On this date, July 21st, 27 years ago, my father walked my mother down the aisle.
For weeks, the date 7/21 has been circled on the calendar.
This time it was more than just my parents anniversary as this date coincided with day my girlfriend @morganannwood was set to get her wisdom teeth out.
Petrified of the dentist, anesthesia, and needles, Morgan was lucky enough to have the trio performed simultaneously.
Morgan has been dreading this day since the appointment was scheduled. She never seemed to articulate what particularly about the procedure bothered her. Probably a combination of going under, getting an IV, being in pain after the surgery, and most importantly, not being able to use a straw for at least 5 days.
After tossing and turning all night, Morgan was wide eyed at 6am.
Her appointment was set for 8am and would only last a little over an hour.
Morgan was visibly nervous on the car ride to the oral surgeon's office. She did a great job of masking it in this picture.
We arrived at Dr. Pijut's office shortly before 8am on a beautiful morning in North Florida.
Morgan's mom lead the way into his office. The homey look of his office helped settle her a wee bit. {Keyword(s): a wee bit}
At check-in things start to get real. {Zoom in and you can see true anxiousness}
After paying the copay and getting seated, Morgan's restless leg syndrome has been kicked 5th gear. {Check out the blurriness of her right foot}
Within minutes, Morgan gets called back.
As soon as she goes back her pulse starts to speed up, her blood pressure shoots up to nearly 140/90, and her breathing becomes labored.
At around 8:15am, prior to the surgeon going to see her, he comes out to tell us that if she she can't calm he may have to postpone the surgery.
Monique and I look to each other and think outloud, "if she doesn't get it done today, she may never get it done".
After 25 minutes, we hadn't heard a word so to us no news was good news.
At around 8:50am, the receptionist comes out to tell us about after procedure care and presents us with a prescription for pain and another for helping with nausea.
Shortly after 9:05am, Dr. Pijut's nurse comes out and tells us the surgery has been completed and that everything went well.
She walked us down the hall and told us to take a left into the exam room.
As Monique and I entered the exam room, we saw Morgan on the procedure table awake and thinking surprisingly somewhat clearly.
Dr. Pijut said she was ready to go. He instructed us to pull the car around and informed us he would bring the wheelchair to the car.
Now the "real fun" can begin.
We picked up her prescriptions and got her a smoothie and headed home.
After not being able to eat all morning, Morgan was craving the smoothie. Bring on the Mango Magic from Tropical Smoothie. She can't use a straw, so a spoon had to work.
For the rest of the day, Morgan was able to relax on the couch with her walrus-like gauze in her mouth and an ice pack to reduce the swelling.
The wisdom teeth surgery was a success!
I am proud of how well she did! She really is a trooper!
