The dreaded root canal

I had a hard time getting to sleep and staying asleep. My digestive system was uncomfortable and I wondered if the fish was to blame. Chris got up at 5:45, and I tried to go back to sleep but gave up about 6:45. Chris wanted to leave at 8, so I did a very short version of supplements and breakfast. I had filled out a patient form for the endodontist and I sent it this morning. I boiled some water for a sinus rinse. I also checked a few e-mails, deleted others, and listened to an interview about using budesonide for Covid-19. It's not as cheap as hydroxychloroquine but has a good safety profile. I opened the box of X-lear and discovered that I didn't need to add any water. But a few sprays was not as cleansing as my usual rinse. I could hear men in the parking lot cutting dead branches from the trees and grinding them up. I hoped they were not blocking our exit from the parking lot. But Chris walked down to the rental office and said they were not.
It was a little after 8 when we headed to Dugway with Chris driving. He wanted to discuss my health issues. Every symptom I came up with, he dismissed as psychological. When I mentioned tests I'd done last November, he said the results were meaningless. He was trying to say that I had no health issues. By the time we got to Dugway, I was in tears.
It was 9 by the time we checked with Housing and went to the house. A bunch of people were standing outside waiting for us, all with masks on. After a bit of conversation, we went through the house, looking for anything amiss and asking any questions we could think of. Some of the ladies were in training so they didn't say much. The appliances in the kitchen looked new, but they said something about everyone getting a new stove at some point in the near future. Chris asked for a specific form, and when they didn't have it on hand, he gave them a spiel about tracking the time it takes to fill out such forms so as to request more man power. We looked at the shed and the lawn. We are responsible for mowing outside the fence. Also, there is a water softener. The cold water is not softened so don't let the sprinklers rain on the car because the minerals won't come off. The lady said plants were ok with it, but later Chris told me that it could be a problem for some of the plants.
Then we went to the Housing office. I guess Chris signed forms and such, but I stayed outside so I wouldn't have to wear a mask. When he came out, he gave me a house key and garage door opener. Then we got in the car and went to his office. I watered my plants which were sitting there in the shade, but would be in full sun all afternoon. Again, I stayed outside while he went in and did whatever. Then we went to the post office. I was able to pick up a number of packages. When I came out, he was sitting in the passenger seat. So I drove us back to Dugway. I did not enjoy the hairpin turns in the mountain pass, but the straight parts were ok, if boring.
We got back around noon. I jotted notes for my blog, and had some seed crackers and a banana with cinnamon. I read e-mail until 3. Then we got ready and I drove us into Tooele to the endodontist.
Using the map I memorized from the internet, I drove us down mainstreet and missed the turn because the road turned into a highway and back again. I turned around at the next light and headed back. We passed it looking to the right, but it turned out to be on the left. Since we had left early, we were in the office on time. We had to wear masks in the building, but once the lady took me back, I could take it off.
She talked to me and took an x-ray. I did a lot of tapping. Later the doctor came and showed me the x-ray, said if it was his tooth he would keep it. So I gave him the go-ahead. He leaned me back and put something between my right teeth to keep my mouth open. Then he gave me a series of injections. She gave me nitrous. I got very relaxed, and yet something inside me was yelling 'No!'. He worked with another patient, then came back to me when my mouth was numb. He started in drilling. I am not sure what else he did because my mind was wandering. I was trying to think the most positive thoughts I could come up with. I heard him say the tooth was necrotic, but I did not smell anything when he drilled it out. The canula began to hurt my nose so I had them take it off. The lack of gas did not seem to bother me. At one point he used the GentleWave machine to ozonate the channels. Then there was more stuff, and the dam came out.
When he finished the procedure, he wrote me prescriptions for anti-biotics, and pain. The pain pills were nothing that I didn't already have for my back. He said the procedure went well and none of the things he warned me about happened. The assistant took me out front to pay. I was given the numbers of three dentists who could finish the job of filling the hole in the crown. Chris, who sat in the waiting room, put his phone down and helped me walk downstairs. He drove us back to the base.
The guard did not take our temps this time. I don't know why and I wondered if mine might be elevated. Chris said I looked normal, but when I looked at myself in the mirror, I could see that the left side did not match the right. I read e-mail for a bit, then swished with silver. I laid down to keep the silver on that tooth. Later I got up and took a walk. Then I swished with salt water while playing Solitaire and reading e-mail. I started listening to an interview with Dennis Prager. I took another packet of Vitamin C. At 8:15 Chris called up Legends on Netflix. I made a magnesium drink and sipped it as we watched. After two episodes, more of the anesthesia wore off, but the corner of my mouth was not behaving properly. I brushed my teeth gingerly and swished while writing my blog.