Wisdom Beyond the Years, Susan Karla Andersen [ebook reader macos TXT] 📗

few days, even bruised and swollen, but they didn’t have serious swelling and could eat within a few days after the surgery.

Appointment day finally arrived and they were on their way to Iowa City. Mom and Tara had plenty of time in the car to talk and calm each other down during the drive. The appointment was very quick. The specialist looked at Tara’s mouth and made the appointment for the following Tuesday. He also prescribed an antibiotic to get rid of the infection before the surgery. He said it would be important to get this done as soon as possible since the one tooth was trying to come in and to prevent any complications.

Chapter 4 – Twilight Sleep

The day of the surgery arrived before they knew it. They had to be in Iowa City by 7:30 a.m. since they were the first operation of the day. Mom reassured Tara that even though it was very early, it was better to be the first ones for surgery than the last ones. The surgeon would be well-rested and perform better first thing in the day.

Tara slept most of the way in the car to Iowa City which mom was thankful for. She would have less time to be worried about the procedure and mom would be able to keep calmer and not raise suspicion if she was left mostly alone with her thoughts before the surgery.

When they arrived they were there before the office help arrived to work.

“I don’t understand why we have to be here so early if nobody is here to check us in, Tara stated.

“It does seem strange, but I’m sure they’ll be here soon,” mom said confidently.

Before long they were taken back to the operating room by the nurse. Tara was surprised to see a dental chair instead of an operating table.

“No, we don’t use operating tables anymore,” commented the nurse, “you won’t be put completely under for the procedure. We will be using twilight sleep which will make you numb, but you will still be awake and will open your mouth when we want you to.”

“I won’t feel anything?” Tara asked.

“No, I promise,” reassured the nurse, “In fact, you won’t feel anything for several hours afterward. We want to make sure you don’t feel any pain for most of the day. Now, I just need to have your mom sign some papers giving us permission to do the procedure and go over some things with her. Will you excuse us?”

“Sure,” Tara replied.

“I just need your signature and I wanted to tell you that she will be in surgery for about an hour and in recovery for about the same length of time. I need to make sure I have your cell phone number so if you leave I can call you. You will also need to stay in the waiting room or let someone at the front desk know where you will be going if you need to leave. You also cannot leave the building,” the nurse recited.

“I will be in the waiting room. Do you know if the growth is cancerous or not?” mom asked nervously.

“You will have to discuss that with the doctor after the surgery,” she stated.

The doctor arrived while the nurse was starting Tara’s IV. He was very young and mom could tell by Tara’s twinkling eye that she liked him and thought he was cute. This may actually help, unless she gets embarrassed. The doctor stated that they may have to repair sinuses or nerves if the teeth are difficult to remove. He also warned about other dangers. Mom asked him about the growth on her tooth since Tara was getting groggy and would probably not remember me asking him. He said he would not know until he did the surgery, but reassured there was a better chance it was just a calcium deposit.

“We have to warn you about all the possibilities, but there’s a 90 percent chance it is not cancer,” the doctor calmly said in a comforting voice.

“Thank you. I’ll be in the waiting room,” mom smiled and left the operating room. She was ushered out by the nurse.

“I’ll let you know as soon as we’re done and come get you. Please don’t worry. I’m sure your daughter will be fine,” the nurse turned away and headed back toward the surgery.

Now it was just a waiting game. Thankfully, there was a television in the waiting room that would help pass the time. Mom brought a book with, but didn’t feel like reading. Instead she tried to concentrate on the news, especially since it had been days since she heard what was going on in the world. Mom watched the news and a game show before the doctor’s voice jolted her back to reality.

“Ms. Roberts?” the doctor asked in the crowded waiting room.

“I’m right here,” mom rushed over to the door to talk with the doctor, “how’s my daughter? Will she be alright?”

“Yes, she made it through the surgery just fine. There were no complications, and you’ll be happy to know that the growth was just a calcium deposit,” he said with a pleasant grin.

“Thank you, doctor!” mom exclaimed very relieved.

The nurse took over and escorted mom to Tara’s recovery room. She was sitting up with gauze hanging out of her mouth and ice packs around her face. Tara tried to talk but quickly gave up. The nurse spoke for her, “She did great! We didn’t run into any problems at all. Your daughter is a real trooper!”

“I know she is,” mom sighed with relief.

“She should be ready to go home soon,” the cheery nurse replied, “I’ll give you a sheet of instructions to follow when you are home and go over it with you. Plus, someone from the staff will do a follow-up call tomorrow to see how she’s doing and if you have any questions.”

“Wonderful,” mom blindly stated, just relieved Tara was out danger and on the road to recovery, “See, nothing to worry about, Tara. Now you can just concentrate on the healing process.”

