Friday 16th October

It's 4 in the morning. I went to the dentist yesterday and had a couple of fillings. I'd had to cancel the appointment a couple of times before but with my chemo starting on Monday I had to get it out of the way.
My dentist gave me three or four injections then sent me back to the waiting room while they took effect. I was a bit tired anyway, so was almost out of it when they called me back to the treatment room. I offered no resistance when they donned my bib and safety glasses. (Safety glasses? Is that supposed to make me feel better? It's like the X-ray technician who insists that the X-Rays are safe but leaves the room while the machine is working.)
My teeth didn't hurt when he drilled with the high speed drill. The next drill was either a countersink tool or a road drill. It didn't hurt but the vibrations turned my brain to jelly. Then he fitted several instruments of torture over my teeth. He called them clamps. I'd love to know how big they were, but they felt enormous.
Then I swear he climbed in my mouth to apply the cement and rendering. I had a mouth full of iron and was buzzing away, so didn't actually feel any pain, just the sensation of being pulled around.
The final indignity came when I was asked to swill out my mouth with a mouthwash. One half of my face disobeyed orders. I couldn't feel the cup. I couldn't close my mouth around it, and I couldn't stop the liquid from dribbling out before it reached the inside of my mouth. In the end I used some tissues to wipe up the dental debris. I made an appointment to see him again in six months time and then walked back to the office. Which used up all my energy.
During the evening I set up this blog before turning in at about 10.30. My jaw was coming back to life and ached like you don't know. I think I've got a scrape inside my cheek that may turn into an ulcer. I woke up at about three with an aching jaw. I gave up and got up, took some painkillers and updated Facebook before writing this blog entry.

Today is my last day at work and I need to make sure that all the stuff I keep in my head is written down so that the others won't struggle. It's amazing how much stuff one takes for granted.