Bad to the bone

Ok, I should explain that usually I'm really a glass-half-full type. I know my posts lately have been a little manic, and so have I. But this is the exception, I swear. Unless I've turned that corner onto the one-way road to bitterness and despair. Which, seriously folks, is a possibility.

Anyway, on the good news side, my jury service is complete! Both prosecution and defence rested their cases on Monday, and we heard closing statements yesterday. After sitting through the juror instructions and a tutorial on the applicable laws, I was released yesterday afternoon and just got word this evening that the jury reached a verdict: the guy is guilty on both counts. Which is pretty much what I thought, but it still would have been interesting to get to debate that with 11 other people and arrive at the conclusion together. But whatever. Always a bridesmaid. At least it didn't carry over into my upcoming vacation or anything.

What may actually carry over into my time off, however, is the latest in the woe-is-me saga. Remember my unexplained mystery health issue of a few months ago? Well, everyone finally agrees that it's most likely a tooth issue. And not just any tooth, but the very one that had the root canal. The root canal that I never wanted to experience anything remotely resembling ever again.

My dentist told me today that it's probably leaking (!!) and so I'm going back tomorrow to experience something not just resembling the root canal, but in fact that very root canal all over again. See how the lightning strikes over and over from my own personal dark cloud? But wait, there's more! If the old root canal is leaking because the tooth's root is cracked, which is a distinct possibility and one that can't be ascertained until the dentist is rooting around inside my head, then -- get this -- he'll have to extract the tooth!!

Sweet merciful mother of crap. I knew this is the sort of thing that happens when you get old, but I'm only thirty-three! That's too young to be toothless. And? If it comes out, I should get an implant, an actual metal screw anchored into my skull. Which insurance will hardly cover. So I'm about to feel some serious pain in both my palate and my wallet.

No one mentioned the option of just letting it go on leaking, but that sounds pretty ok by me.
I think I'm going to go cry now.

**No pictures with this post. I just did a Google image search for tooth implants and nearly fell out of my chair in horror.