL.
Re proper ice packs. Remember it will be going around the patient's jaw area, so a tricky shape. We used frozen peas and gel ice. The hospital applied ice in recovery with a very stylish(hmm)sling that ties on top of the patient's head, plus gave us some ice packs for the way home (one of those very hot Melbourne January days.
ReplyDeleteAgree totally about gentle salt rinses, many times a day from the second day onwards.
From one who has been there, plus a browser of your enjoyable blog. Feeling a bit stalkerish now!
Not stalkerish at all! Thank you !
ReplyDeleteThe rhymes in A book for kids are delicious. I don't know this book, probably because I'm in NZ and we never had it here (unlike the Gumnut twins, with whom I was quite obsessed with when I was little). I think poetry is great for kids; it gives them a real feel for the pace and rhythm of language that they don't get from prose. Our great classic in NZ is "Hairy McLary from Donaldson's dairy" by Lynley Dodd. Do you know it over there?
ReplyDeleteLynners - Hairy McLary was one of my kids' favourites. Can't part with my copy of it - and Slinky Malinky et al. Very popular here and we have heaps of Lynley Dodd at work. I, too, was obsessed with the Gumnut babies!
DeleteI have that cj dennis book! Can still recite most of the poems by heart i think. One day a little sugar ant made up his mind to roam, far away far away far away from home etc.
ReplyDeleteForgot to say the hospital will probably send her home with little long thin ice packs designed to lie alongside eacj jaw, and yes a rather fetching mesh stretchy sling thing to hold them in place.
I bought my lad some of those fruit puree tubs to help keep his fruit intake up when we couldn't be bothered stewing more fruit. And like your girl he adores eggs so that was his main protein source until he could eat soft minced chicken and beef mushy stuff. Will be thinking of you next week!