The Fates Are Gunnin' For Me

 

So last weekend, the lower left molar that's been cracked for over 10 years, and the likely culprit of the intense pain and subsequent infection back in May, decided to break up into bits of tooth shards and amalgam while I was eating salad. See, I try to eat right but because it's crunchy it causes my weakened tooth to bust apart. What's more I think I swallowed the majority of it. Anywoo, now I have just a jagged crater where my tooth used to be with exposed root pulp or whatever and the inflammation which never really went away is roaring back and has the whole left side of my jaw ballooned up. Amazingly the tooth itself, or should I say the remnant of the tooth, is only a four on the pain scale since much of the root system has likely been dead or decaying for many years and even the flare up from May probably did a lot to off the rest of those nerves that might have been exposed. Irony was that when I had them take X-rays in May, since I was an emergency walk-in, they said they could only do one set of x-ray, and I chose the upper molar since the pain was so spread out I wasn't sure which it was. 

Turns out it wouldn't have mattered then as it didn't matter this week when I went in with another emergency visit and paid another $50 for the same conclusion. Even though now they clearly see the tooth was destroyed. Diagnosis? We don't do that. You got to go to an oral surgeon. Here's a list of a few. Bye. And the dentist lady was pretty much cut and dry almost as bad as that. Thankfully the assistant was a lot more understanding and explained that since it wouldn't be as simple extraction dentists at this clinic are not qualified to do that, it has to be an oral surgeon. 

So now the question is, how much is this going to cost? I made an appointment, but of course, even though it's an emergency and I'm presenting with a shattered tooth, I'm not going to see her for two weeks. 

In the meantime I have an already pre-scheduled dental appointment at the clinic to get a full set of X-rays and I guess an exam of all the other teeth to see what condition they're in. 

Looked up online at average prices for a oral surgeon extraction of a busted tooth and we're looking at upwards of $800. And articles said that that is just for the tooth extraction not counting the x-rays and maybe not counting the anesthetic medication. Of course I can't afford this. So I guess it's bye-bye Credit One card. A medically induced mini Veruca if you will. I hate to do it but what choice do I have?

But wait that's not all! The fates have decided I need more pain. This evening at 6:00 as I was sitting here playing a game or watching YouTube videos or whatever, I'm not sure what I was doing exactly, I'm saying to myself "Gee the computer must be putting out a lot of heat for some reason cuz it's getting a bit warm." I felt the back of the computer and it was putting out a bit of heat but I realized that it was likely due to the fact that the whole room was warm. I go over to the thermostat it's at 87. I open the door and look at the air conditioner condenser and the fan isn't spinning, it's just moaning. I put my hand to the vents inside and sure enough, just like last October, there is a sense of cool air but nothing blowing. Looks like that replacement blower motor went out after less than a year. And I paid $450 for that. Luckily, after a cursory look through my desk, I found the invoice and sure enough it says in black and white one year warranty parts and labor. 

So, hopefully this won't cost anymore, I just have to call the same AC technician to come out and replace it. But in the meantime, it's now heading towards midnight and I'm sitting in 88° temps. Even though the two windows that do open are in that position, the outside temperature is well into the 80s still with something like 98% humidity. Oh, and no wind of course. At least I have fans and I'm using the old spray bottle of water technique dousing myself every few minutes with mists of cool relief while I sit here almost butt naked. 

Not sure if the AC guy will be able to come out tomorrow since I'm sure this heat wave we're going through is killing quite a few other ACs as well. So I'm setting my sights on a local cheap motel because I don't want to go through this again another night since I doubt I'll get any sleep tonight as it is. Oh Fates! What have I done to anger thee?

EDIT: In the morning, after a fitfully hot and muggy night, same guy as last time, Victor, came out with a coworker and an hour later, one replacement capacitor and a hose-down of the dirty outside grills, $210 since it wasn't the blower motor. It was the Fates.