Crutches, Teeth and Other Disasters!

Having cancelled my dentists appointment twice and with the sneaking suspicion of root death in one of my front teeth it was necessary to attend my last minute appointment. So having experienced iPhone disaster yesterday (it froze and had to be reset at my house-mate's step-mother's house) I prepared to set out to town with my computer (so I could fully reset the phone and get it to the point where it would makes calls etc). So with bag packed and cats separated (Tahora is not a fan of her cone post spaying and Mooku is very intrigued by the whole package of shaved wounded cat with strange object on her head) I went to grab my crutches. The only problem with this is that in my hurry to get my shivering, groggy cat out of the rain and into the house I left my crutches in my house-mate's car which she drove to work this morning.

This meant that I had to find a way to get my self into town with no crutches and no phone or internet with which to seek help-ironically my lovely neighbour with a slipped disc in her back was actually out of the house as well! Faced with the options there was only one choice-get to town and collect my crutches (apart from anything I couldn't just not turn up for an appointment that I had already rescheduled twice!). So I very slowly wall hopped my way to the bus stop (wall hopping is an extension of furniture hopping, it is what us disabled people do indoors when we don't want to use crutches and involves grabbing furniture-or walls-and propelling yourself to the next piece of furniture-or wall-thereby adding stability to an otherwise tretchorous walk) and then from the bus stop to the car.

Having achieved this and picked up my crutches I then headed to my nearest free internet provider in town and attempted to fix my phone. However this day is not designed for things to go right so from weak sunshine a dramatic downpour arrived, soaking me and making my walk wonderfully slippery! Then my computer took 20 minutes to connect to the internet source it has been using ever since I moved to the flat. Eventually, rather wet and unhappy, the internet decided to work, my phone was restored (with Tahora pictures-yay!) and I set off to my parents house for a quick teeth clean before popping round the corner to the dentist.

As suspected the root in my front left upper tooth appears to have died SEVEN years after it was inured. at this point I should probably add the story of the injury in order to entertain people... Basically on valentines day 2005 I spent the eventing with my boyfriend having dinner and some wine (at the time I had been teetotal). Arriving home I remembered my bed was broken so went to stay in my then house-mate's room. Somehow I managed to knock down the curtain she used to divide her room so got up on a chair to fix it. I should probably mention at this point that my leg was in a full leg cast... As you would probably expect I lost my one legged balance on the chair and fell off it over a small bookcase and face first onto the wooded floor. Jumping up (because admitting pain is forbidden in my mind therefore jumping up and continuing on is the only option following injury) I realised that there was blood pouring out of my mouth and my tooth was facing inwards towards my throat. In the spirit of jumping up and keeping going I quickly grabbed said tooth and yanked it back to its usual position (yep,it really was as painful and gross as it sounds). Anyway, after several weeks of room temperature mashed up food and a trip to the dentist it settled itself down and just wobbled a bit.

Seven years later my dentist tells me that a slow deterioration has occurred and it is likely the nerve is dead or dying and will need to be treated. So at the age of 27 I am going to have my  first experience of dental treatment (other than wisdom teeth removal which doesn't count due to the general anaesthetic. My x-rays have been taken and I have to return in two weeks for the verdict.

I guess the moral of this story is sometimes you just have a bad day and don't climb on chairs after drinking while wearing a full leg cast! Oh and when in doubt blame the idiot boyfriend who persuaded you to drink and left you babysitting his child while he went out to cheat on you-but that's another story-maybe the third moral should be chose your relationships carefully, if they pressure you to do things you don't want to do they are probably not right for you!

Anyway it looks like the rain is pausing so time for another trek into town!

The internet will soon be back!

Having settled into our new flat there were two things missing from domestic bliss, the first being the internet! However as of the 27th we will have a shiny new land line and there is finally a router on the way so hopefully on the 27th of this month I will be back!

The second thing missing (and the most important by far) was a tiny little girl called Tahora (Swahili for purity-my house-mate's cat Mooku is Japanese for purity so not wanting to call her by a human name following the trend seemed a good idea). A week ago tomorrow a tiny, abandoned, underweight, kitten sized cat decided to claim me for her own-I blame (and thank) the friend who took me to the shelter because I'd never been!

So for the last 6 days we have been enduring fighting and moaning and rumbles under the sofa and a couple of sleepless nights as the two cats get used to each other. I have also been enduring my own personal hell and milestone of pet ownership in the yucky goo her eye is producing (I have a massive eye phobia and have been known to punch or ostracise people who take advantage of this just so you know). So as a brand new cat owner (she is my first) I have discovered that a dirty nappy is better than a dirty litter tray, papers baby wipes taste better to her than huggies, and at 18months she is still very much a kitten but a little confused as to her breed! by this I mean that she (and on occasion Mooku) seem to think she is a dog.

At least 3 times a day I am treated to her chasing her tail around the rug (usually ending up flying off the rug sliding across the wooden floor and looking indignant) in order to me able to clean it-apparently it has a mind of its own and is determined not to behave! We try not to point out that chasing your tail is predominately a canine pastime, she has had a hard enough start! We also have at least 3 episodes of her walking around the flat emitting a sound that is somewhere between ow, no and a newborn crying. Having tried to discover the meaning behind this sound I can only conclude that she wants everyone to know she is still there so we wont abandon her (she frequently peeks round the door checking we are still there while she is exploring).

So those are the two major pieces of news, the rest of the time has been sent alternating between the hospital and the doctors for various appointments, oh and the fact that after my MRSA swabs tomorrow I will get a date for my stay in the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath for intensive physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and general torture (of the useful kind). It will also mean that I can get a date to start my pain management therapy using mindfulness-it should go nicely with the pilates demonstrated so elegantly by Darcy Bussell that reduces everyone who has tried it to swearing at her description of a 'lovely burning sensation in your muscle'. Other than that (and her general gracefulness) it is actually a very good programme, even a cripple like me can do 90% of the exercises!  

I think that is it for news so far, there will be a picture of my beautiful cat here very soon (in fact comparisons of her in the shelter, her first day at home and her new healthier physique that is already beginning to show), now we just need to get her through her spaying and me through my biopsy (to see if my busitis is infected) and injections of various drugs that will apparently hurt enough to need a local anaesthetic (which work for about 2 minutes on me much to the annoyance of my last anaesthetist). Both of which are happening tomorrow! Here's hoping for speedy work on me and good work on her!