Sickness, puppies and a best friend.
Sunday, 10.14.2012 - 11:22 pm.

I've been sick the entire week. Last sunday I couldn't move, my body ached badly and I had a very sore throat. By wednesday I started to lose my voice and so far I haven't quite gotten it back yet. Andrew had been sick the week prior, so I know where it came from.

He called up a friend who is a doctor and he was kind enough to come to our apartment yesterday and check on me. I have laryngitis, most likely, which is less serious than what Andrew had; it feels like a raging flu, though, with fever and tiredness and a runny nose. He prescribed some meds and refused to charge the visit, though Andrew and I insisted. I'm getting better slowly.

I have insurance through the scholarship but I've already used it: first to check a suspicious mole and then to see if my wisdom teeth on the left were coming out (years ago I was told they were unexistent, they showed me the X-rays). The insurance people are pretty awesome, in the sense that they find a doctor in my area and I just have to show up for the appointment. But it's kind of a hassle being on the line and in both cases, they didn't cover further treatment because it was "not an emergency".

So I paid myself for getting the mole removed just in case (turned out to be benign, as I mentioned it here). As for the wisdom teeth, there was no such thing, which I suspected. But I've had this toothache for over two years, comes and goes every few weeks: it feels swollen and I feel that metallic taste of blood in my mouth coming from a back tooth. It even feels like it's pushing forward my entire set of teeth. The front teeth and gums hurt sometimes (and sometimes even make my head hurt) and I've noticed a tiny gap between my two front teeth that I could swear it wasn't there some time ago. I had braces for a long time and now I'm scared all that work is being reverted. My family dentist said it was a swollen nerve, from my bruxism and biting the insides of my mouth so much*. But even with a mouthguard and no biting it still hurts.

So I have an appointment this wednesday, also I'll be paying for it from my own savings. The dentist I saw here reccommended me this doctor, and she said she was sorry she couldn't find the problem. Such a nice woman, I think she'll be my dentist by default in this city.

* The biting. It's a horrible habit that I've had since what seems forever and has eroded my gums. BUT I started seeing a patient with the habit of biting her fingers (her fingers) and I read about habit reversal and other behavioral techniques and I decided I'd cure myself, too. She and I are struggling. Well, I'm not anymore. Since I fell sick last sunday I haven't bitten myself. That's a whole week now! I'm really proud because I always said "I'll stop now" and always relapsed. Now the insides of my mouth are so soft and smooth. I discovered my trigger was sliding my tongue all around until I found hanging skin to pull with my teeth. I still do the sliding but there's nothng to pull now. And I've been slowly losing the impulse to bite. I hope my patient succeeds too.

Anyway! I digress, terribly. I was saying, getting the insurance was a hassle, going to a doctor was expensive, and so Andrew found a doctor friend. That's all, actually.

The puppies are growing so fast. They are in the process of opening their eyes and becoming more aware of their own existence and more canine-like. Getting up at 2 am to feed them is killing me but during the day they're pretty cute. They are also learning to walk, it's quite a sight, especially with my cats around. I'm ambivalent: they take a good portion of my time but I'm starting to get really attached, they are so adorable. I have less than two weeks left before I return them to the vet clinic, to get them ready for adoption (get their shots and neutered). I just want them to find good homes and have a good life. And I want to sleep for eight hours straight.

The most wonderful news: in two more weeks, MY BEST FRIEND VICTORIA IS COMING TO VISIT ME!!!! I can't believe it! She moved to Colombia last year and got married a couple of months ago, and I had no idea when I'd see her again. But she's coming to Chile to see another friend of hers and will come to the south and be with me for four days. I CAN'T WAIT!!! I've made good friends here but nothing beats the comfort and trust of an almost-a-decade-long friendship. We have so much to talk about.

I've been wanting to get off my chest how guilty I feel regarding my mom's cancer, but this entry is long enough as it is. She's doing ok, by the way; she's on her 4th chemo with some side effects but nothing too threatening. We're waiting for some results on the degree of success of treatment so far. I mean, we hope there is a degree of success so far. But yeah, I have to talk about this more thoroughly. Some other day when I'm not on my way to bed. G'night!

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