“When can I eat?” Tara managed to muffle through the gauze.

“Not for a couple days. Sorry,” the nurse directed, even though she didn’t act like she was sorry, “You’ll have to be on a liquid diet for at least a couple days. Your mom will have the directions and will explain everything to you. Tara won’t remember anything before, during, or right after the surgery because of the twilight sleep we gave her.”

It wasn’t long before we were told we could go home.

Chapter Five – The Trip Home

Tara walked very slowly after getting out of the wheelchair the nurse provided to take her most of the way to the car. Her knees were wobbly after leaving the wheelchair. She stood for several minutes to regain her balance before attempting to walk the rest of the way to the car. It was a short distance, but it was clear how much of a toll this surgery had taken on Tara.

Tara almost fainted after getting in the car. The nurse said that was to be expected with this type of surgery. She was also groggy and couldn’t remember very much before, during, or immediately after the surgery, just like the nurse said. Mom had to go over all of the directions a couple times on the way home. For the first hour Tara slept most of the time. Then, she woke up very thirsty and hungry. Unfortunately, she could only have a liquid diet for the first day or two. They stopped twice to get drinks and ice cream on the way home.

“Mom, I know about the cancer,” Tara confessed.

“How did you find out?” mom inquired, “I never mentioned it to you or Joslyn. I hope she didn’t tease you when I wasn’t around. She can be very mean sometimes with her comments.”

“I heard the dentist mention it to an assistant in the hallway back home at the first appointment,” Tara mumbled through gauze, “I didn’t want to say anything because I knew you were worried enough for the both of us.”

“I didn’t want you to know and be worried about it. Besides, there wasn’t a very high chance that it was cancer, AND it wasn’t. It was just a calcium deposit. The x-rays weren’t very clear at the doctor’s office back in Johnston at the first appointment,” mom explained, “Tara, you’ve handled this whole thing very well. You’ve even grown up from it. You could have freaked out about the possibility of cancer. Most people would have. Instead, you went on as if it were just a common surgery. You don’t have to handle pain or bad news by yourself. That’s what I’m here for. I’m your mom, remember.”

“I know, but that’s just who I am. Besides, you have enough to worry about doing everything since dad’s been gone,” Tara maturely commented.

“Well, next time you are in pain I want to know right away, and please take something for it. If you ever get bad news just remember I’m always here. You don’t have to handle it alone,” mom offered.

“I will. Thanks, mom!”

“Your very welcome! Are you in a lot of pain? Your face is real swollen on both sides. The right side is more swollen than the left,” mom asked with a lot of concern.

There were storm warnings out and the sky looked black ahead with clouds hanging low. Mom turned on the radio just in time to hear a severe thunderstorm warning for their area. Mom decided to pull over at a rest area to ride out the storm. The van rocked back and forth in the wind and was pelted with small dime-size hail for several minutes. Tara and mom looked at each other wondering if Joslyn and Nick were okay at home. After a reassuring phone call, and the weather let up, Tara and mom made the rest of their way back home.

 

Chapter Six-Recovery

Tara has swollen and had bruises on her face for several days. She slept a lot and took her medicine, including pain pills, on schedule. The hardest part was the liquid diet for the first two days. Once she could eat soft foods her spirit started to improve along with her physical health. Joslyn was a lot nicer than she ever had been to her older sister. She did not pick on her and was even concerned about her health.

“Is Tara going to be alright? Her face is so swollen. Will mine be like that when I get my wisdom teeth out?” Joslyn asked.

“Yes, she will be alright. In a few more days she’ll be almost back to normal. It just takes time to recover,” mom consoled, “As far as your wisdom teeth, you will have to have yours out soon too, and you may be swollen like Tara, or you may not have as many problems. Most people are swollen and sometimes bruised for several days.”

“Were you all swollen and bruised when you had yours out, mom?”

“No, but my teeth were in and just had to be pulled. In fact, I scheduled one day off work and almost scheduled two days off, but I didn’t have any pain or swelling because they were just pulled. I went back to work just a couple hours after they were pulled. I was sore though and wish I had at least taken one day off,” mom painfully remembered.

“Is it true Tara could have had cancer? She told me about it,” Joslyn confessed, “I don’t want to admit it, but I was real worried. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to Tara.”

“No, she doesn’t have cancer. It was a very slim chance – only 5-10% chance – but the doctor had to mention all the possibilities,” mom comforted.

“Well, I’m just glad she doesn’t have it.”

“We all are,” mom agreed.

Tara slowly improved each day. Within a week there was hardly any swelling left and the bruises were fading. She was ready to shop again after a week