What you’re about to read is the story of everything that I was told happened, and everything that I actually do remember.
Walking into the building, my stomach was churning and I was so nervous. In my arms was my Beatles blanket to keep me warm during the surgery. I realize that this sounds over-the-top, but I was scared out of my wit that something was going to go wrong, and on top of that, I’ve never been put to sleep, for anything, so this entire experience was completely new to me. While I waiting for them to call my name, I was beginning to get really antsy, I couldn’t sit still to save my life, So I got up and began to jog in place, waiting for my name to be called… “Katelyn?” I looked up the nurse, “Yes?” “We’re ready for you.” She said with a kind smile. I admire nurses for the disgusting things that they do, but that’s beside the point.
As I sat down in the death chair, they began to put the oxygen tube around my nose, then attached (what seemed to be) a zillion wires from on arm to the other, monitoring everything. Then came in the doc. He hooked me up with the goods. He sat down next to me and asked, “How’s your summer been?” At this point, I was already teary eyes from just being overwhelmed by it all. I gave him a blank stare, as my mind went blank. All I could think about was that dang needle that was about to be put into my arm. (for the record, I HATE needles.) As stuck it into my arm, I looked away and let a few tears fall. The poor nurse, I’m sure, was thrilled to wipe them away and tell me the horrid lies that it was all going to be okay.
The last thing that I remember before I fell asleep was the strange feeling that I had. It began as a little bit of burning in my throat, and then progressed into my entre mouth becoming tingly. This all happened within second, by the way.
Waking up hyperventilating, having all types of crazy beeping noises, and nurses in my face telling me to slow my breathing was… unusual to say the least. I was a little confused at first, as to what all was going on, so I began to cry and asking for my mom. The nurse told me that I needed to stop talking, to bite on the gauze, but alas, I wouldn’t shut up, and I began to hyperventilate and cry more, which caused more beeping and noises that I assume were my oxygen levels and heart beat speeding up and going crazy. As the doctor walked in, he closed my mouth with his hand and told me to stop talking. To which I snapped back and said, “I’ll stop talking when my mom gets in here!” This progressed into an argument, but I got what I wanted in the end, and I never did shut up. I talked… a lot, and apparently on the way home, I was humming and touching my feeling less face, you’ll hear more about that later… Standing up while you’re sedated is the trippiest thing I have ever experienced in my life. It’s like your legs weigh 100lbs each, and are completely useless, than your head gets really heavy, to me it felt like I was spinning and I was so dizzy. It was weird…. crazy weird. They sat me in the wheelchair and wheeled me out to the car. (I was crying this entire time, by the way.)
Here we are, the glorious car ride home. Apparently, I was touching my face, a lot, and was somewhat singing, more or less humming, a Beatles song. I don’t know which one, hah, but I was. I kept asking a lot of questions, the same ones, over and over. The most popular one was, “Where is my phone?” (My mom had it.) I kept messing with stuff in the car, and I fell asleep halfway there.
That is pretty much the end of that, I suppose. I will never like dentists, I will never forget this. Hopefully, I’ll have no more surgeries for a while, because I was weirded out for a while.
My mom wouldn’t let me record all this, that’s why I wrote it.
Stay wise, my friends. (;
-Katie Perner
7.11.11
