Without Wisdom but a Lot Wiser

I didn't think it was all that bad at first.

I didn't even know it was out until the dentist told me so and began stitching up my tender gum.

When he finished, I looked at the tray and any doubt I had was whisked away when I saw it - bulgy and bloodied - sitting next to the various tools and instruments.

My wisdom tooth.

Once I saw it lying there I was emboldened since I felt so little pain and decided to snap a picture on my cell. I sent the pick to some friends in the industry (dental, not film) to hear back confirmation that I had weathered quite an operation. I was actually feeling pretty good. Not so much anymore.

Yesterday, I had my wisdom tooth out and began my summer job as a TA* for a USC summer class. And yesterday I felt pretty good. Today sucked.

I felt brave and strong yesterday: had my tooth out and dinna even hurt that much. I felt truly bad-ass in my own mind, going up to new students and teachers with an ice pack against my cheek as if to say "Yeah, I had a giant tooth YANKED out of my JAWBONE a few hours ago. But I'm here now...no biggie".

And it worked. Sure there was lots of blood and the pain seeped in at times but I soldiered through it. At home the bleeding got to be a bit much but I popped a teabag in my mouth and that helped. (Luckily, I thought better of posting on facebook "Mark has a teabag in his mouth") I barely ate anything all day, which was making me pretty tired, and hit the bed really early (for me), about 10.

But today has been bad - no longer bold, just tired. I have the pain and swelling but no giant ice pack to remind people how badass I am, just a bunch of students and teachers expecting me to do things. DONT THEY KNOW I'M IN PAIN HERE?!

I've eaten today...if you can call it eating. Barely able to open my jaw and chew, I have put myself on a diet most befitting a very old man or a baby chimpanzee. Soft foods....oatmeal for breakfast...a lunch of fries and a Frosty from Wendy's....soup and mashed potatoes for dinner.....mush mush mush....

And so now, as I sit here with my Frankenstein-gums and Brando-esque swollen cheek I look at that cell phone picture and cringe. I wondered at first why the dentists didn't hand the tooth over to me in a little baggie or jar, to keep as a pet or badge of honor.

Now I know. Because the thought of that giant chunk of calcium and enamel and nerves being ripped out of my goddamned SKELETAL FRAME just seems to intensify the pain.

I've just finished off my final spoon-meal of the day - a pomegranate frozen yogurt from Red Mango (it's a precursor to pinkberry...i don't know if we've got any in Chicago...) - and its given me just enough joy and soothing coldness that I've been able to share this highly heroic (yet extremely ordinary) tale with y'all.

Even though there's much to do, I think I may just pop a pain-killer and climb into to sweet comforts of sleep wishing that my grotesquely mangled mouth will be healed by morning.

Looking back at the cell phone pic from yesterday, I can't help but think how unwise it was to underestimate the grip that one little wisdom tooth held on me.

BLOG UPDATE: WISDOM TOOTH PHOTO! IT'S GRAPHIC AND GROSS!





*Incidentally, at USC's cinema school we are called SAs: Student Assistant. I think this is just because we do end up helping the students a lot more than the teachers: we send out reminder emails, get them set up with equipment, and act as general information kiosks for the novice film student. It's not a big deal, but it's kind of the slang and I may come home in August an start sentences like "When I was an SA..." I want people to know what I'm talking about. Or maybe everyone will just think I'm a tool for explaining all that.