Today I saw the orthodontist, Dr. Little Blood (honest, his name was Sanguinetti).
His office was in Levanto and I had very little waiting time. A roundish man with warm brown eyes and a very nice manner. He told me what the problems could be, what he would do, and that he would schedule a follow-up visit. He x-rayed the front teeth and it did not show any nerve damage. He then filed my chipped teeth and improved my bite.
He glued each two front teeth together to prevent any movement for a while. He never asked my name or wrote any info on me nor did he ask for any money.
I feel significantly better.
I have a scab forming over the center of my upper lip. I am thinking of drawing a mustache on it and tucking my hair into a Panama hat and lighting up a Havana for my next trip to the beach.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Medicine, Italian Style
TODAY I LOOK LIKE A FISH! Yesterday I fell on some uneven pavement and landed flat on my face with what felt like a mouthful of broken teeth. No broken nose this time. This happened at an autostrada stop not far from home. What followed was five hours of waiting ending in trauma.
I was taken in an ambulance with an attendant smelling of beer who threw some used latex gloves on the ground before getting into the ambulance, and me telling him to tell David where he was taking me. The ride was rough, the smell of the vehicle's exhaust filling the space while I was hanging on, not wanting to roll off the guerney while trying to hold an ice bag on my mouth.
At the ER, I filled out a paper with my name, address and birth date and waited for David to arrive with my documenti. Then, four hours of waiting in a small packed room watching ambulance after ambulance pull up to the door, Looney Tunes on the television, no water fountain, I began to lose it. But the worst was yet to come.
I was led into a room. The nurse never looked back to see me struggling out of the wheelchair. David had gone out briefly at that time. She had her back to me in the room the whole time.
David, thank god, came back then.
The doctor rushed in while talking to someone in the other room, sat at a table across the room, looked at my papers and said, "You have to see an orthodontist tomorrow."
David- "But she needs stitches!"
Doctor, angrily- "I'll get to it."
I said something too and he responded angrily.
He looks at my lip, tells me to lay down. Never gives me his name, never tells me what he is doing, and proceeds to sew up my lip while talking in a loud voice to someone who could have been in the other room. I began to cry and it hurt.
Doctor- "Don't cry. It's not bad"
Then I think he begins to use some liquid topical anesthesia but is still talking loudly and non-stop to others. At that point I pounded my legs and arms on the guerney and yelled- Be quiet!
Doctor- "Calm down, signora"
David, sitting across the room, "Too much noise!"
Me,crying and yelling, "I've been waiting four hours. I am stressed. You are being insensitive." I don't think he liked that I used the familiar verb form with him. He became sarcastic. If I made any noise when he stuck in the needle, he said, "Is that bad, dear? It's nothing. It doesn't hurt."
When he finally finished, I was shaking all over. David said that I needed some Ativan. The nurse got me a dose. All I wanted to do was get the hell out of there.
We left shortly after.
My upper lip is grossly swollen and sutured. One of my front teeth is badly chipped and the gums are numb. I don't know if the chipped tooth has moved; it doesn't seem to be loose.
Next adventure, Italian Dentistry!
I was taken in an ambulance with an attendant smelling of beer who threw some used latex gloves on the ground before getting into the ambulance, and me telling him to tell David where he was taking me. The ride was rough, the smell of the vehicle's exhaust filling the space while I was hanging on, not wanting to roll off the guerney while trying to hold an ice bag on my mouth.
At the ER, I filled out a paper with my name, address and birth date and waited for David to arrive with my documenti. Then, four hours of waiting in a small packed room watching ambulance after ambulance pull up to the door, Looney Tunes on the television, no water fountain, I began to lose it. But the worst was yet to come.
I was led into a room. The nurse never looked back to see me struggling out of the wheelchair. David had gone out briefly at that time. She had her back to me in the room the whole time.
David, thank god, came back then.
The doctor rushed in while talking to someone in the other room, sat at a table across the room, looked at my papers and said, "You have to see an orthodontist tomorrow."
David- "But she needs stitches!"
Doctor, angrily- "I'll get to it."
