The following day my gum and jaw held their own meeting consenting together to form a large painful lump where they shared common ground. Out came the painkillers. I fossicked for something stronger than Panadol but the thought of nodding off to sleep during the day kept me on the soft stuff.
My GP, as expected was booked and I grudgingly settled for the UK lady doctor with the loud voice. She knew what she was talking about and handed me a prescription for extra strong penicillin. She shouted instructions on pain killers but my brain was already disengaged and I strode off to the pharmacy to get those merciless goodie pills into me. It had only been 24 hours but I could still remember the joy of good health and no pain.
The packet told me to take medication with food. I ransacked the fridge and ate everything I could throw on a plate. Not everything made it to the plate. I took my medication. I took my painkillers. I knew there was a long road ahead. My swelling was still huge and throbbing but the pain killers worked quickly and I felt almost human. Goodness knows how I looked.
The very next day armed with the pain killers I headed off to the hospital to see a sick family member and visited Melanie afterwards. My painful jaw was hanging around my knees and I held it up with my cupped hand. It helped.
The sun set and rose again. I had visions of digging and planting in the garden, instead I sat in my chair holding my jaw and wondering if I would ever feel whole again. We had a dinner invite that evening and I didn't want to decline. I made a Jamie Oliver cheesecake full of wholesome cream cheese and double cream! The crust was good the filling was runny. I didn't care. I stuck some strawberries on the top and it looked lovely. Pity about the filling! The dinner invite included the hostess, her husband and another couple. We laughed, we chatted, we enjoyed. Not once did I mention I was sick.
The following day the weekend was on our doorstep and I all I could do was grab my pillows and make myself comfy on the sofa. The TV entertained us while I drifted in and out of sleep. Though I was tired, listless and sleepy I was still able to feed Merv and grunt any necessary information. He missed his shower that day but I made sure he had one the following day. Sunday was pretty much identical to Saturday but my energy had began to resurface.
I'm now off the sofa but oh so very tired. It just may be a week or two before the real me reappears!
