just remembered

Thought of something vaguely interesting to blog about.

 My last visit to the dentist resulted in being referred to the hospital to check out the 'callousing' on the inside of my cheeks and on my tongue.  I have to say at that point I was completely pissed off with my dentist, as the waiting room was filled with displays of pictures of rotting teeth and gums and grim messages about oral cancer, and an unexpected referral to the hospital is going to get ones heart racing somewhat.  I assumed that as I had Oliver with me, he didn't want to cause alarm by mentioning the C word, and I think, from memory, and in his limited social skills way he tried to say he didn't think it was anything serious, but I have carried a niggling panic at the back of my mind since then. 

Well, said hospital appointment came around last Tuesday, and I obediently trotted off to my appointment, expecting (and to be fair, praying and hoping for)  a quick poke around with a torch and a curt dismissal.  Instead I got a room full of kindly nurses and a chat about a tongue biopsy which they had lined up for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fuckarooney.  It truly was a bottom-clenching 10 minutes.  I think I must have visibly paled with the realisation that invasive action was required, as they were incredibly sweet and gentle with me, as you would be with an simple elderly person, or a naive child.  Picture the scene: A nurse sat on one side held firmly onto my protruding tongue with a piece of gauze whilst the other gave me a local anaesthetic in my tongue.  She then sliced off a piece from the side (I'm sure it was no more than a sliver....) and put in a couple of stitches!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Since I couldn't talk properly and was quite shaken by the time I got back to the waiting room, I had to tell Oliver the bare bones of my experience.  I then got to see him pale visibly. 

Anyhoo, the lovely lady said they think it's Lichen Planus - not cancerous, not contagious, not a quality -of-life impinging condition.  That's if it is that......or it just might be callousing.  will get biopsy results probably in a couple of months.  And it was bloody sore when the anaesthetic wore off.  I sat in McDonalds with Oliver watching him scoff a happy meal whilst I sipped at a SlimFast.  Yum.  Not.