#32 Life West and Endodontists
Haven’t updated the blog in awhile and a LOT has happened so I’m going to run it back here which also gives me some much needed time to reflect and unpack the very eventful past 2 months.
In mid April I flew from Spain to Pennsylvania, spent 24 hours unpacking and repacking then flew from Pennsylvania to California to join Life West for the WPL season. I chose Life West for a couple of reasons; 1. I wanted to be challenged and I know a lot of USA pool players are at Life West. 2. My last WPL coach, Tiff Faaee, is coaching at Life West this year and I just love her. When she was my coach at NYRC I felt challenged, respected, and supported. 3. I loved going to school in California. I had such a fun season playing for NYRC in 2019 but I really do not like the city or the 2.5 hour commute from my family home in Pennsylvania. Later I learned I also don’t like San Francisco… apparently I’m really not a city gal in general. Anywho, it was a quick turnaround from season to season.
I up and left for Hayward California without any real plans. Day 1 I met my new roomies in our temporary AirBnB #1 - Julie, Kayla, Finn, and Bailey. I had never met any of them before but we were all going to be teammates so we piled into the cheapest AirBnB and very quickly made lasting memories. Physically I felt stronger than ever aside from a pesky little bruise on my chin. Mentally I was motivated but definitely stressed about finances and the living situation, especially not knowing where we would be staying the following week. Living on B street was chaotic and exciting. Chaotic in that our AirBnB host mopped our floor with toilet water. Exciting in that I was surround by strong, VERY entertaining new teammates, all incredible rugby players who I could learn a lot from.
A week later we moved to Fremont, our new Airbnb with the addition of Hollander, Lynn. It was a treat to unpack and have my own room - it gave me a brief sense of stability and belonging that was so comforting. Lynn became by gym buddy and I really enjoyed our routine walk to the 24 hour fitness down the road. The house was ALWAYS entertaining. Me, Kayla, Bailey, Julie, and Lynn worked from home while Finn was gone most of the day at work. To me it felt like a little family when Finn for home from work we would play Yahtzee or chat about our enneagram and Myers Briggs compatibility. It was chaotic and stressful but it was ours and we were in it together.
My slightly bruised chin pain turned into unbearable mouth pain. I was giving crimson chin vibes, and I waited WAY too long to seek medical attention. I went to the dentist who, based on my X rays said I may need 1 to 3 root canals in my front bottom teeth but that I should get a 360 scan to really see what’s going on. My mom’s best friend was the head of the dentist department in the navy also known as the Floss Boss. She insisted I must go to a board certified endodontist (root canal specialist), which was NOT easy to find in Fremont, California. I think I cried to about 6 endodontist offices that day.
Finally, I got into a Floss Boss approved endodontist. I don’t know whether or not to take you guys through the whole experience with me because it was quite traumatizing and could be a full blog post on it’s own. This was the most painful experience I have ever been through by far. The Dr. was injecting the nova cane into my already swollen bottom gum, shaking my chin around to try and get the numbing to settle in… but my face was too swollen to even take the nova cane and the pain of the pressure was just piling up. She turned and said to me, “wow you’re a tough girl, huh?” I said, “I try to be” then proceeded to immediately pass out. When I woke up I thought I had been in a horrible accident with the hospital like room and my little blue bib.
A couple of seconds later I remembered where I was and told the doctor I just needed a cup of water and I was ready to do this thing. As you guys know passing out has become sort of a little trend in my life lately so I wasn’t concerned. My biggest concern was getting any sort of pain relief for my face. Turns out I needed 2 root canals and they had to put a cut in my lip because the infection was so bad. Apparently I had hit my chin (potentially YEARS ago) and an infection started at the very root of my front teeth. For some reason she (the infection) decided it was time to come out of hiding.
Here is a series of photos:
The Crimson Chin
Floss Boss showing me what’s going on with her drawn out tooth diagram while informing me that dentistry is a great profession that I should really consider.
me crying at the dentist office waiting to pay after 2 root canals and a slit lip.
Honestly I cried my whole car ride home driving listening to Adele. Just when I got it together I walked in the door and everyone was like “Dana! How did it go?!” so obviously I immediately started sobbing. With pain meds, antibiotics, and a lot of popsicles I made it through.
This takes us to the very beginning of May. I’m going to save that eventful block of time for next week as I continue to reflect on my time at Life West.