Last week, Rico and I drove through to Nelspruit to get his wisdom teeth removed. All four of them. I was much more nervous than Rico was, and really struggled to keep it together as his caretaker. I wish I were less queasy.
The oral surgeon was very professional, and they were able to accomodate us with a first-time consult and then the procedure all in the same morning. Nelspruit really caters to people coming in from Mozambique and Swaziland for medical procedures, adn they are quite practical about new patients who only have one or maybe two days to get everything taken care of. It is incredibly convenient, definitely worth the trip.
Rico only had local anesthetic during the procedure, and was incredibly calm about the prospect of being aware of his impacted teeth being removed from the bone. I, on the other hand, was not. I had to drink juice in the waiting room to ward away the feeling that I was about to pass out (queasy feeling not helped at all by the woman who had the appointment before Rico's and groggily came into the waiting room rattling her 4 wisdom teeth in a plastic cup for all to see).
Thankfully everything went according to plan, and Rico is recovering well. We spent 2 days at a guesthouse in Nelpsruit resting before driving back to Maputo, and I think that was essential. We always stay at Chez Vincent, and it was wonderful to have the owners going out of their way to get us a spare ice pack, make soup and mashed potatoes for Rico's dinner...while in the meantime ensure that I had a nice glass of red wine to relax, and some of the best French food I've had in ages.
Rico is now brancing out from a liquid-only diet to soft things like rice and oatmeal. By next week, he should be off the painkillers and nearly back to normal. I think we're both grateful that you only have to remove wisdom teeth once in a lifetime. :)
8 comments:
Poor Rico!
Funny how they did it with only a local anaesthetic; my friend's husband had the same thing done recently.
I'm all about being knocked out cold - was it a personal preference or is that how the doctor does it?
Ay Ali loca! I hope Rico will have a beer or two as anaestethic ;-)
That is always my doctors' advice, and I am sure Rico would agree! ;-)
I know so few people who do it with only local - my brother and I both did it that way because it was so much cheaper. It was very surreal - seeing the bloody scalpel come out of my mouth but not feel pain. Hearing the teeth cracking, though was not fun. It might have been the beginning of my "natural childbirth" love, though. Not really the same thing at all, come to think of it! Happy recovery to Rico.
~Marcia - It was definitely the oral surgeon's recommendation. He will put people totally out if they request it, but for those that can manage with just local, it is preferred due to the risks and cost of general anesthetic.
I was also knocked out cold!
~Erik - I'm wondering if your "doctor" is Danish-Colombian and a fan of saideiras?? Rico is nearly ready for beers again, probably this weekend.
~Meg - Just reading your comment made me queasy. Obviously I am in no position to have an opinion as I've never given birth, but the idea of natural childbirth is somehow more tolerable to me than having my wisdom teeth out under local anesthetic!
Love your title! Poor Rico - glad he's getting better...
And people are loving your earrings, by the way! Here's the link to the giveaway if you haven't already seen it:
http://moziesme.blogspot.com/2009/02/olz-earring-giveaway.html
What a coincidence! I have just come back from the post operative check up from the dentist. I had my wisdom tooth taken out last week. I am abolutely fine and no more on pain killers. I have started taking mormal diet. Rico will be fine too, Inshallah, in a week time. :)
you're right about nelspruit catering to people coming from swatini. i know someone who used to work in hospitality there, and he talked about giving change in emalangeni and meticais upon request.
i forget how i happened upon your page. i hope you don't mind.
~MoziEsme - Thanks again for such a nice link on your blog. I'm stocking my Etsy store again, so I'll let you know when more trade bead items are available. Good luck with your good work!
~Masd - Coincidence, indeed. I hope you are fully recovered and back to solid foods and no pain. Rico is 100% again, although very aware of the absence of his teeth. I will visit your blog soon to see if there is an update.
~Kwerekwere - I have to say that Maputo is by far the most multi-currency friendly place I've ever lived. Restaurant bills in many places already come printed with totals in Rand, Euro and Dollars (along with Mets), and we have accounts in multiple currencies as well. One downside of the multi-currency life is the difficulty encountered at many South African-run lodges along the coast where they are tremendously reluctant to accept anything but Rand, and although it's the law, act like they are doing you some giant favor to accept your Mets (and God forbid you want change in local currency, or you might be chased off the property). :)
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