I woke up Thursday morning with a sense of foreboding. I was sad, yet happy. Excited, yet dreadful. Tired, yet relaxed. It was just one of those days.
Paul took the train with me to work, he even bought me breakfast. While finishing up my coffee I felt a presence behind me and it was Paul with a plant. He didn't want to buy me flowers (they die). Here is a picture of them.
Throughout the day I was wondering why my Mom hadn't yet called. Oh yeah, its because she forgot. When I called her out on it, she said ... maybe we can do lunch, but already feeling lazy and tired I declined saying we can do it another time. I thought maybe I could grab something with Akash, but he already ate. So I called Paul, he picked something up and met me at my office where we ate. He then headed home while I headed back upstairs to work.
When I got home, my mood had worsened, but Paul convinced me that a trip to Franks was the only cure. Steak, potatoes, dirty martinis, and desert! But it was raining, and I was tired, and I was lazy, and I just didn't feel like it. But then I began thinking with my tummy and I was up and putting on my birthday dress (that Paul bought me) and I was on my way to the car.
At Franks I ordered my FAVORITE Romanian skirt steak, deep fried garlic mashed potatoes and some spinach. Paul had a steak with stilton cheese on top. Both were very tasty and both were finished completely. We were two satisfied customers. For desert I had a Jamaican Mocha Mud Pie and boy was it delish! But I was a bit sad. During our dinner, waitress after waitress brought out deserts singing Happy Birthday while my desert came out quietly. I complained a bit to Paul, but he put me down, saying it was corny and I was too old for it. After I was done with my desert, I decided a potty break was in order. Upon returning my 1/2 eaten desert with a lit candle was bring brought to the table while the wait staff sung me happy birthday. It was funnier than if they had done it the 1st time. Who brings out a 1/2 eaten cake with a candle on top. It was hilarious. Props to Paul for thinking that through.
When I got home, my back tooth begin to feel sore. Worried that maybe I had something in it, I flossed and brushed my teeth extra well before bed.
In the middle of the night, I woke up feeling intense pressure in my mouth. I took some Advil and gargled some listerine hoping it would help. It was then that I realized my period had come! Of course on my birthday, the night before my camping trip at 3 AM I not only wake up with a toothache but also my period! Again, a big FUCK YOU to mother nature!
Friday we woke up, packed the car and headed to Bellerose to pick up the grill and grab some ice and breakfast at the dinner. Lauren and Bryan met us. It was at the dinner that it became apparent that my mouth was much worse that I suspected. I couldn't even finish my 2 eggs. SOFT EGGS!
Once we got through the traffic, visited Papa, reentered the traffic and finally got to the campsite we began to set up. We made some hot dogs to hold us over till the masses got there and I was able to slowly eat that. All in all though, my mouth hurt and I was NOT having a good day. It was good having Lauren around to be my bathroom buddy though. Once everyone got there we made some sausage and peppers but my mouth was not having any of that. I ended up gnawing on a smore before bed, but that was all I could get down. Oh yeah I forgot to mention that our site ROCKED... right on the river and secluded... maybe the most secluded site on the property!
The next morning was rafting - YEY! I ate some soggy cereal and we were on our way. The water was frigid and my mouth was not happy, but I was going to make the best of it. We had 2 boats and had a blast. We were all laughing and drinking and then I decided it was time to play pirates. Basically I wanted to throw my sister off the other boat and get her in the water. Instead her fiance accidentally bumped her and in the water she went. It was great. We then began trying to turn over each other's boats, tried to steal each other's oars, etc... eventually Lauren abandoned ship and jumped into our boat, I jumped into theirs with the sole purpose of stealing oars and then tried to fly back into my boat... but Bryan grabbed my feet and in the water I went. That tilted the other boat causing Kareen and TJ to get in the water too! In the end most of us were wet, my boat had 1 extra person and 3 extra oars.
Back at camp we took some nice showers and got back to camp to have some delicious skirt steak... well I did get to gnaw on a piece :) but soon after my mouth was angry and I laid down. When I got up I knew I couldn't keep going. I was just in too much pain. My mouth was swollen and throbbing while sending shooting pains up into my head and down into my neck. My throat hurt. When I took in breaths through my nose, it felt like I was inhaling water. When I stretched my neck it felt sore. I couldn't do it anymore. I decided it was time to go to the ER! And to the ER I went. The nurse took one look at my face and said, you're swollen! The doctor said, wow that's a big jaw. He looked inside my mouth, concluded it was a bacterial infection, and said he'd give me a prescription. Well smart Lilia, forgot her insurance card, so I begged the nurse to talk to the doctor the give me a dose now and something for the pain to get me through the night. They did! They gave me a Tylenol with Codine and some antibiotics. I decided Paul and I had to leave 1st thing in the AM to get my scripts filled. The Codine only helped for a few hours and only because it made me fall asleep. I woke up in tears 3 times begging for Advil, Tylenol, Motrin and all other over the counter pain killers we brought. I think I may have gone over the recommended dosage within hours, let alone days. It was definitely the most pain I've ever been in in my life... and I've gotten 64 stitches at once, 4 wisdom teeth pulled while I was awake, and broken bones... this was the WORST!
Morning finally broke and I begged Paul to pack up and get out. Everyone was great and packed up my remaining things and took them home so we could leave extra early. We got home and I ran to Duane Reade... guess what - PHARMACY CLOSED! My luck right... so I went to CVS... and they were opened! I got my stuff and went home where I slept for almost 24 hours... the pain was too much to bare. I've been taking the meds and I'm getting better but not out of the woods yet. I saw my dentist, Jersy, on Monday and she said it looked like it was still pussing and still swollen. I'm going to see her again next week. Apparently the infection spread to my sinus which has been horrible... now that's bothering me as much as the tooth. Next week I'll also see a periodontist to see if the tooth... i mean crown, is even salvageable. We shall see. She thinks I'll need an implant.... I don't think my insurance covers that... CRAP!
So all in all my birthday was a disaster! But it could have been worse. I had great people around me... always trying to make me as comfy as possible. We had great laughs, told great stories and in the end it was still a success. Rafting was so much fun. And despite the fact that the nights were cold, we sat around the camp fires, chatting, drinking, eating, talking, and laughing. I think it was a great time... and I'm pretty sure everyone else did too.
Oh yeah, I'm going camping again in a month with my family... guess what I realized... I'll have my period AGAIN! FUCK YOU MOTHER NATURE!
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