I don’t normally write these kind of things or hang my dirty washing out to dry on social media, but somehow this feels different.
Wind the clock back to 2024, I’m getting a slight tooth ache to the left front teeth so off I jog to my dentist to make an appointment, sorry says the receptionist but you’ve been removed from our practice”why I ask” the reply was well you’ve not had a check up since pre Covid, well I need one now I replied, ok but you’ll have to pay private for consultation, X-rays and any treatment at x amount of £s, cant afford that I’m a pensioner I said, so off I trot, on my way home I pass another dentist so I pop in and explained my predicament and thankfully they are only too happy to register me as a new patient and give me an appointment for the following week.
How long have you had this sore in your mouth the dentist asked? What sore I replied, so she awkwardly tried to show me in a mirror, keep an aye on it if it doesn’t clear in a couple of weeks come back and I’ll refer you to an hospital. Well to cut a long story short it never bothered me in the slightest so assumed it at cleared up, and bye the way she did an x ray on my suspect tooth and announced all was ok. Off I go home still in discomfort with the suspect tooth, muttering useless dentist. Fast forward to New Year’s Eve at our local social club the toothache is bad, I had to walk home for some pain relief then has the clock struck 12 I was given a somewhat over zealous hug and kiss from someone in our party and wow did that hurt. The following morning 1/1/25 I did a google search on how long does toothache last before the nerve dies? The results told me it should have died by now or was very near to doing so, thank the lord.
February, we decided to go to the Canary Isle for a bit of winter sunshine and whilst there sitting outside a bar enjoying a drink or two my wife suddenly said “ is you face swollen?” I had to admit it was, I noticed it in the bathroom mirror whilst shaving a few days earlier, you need to go back and see the dentist when we get home she replied, I will i muttered, still convincing my self the nerve would die any day now. On our return home my schedule was a busy one, I had a trip planned with our son to a Volkswagen meet in Belgium and another to Cornwall, life was busy and i intended to make the most of my family and my retirement, having worked until I was 68, I felt I deserved it. As Easter approached my son and daughter started to ask about the swelling in my face, it an abscess I said from the tooth that apparently according to the dentist is fine, other people I bumped into whilst playing bowls or having a beer said “ have you got an abscess, yes I would reply, I need to get to the dentist.
Eventually and under pressure I made an appointment with the same useless dentist I had seen around 12 months earlier, I had to wait a week before I could see her, which for me wasn’t a big problem. I walked into the surgery and the first words she said was “your face is swollen” wow your observant I thought but didn’t actually say it just in case treatment was imminent, I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of any retaliation. Well to say all hell broke out is an understatement, a second dentist was called into the surgery who pulled and tugged at my mouth, inserting instruments and a type of camera to take pictures. Conversation between the two dentist was in low tone whispers, how long ago did you notice this swelling I was asked, I told a little fib “ not too long ago” I said, thinking that would make thinks better, I then heard words like AGGRESSIVE. You need to be referred to the hospital the dentist said, it will be a two week urgent appointment.
Two weeks to the day I’m sitting in Maxillo Facial at our local hospital waiting to see a consultant. I don’t like the look of that he calmly said then gave me what he thought were the worst case scenarios. I was quickly booked in for a biopsy the following day and that would be followed up with an MIR scan and a CT scan along with another appointment two weeks down the line.
my wife and I turned up for the second appointment, when we walked into the consultants office we were face with 4 or 5 other people, take a seat I was told, you remember last time I saw you we spoke about what this could be? Well unfortunately it’s what we said, it’s cancer.
A week after I had a third appointment with the consultant and several other doctors one who was a cancer specialist,
So 15 weeks on I’ve had that many appointments I’ve honestly loss count, I’ve seen dentists, nutritionist, specialist nursed, been fitted with a PICC line, had 3 lots of chemotherapy followed by being sent home with a chemo pump fitted for 4 days, which after each session makes me feel worse for wear, after my next chemo I’ve to embark on radiotherapy for 5 days a week for 6 weeks, oh and I nearly forgot, at some stage I will be having a PEG line fitted, In preparation for the radiotherapy today I’ve had a tooth removed this is being followed up next week with a further 3 being removed.
Somedays are hard, somedays I feel like saying sod it, somedays I feel like crying, but I don’t I soldier on, my wife, kids and grandson won’t let me throw the towel in, and besides I have a life to live.
The moral of this story is “Don’t bury your head in the sand” (like I did) do I still think my lady dentist is useless? No I don’t, in fact when this is all over I’m going to buy her a nice box of chocolates, she may have just saved my life.
