I wish I knew what happened - it's still very much a mystery! I woke up one morning at the beginning of December with the left side of my face hurting, but I took a painkiller and went to work. By about 4:00 that afternoon, the pain was so bad I had a very embarrassing melt-down at my desk - I started to cry and couldn't stop. I called my dentist, thinking it was an abcessed tooth, and he took me in right away. He thought he saw a shadow under one of my crowns, so he put me on antibiotics.

Next day the pain was even worse. Every time I moved, I cried. By then I was sweating constantly and couldn't stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time. It was too much trouble to talk beyond "yes" and "no". My throat felt like a baseball was lodged in it - I couldn't eat or drink anything because it hurt too much. Strangely enough, I had no fever, which I would think would be part and parcel of an infection. I kept taking the antibiotics, figuring it would get better. When it was still just as bad a day later, Mr Cat called the TeleHealth Ontario line and spoke with a nurse, who told him to take me to the hospital right away. When I got to the ER, the triage nurse put me right on a stretcher and from there I was zipped off to the observation ward.

I was put on IV morphine and antibiotics, as well as fluids 'cause I was so dehydrated by that point. Then I had to have a CAT scan in case I had an abcess somewhere that could be drained (which I didn't). They kept me in observation overnight and most of the next day. An ear, nose & throat specialist said he was pretty sure the problem was dental. However, the endodontist I had to see a few days later couldn't find any teeth that needed a root canal. Apparently, my teeth are fine.

Then my surgeon's office called. He saw something in the hospital report and wants to see me. So, I have an appointment with him on Monday. I have a suspicion I know what's happened - either the brand new left joint is unhinged or dislocated, or there's a problem with the upper plate that's screwed into the bone. The left side of my face is still all swollen but at least the pain is gone. It's uncomfortable - that side of my face feels stiff and numb - but it's nothing like the pain that put me in the hospital.

So, between trying to recover from that, and going back to work (Dec. being the busiest time of year as far as the office is concerned), I was also trying to do the Christmas shopping, get the house decorated, etc., etc. I need about a month in the Caribbean to recuperate!

I haven't heard from Andrea in months - has anyone else?

Nope