The Smell of the Sage -- Part 1

Well, well, well...  It's been months since my last entry.  April 26th to be exact.  But it hasn't been for lack of interest that I haven't posted.  And it hasn't been for lack of things to tell you.  Many times I've said to myself "Geez, I want to post this!" and had the moment evaporate.  So it's just been that I've been busy living: settling back into who I was and discovering who I've become. 

I don't want to sit here at the computer and tell you trivial things: "I washed my car and it looks real nice." or whatever.  You're busy too, and I don't want to waste your time.  Or trivialize the blog.

But it's finally come to pass that I have a significant stretch of uncommitted time early in the morning (which is when I like to write here), and I want to catch you up on some important developments.  This blog entry is all about my medical condition.  The next one will be an update on the fun stuff. 

Of foremost importance, the scans and X-rays I've had my last postings about The Long, Strange Trip have been negative.  That's the good answer:  Positive = bad.  Negative = good.

The "nose-to-toes" PET scan on April 6th was, as reported previously, completely clear. 

The follow-up CT scan to the two-spots-in-my-lungs issue took place on July 19th, and it showed that the spots had disappeared completely.  So they weren't tumors, weren't aspirated food, but probably just a touch of pneumonia.  But whatever the cause, it's in the rear-view mirror now. 

I've had some puzzling pains in my upper abdomen, and am scheduled for surgery on Thursday the 25th.  My doc tells me it should be straightforward and include an overnight stay in the hospital.  And the recovery should be quick.  He's the same guy that did the food tube work with me, and I feel completely confident in what he says. 

A puzzling thing has happened to my teeth.  I've gone maybe 40 years without a cavity, and a recent visit to a new dentist disclosed cavities on 18 teeth.  Serious brown patches at the base of the teeth.  Serious erosion at the root level.  And (surprise!) all of those teeth are either in front of my mouth or on the side of my face that got all the radiation.  I have an appointment with my radiation doc on Monday and hope to get some clarity on what's going on and what I have to look forward to. 

One of the cavities went all the way to the pulp of the tooth, which, my dentist tells me, means a 50/50 chance for a root canal job in several months.  We'll see.  If there's a root canal job needed and if it's not successful, then the tooth would have to be pulled.  And, due to the residual effect of the radiation, that would likely mean losing all the teeth in that row.  (Something called "necrosis" sets in...)

This gives me, of course, the opportunity to be angry at my previous dentist for not having found these condidtions months ago and anxious about the future of my mouth.  Self-righteous indignation -- ah, feels so good! 

And it's ever so important, then, to walk quietly away from such indignation, re-focus on the here and now, and be profoundly grateful for all the good health that I have. 

Whew!  Now that we've got that all out of the way, let me tell you about a few of the good things that have happened to me in the last 3.5 months!  "The Smell of the Sage -- Part 2" coming up next!