I said something too and he responded angrily.
He looks at my lip, tells me to lay down. Never gives me his name, never tells me what he is doing, and proceeds to sew up my lip while talking in a loud voice to someone who could have been in the other room. I began to cry and it hurt.
Doctor- "Don't cry. It's not bad"
Then I think he begins to use some liquid topical anesthesia but is still talking loudly and non-stop to others. At that point I pounded my legs and arms on the guerney and yelled- Be quiet!
Doctor- "Calm down, signora"
David, sitting across the room, "Too much noise!"
Me,crying and yelling, "I've been waiting four hours. I am stressed. You are being insensitive." I don't think he liked that I used the familiar verb form with him. He became sarcastic. If I made any noise when he stuck in the needle, he said, "Is that bad, dear? It's nothing. It doesn't hurt."
When he finally finished, I was shaking all over. David said that I needed some Ativan. The nurse got me a dose. All I wanted to do was get the hell out of there.
We left shortly after.
My upper lip is grossly swollen and sutured. One of my front teeth is badly chipped and the gums are numb. I don't know if the chipped tooth has moved; it doesn't seem to be loose.
Next adventure, Italian Dentistry!
Monday, July 16, 2007
Beach Life
After a few weeks of sweater weather on the mountain and a very churned up sea in Levanto, it has become very hot. We go to swim in the morning on the days we shop or in the late afternoon. The beach has become crowded and parking is very difficult on weekends, but the water is glorious and most people seem to stay on the beach- few in the water.
It is great for people watching; I've included some more photos- click the flickr link to see them.
We actually have the whole month of July without company, and are looking for some people to invite for lunch. Interested? It's been a bit on the quiet side here. We are reading, looking for some work to do, eating well, and watching the corn grow. We talk about taking some trips, but the heat, the crowds, the traffic... It always seems so much better at home.
It is great for people watching; I've included some more photos- click the flickr link to see them.
We actually have the whole month of July without company, and are looking for some people to invite for lunch. Interested? It's been a bit on the quiet side here. We are reading, looking for some work to do, eating well, and watching the corn grow. We talk about taking some trips, but the heat, the crowds, the traffic... It always seems so much better at home.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
The goats
I am still having difficulty uploading photos to my blog. For now, you can click on the link above my photo to see the pics on the net.
I have included a photo of my favorite goat this year. She has Personality and is not afraid of us. Her favorite resting place is on the road by the side of our little red car. I gave her and her little black kid some dried bread the other day and she followed me into the house to get more.
The other is my portrait of a favorite two years ago.
Today Sergio (the sexy farmer from up the road, photo included) came in his tractor to take one of Arturo's goats. He said to me- I'm not going to kill it. I said that I knew that from Margherita and hoped he wouldn't take my favorite. After getting a goat from the stall and tying its legs, he asked if it was my preferred goat. No, I said,it wasn't. As he put it in the back of his tractor, Arturo teased- He's going to eat it next week. Sergio came to me, put his thumb and first two fingers to his mouth, kissed them, and said- Ti giuro (I swear to you), I won't kill it. I'm not certain how my attachment to these animals is so well known, but it is true. I like the goats. They eat my flowers, they smell, and I like them.
I have included a photo of my favorite goat this year. She has Personality and is not afraid of us. Her favorite resting place is on the road by the side of our little red car. I gave her and her little black kid some dried bread the other day and she followed me into the house to get more.
The other is my portrait of a favorite two years ago.
Today Sergio (the sexy farmer from up the road, photo included) came in his tractor to take one of Arturo's goats. He said to me- I'm not going to kill it. I said that I knew that from Margherita and hoped he wouldn't take my favorite. After getting a goat from the stall and tying its legs, he asked if it was my preferred goat. No, I said,it wasn't. As he put it in the back of his tractor, Arturo teased- He's going to eat it next week. Sergio came to me, put his thumb and first two fingers to his mouth, kissed them, and said- Ti giuro (I swear to you), I won't kill it. I'm not certain how my attachment to these animals is so well known, but it is true. I like the goats. They eat my flowers, they smell, and I like them.
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