Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Arse over Teakettle: In which I See a Guilder

Yesterday, I was having such a good day. I wrote some new stuff AND I did some laundry AND I had dinner organized. I was walking the dog (for the second time--see how well this was going?) at a little after 1. We were just charging along at a really good clip, when all of a sudden, I found myself sprawled on the sidewalk, my glasses at some distance from my face. I had tripped over an uneven part of the sidewalk. I still had Sammy's leash in one hand, and my clip-on sunglasses were still attached to my glasses. Good, I thought, everything's fine. Then I noticed the blood--quite a lot of it--and I started spitting out pieces of teeth. So Sammy, who didn't seem at all fazed by my plight, accompanied me back home, where I inspected the damage. Lots of teeth (in the back, thank goodness) were broken. I was a bloody mess. When I called the doctor's office, they said to go straight to urgent care. Do not waste a moment--just go right now, they said. I called my husband, and he came right home to drive me--really fast--to the place where injured people go when they need treatment right away.

Four hours later, I said to the nice doctor who sewed up my chin, "I have never been treated in an emergency room before."

He said, "How old are you?"

I said, "53."

He said, "Then you're really, really lucky." He's right, isn't he?

Today, I went to two dentists, my regular one and an oral surgeon. (It would have been three, but the root canal guy is out of town.) Over the next eight months, I'll get some crowns, one or two root canals, some bonding, and an implant. We already got the ball rolling with an early morning extraction.

Things can change so fast. One minute I'm breezing along the street feeling smug and--how ironic is this?--in control. And the next minute, I'm face down on the sidewalk. In Dutch, when someone falls down, people often say, "Did you see a guilder?" (Only now they probably say, "Did you see a Euro?") Mean, I know, but even so, that line has made me laugh a couple of times. Another expression for falling down is going "arse over teakettle." I Googled it and found this picture. I'm sure I looked even less graceful.

This afternoon, I was sitting here with ice bags on my face. The phone rang. When a cheerful voice said, "Hi, it's Kate," I paused for a second, thinking, Kate? Now which dentist's office does she work in? But it was my wonderful writing student Kate, calling for her weekly chat about her work! Sorry about the pause before the recognition, Kate. I hope you understand. You see, yesterday, I saw a guilder!

6 comments:

Christa said...

Hi Sara,
So sorry to hear about your accident. On a positive note, I am so happy to be reading your blog! I have lapsed in my writing, but now have your blog to motivate and inspire me. Thanks.
Christa (a grateful, former Intuitive Writing student)

Julie Kibler said...

Man, that was so not what I expected when I started reading your entry! It was sounding so good. :) What a nightmare. I hope you are feeling much better soon, and that all the reconstructive work goes well. I hate going to the dentist for the GOOD checkups ever since I had a fall-on-the-sidewalk-and-spit-out-pieces -of-front-tooth experience when I was about 9! Please take good care of yourself.

mimi k said...

Ouch! I hope you are feeling better and back to work soon.

Cindy said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Sara Lewis Murre said...

No worries, Cindy--I'm fine!

Sara

Heidi said...

Sara! I've been behind in everything and totally missed your arse over teakettle accident! Holy cow! Hope you are feeling better!