A Day of Head-to-Toe Appointments

Monday began at an inhumane hour. My husband and I had dental appointments at 9am and 10am, respectively. It takes at least an hour to get anywhere. And, it takes me nearly two hours to get ready in the mornings. That's just a fact of life with my cerebral palsy. So, you know what time the alarm went off this morning!

I am the type of person who always eats breakfast unless I am really sick. However, this morning, because of the unsavory hour, the peanut butter and blackberry jam sandwich sat like a lump in my not-yet-awake stomach, creating an acute nauseous feeling. I wasn't sure I would get to the dentist's office in one piece.

Wheeling into the office, I noticed the strong dental smells for the first time ever. Yuck! Distracting myself with a book, while I waited for Darrell, helped.

Then it was turn to hop into the chair. Now, with my cerebral palsy, my gag reflex is overactive at the best of times. Combine that with my conscious effort to keep down the peanut butter, the dentist didn't get much scraping done with that pointy instrument. The hygienist had more luck with the polishing, fluoriding, and flossing. Thankfully, she used the baby polish, which is less gritty.

I assume I don't have any cavities or, at least, no major ones. Neither the dentist nor the hygienist told me anything.

The nausea began subsiding. Coincidence?

Next on our itinerary of fun was the fitting for my orthotic. Arriving an hour and a half early, we used the nicely accessible washroom before leaving for a walk to kill some time before my appointment.

My actual appointment was mostly waiting for the orthotist to make modifications to shoe insert. Now, I'm no expert, but this newest foot apparel offers no ankle support to a size 6 foot that is lost in the man's size 7 wide shoe. It does, however, create an arch where one was non-existent. Ok? I guess that is important to some. Personally, I would have thought ankle support, particularly with my feet, was more critical. Time will tell if this orthotic is adequate.

That was my fun-filled day!