Over the Hump

The few minutes Dr. Li spent suctioning my nose felt like Nirvana. I hadn't been able to breathe that completely in almost a week. He cut off the super-strong rubber bands "wiring" my upper and lower jaws together, and replaced them with four little vertical ones, two on each side, leaving my front teeth exposed and free. He gave me some replacement rubber bands to take home, in case I needed them, and they were, very fittingly, named "bummers" on the envelope.

Dr. Li noted once again how he'd never seen anyone swelling up as much as I did throughout his entire practice. Hmm. I wonder if there's an award for that? ;) In any case, he said the swelling in my face, as well as in my sinuses, would gradually go down in another 10 days or so. I am now officially "over the hump". As far as the "before & after" picture I so eagerly showed him, he dismissed it with a smile - said it was too early to tell the exact differences. I got the sense that I should prepare to see the precise, and final results after the swelling disappeared. Come what may.

On the way home, Elaine treated me to two big bowls of beef broth at a pho noodle house. I triumphed with the giant syringe in hand, until, in a moment of over-enthusiasm, I over-extended the pipe, so the broth came dripping down on one end; and as I shoved it back into the tube instinctively, it quickly sprayed out the other end. It was like a one-two punch. You'd have to be there to appreciate the not-so-subtle humor of the situation. In any case, Elaine and I had quite a laugh about it.... and I'm sure this one will go down in history in its full glory. ;)