Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Recovering

I've been a little groggy the last couple of days, following some major dental work, not my favorite way to pass the time. Some of my dental problems can be traced back to the year I was 22 and eager to move to London for a time. I had a toothache, but ignored it, focusing on getting organized for the trip, getting my plane ticket ($425 round trip, by the way, more than it costs today), storing my stuff at various locations.

Almost as soon as I got to London, my painful tooth forced me to seek treatment at the Royal Dental Hospital. I sat in a dental chair, one, as I remember, in a long double row of dental chairs full of patients. The tooth was extracted in a quickie procedure, without charge. I do think my dentist at home would have saved it. I still wonder why I thought I could ignore the toothache, rush off to London, and not suffer any consequences. Kind of an irrational moment (the kind I occasionally recognize in my own kids).

Anyway, I've missed a day of practicing and a rehearsal, but feeling better now, especially after a gorgeous day of warm sunshine, and eager to play again.

2 comments:

gottagopractice said...

I had a molar pulled when I was 15, when the pain finally outweighed my fear of the dentist. I'm sure no one could have saved the stump that was left, even today. And the force of denial is especially strong in adolescence.

But I think there must be a physical nadir for cellist's health happening this month. You with your teeth, rallentando with her gallbladder, PFS with her GI issues, me with my knee surgery and kidney infections, a cellist in my orchestra having a mastectomy on concert day instead of playing. Maybe we should hunker down in padded rooms until projections improve!

Maricello said...

Hope everyone, especially cellists, are feeling fine again soon!

I was just reading about how musicians who play with others are less likely to become sick. This is mentioned in Keeping the Beat about healthy aging through chamber music and elsewhere.