for your VINformation

Twenty-zen is turning into the year of the Dentist.

The tooth, which I believed, was the tooth causing me all the pain has been finally been fixed.  Even after the extraction and the other filling, I was still living with the pain which brought me to the dentist in the first place.

There was a cavity on the tooth next to the tooth which was pulled, Dr. Boris told me, “Za root is exposed. I can not fill za cavity until za gum line falls back into place.”

So, four weeks, three trips and $800.00 later, can it be? Have all the extra holes in my head have been filled or yanked?

Yes.

Is there pain?

No!

Tips from Dr. Boris (in a Russian accent):

• When it hurts it’s too late.
• Prevention is key – twice a year checks-up cost less than three visits in a row…
• An infection can go to your brain and kill you!

As the Novocain wore off after my final drilling and filling, I grabbed an icy cold iced tea and bravely took a gulp; a feeling of joy spread over my entire being. For the first time in months, months I say, I experienced no pain.

A Spoonful of hot soup? No pain.

A sip of coffee? No pain.

Imagine that, a life with no pain. Who knew it was possible?

Today, I had a cavity filled. Three shots of novicane later and I still felt the drilling. After the wisdom tooth extraction of a few weeks ago, when the pain meds ran out, I started feeling a lot of pain around the same area, in fact, it was the same pain I was feeling which forced me to make the initial appointment… anyway I digress, the dentist found a small but deep cavity on my lower right wisdom tooth, which he didn’t pull because it’s still a viable tooth and it’s too close to the nerve so I was taking care of something before it gave me pain, something new for me… but the issue, is the fact, the root of my rear molar is still exposed, the gum line hasn’t yet healed fully to re-cover the now exposed network of nerve endings and everyything I eat or drink causes me a great deal of sharp shooting pain.

Even breathing in the cold air through my mouth can force me to my knees in pain.

Apparently, the entire right side of my mouth is a rotting cesspool; a breeding ground of bacterial destruction.

Please understand, gentle reader, I always knew my heart was a dark, rotted void but now that’s it’s trying to escape through my mouth, I’ve grown concerned…

I’ve had a constant headache for three weeks.

I could hear and feel my heartbeat in my right ear.

If I coughed, I’d get dizzy.

Do I have a brain tumor?

No.

Hot coffee and cold water sent shooting pains into my brain, so I figured it must be a tooth issue.

I mentioned my issues, in passing, to a co-worker and she gave me the name of her dentist – Boris Temkin, D.D.S., located just around the corner from the desk on 48th St. The pain was so great, and the overdose of Advil was starting to not help, so I made an appointment for this morning.

Ring Ring

“Dentist.”

“Hi, my name is Vinnie Costa and I either have a brain tumor or a tooth issue and I really need it looked at sooner rather than later.”

“I can get you in Monday morning at 10:30, will that work?”

“May  I ask, how much it’ll cost, I don’t have any insurance.”

“Well, let’s have you come in first and take a look, if it’s anything but a brain tumor I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.”

At the appointed time, I arrives, filled out the standard history and waited for Dr Boris. He couldn’t have been nicer, or calmer. I think he could tell I was quite worried and very nervous about the whole thing.

Blah blah blah – x-rays taken – blah blah blah – upper right wisdom tooth half rotted away – blah blah blah – major infection – could’ve entered brain if left on it’s own for another week or so – blah blah blah – it needs to come out – blah blah blah – Today.

But, but, I have lunch plans, I want to hit a weight watchers meeting and I’ve got Happy Hour at the Duplex to work… today it is.

“Relax, zis is ze only part zat’ll hurt” Dr. Boris said in his thick Russian accent as he injected the local. “Let’s give zis a minute to vork, I’ll be back.”

As the whole right side of my face started to relax, I realized, I had no idea how much this was going to cost – SHIT!

“I kno it to wait to ask, ba how mush bill dis cost me?”

“Don’t vorry, I vill take care of you.” he said with a pair of very shiny silver pliers in his hand slowly coming towards me.

In just a few minutes with my mouth hardly open, the tooth was removed and a wad of gauze was in it’s place.

“It bover.”

“Da. Sit a minute.” He tossed the bloody tooth on the tray in front of me and left the room.

After a few minutes of staring at the decayed mess of a tooth he came back into the room and said, “I’ve written you two prescriptions, one for antibiotics, take one pill three time a day for the next veek and vone for pain killer zat should get you through za next few days. Ven the Novocaine vears off you vill be in pain.”

“Can I have the tooth?”

“Da, I vill clean it up for you. Vile you pay za bill. I’m going to charge you $250.00 for everyzing ve did today.”

It’s not very often I’m left speechless, but $250.00 for x-ray and an extraction? Wow, a bargain at twice the price!

I’m going back in two weeks, after the infection has cleared up to get a small cavity filled and get a good cleaning, I may not have health insurance or all my teeth, but at the very least, I have a great dentist!

After 10 days of mucus build-up, body aches and peeing every ten minutes from forced fluid intake I’m finally feeling better. I know that all my dear readers were so worried that I was dying from Hippo Flu – which doesn’t actually exist, but I’ve made a few people believe it does.

I haven’t worked in over a week and when one is not salaried, to lose a whole week can practically destroy one who has no savings – I seem to be having one good month and one bad month on average this this year, example: September sucked because of all the holidays which fell on Friday nights, October I went overboard and worked 25 shifts out of 31 day, this month – sick, next month, I’m going to start bartending Monday Happy hours at the Duplex so all will be well.

When you hit your 40’s… mid-30’s you start to wonder if all the scrafice is worth it, and the only answer I find when I really think about it, is yes.

Yes, it is worth it.

Sickness and struggle and financial woes, it all leads to the next big thing.

I have it.

Body aches, stuffy/runny nose, cough; the whole nine yards.

It sucks!

According to my doctor, I should not be around other people until, at least, Monday…

I never would’ve thought I’d actually miss working!

Vinnie is suffering from the worst head cold in history – his regularly scheduled blog will continue shortly.

But, at least, I don’t look like this…

-

I don’t get to go away very often, and even though it’s just a short trip to Western NY, I wanted the trip to off flawlessly – but of course, my life is anything but flawless. For the first time in a long time, I’m skinnier – I look good and feel good – I’m busy with work – both survival and creative – and at this very moment, my left eye is swollen and full of puss! Literally, the night before I leave for Buffalo, the night before I see friends I have haven’t seen in years and looking my best is my main priority,  I lay my head on my pillow and suddenly, feels as if I’ve been punched in the face. A reminder, from WebMD:

A chalazion tends to grow more slowly and deeper into the eyelid than a stye, usually does not cause pain, and may last for several months. A chalazion may form a firm lump under the skin of the eyelid, especially when the pore of the oil gland is blocked and material builds up inside the gland. The inflammation and swelling may spread beyond the eyelid to the area immediately around the eye such as the eyebrow. It may grow large enough to interfere with vision.

This is the third time in the past two years I’ve had to deal with this, and while, it’s not painful, it’s ugly, annoying and there’s nothing I can do to prevent it from happening.

On Thursday, I woke up, my ankle a little stiff – when I got dressed and ready for a day at the Desk, I thought nothing of it – by the time my shift was over at 2:30, I thought I was going to die!

I had planned on visiting the 46th Street Salvie’s to look for a few “work-shirts” as almost all my button-downs make me look like Bea Arthur getting ready for a night on the town with the rest of the Golden Girls, and by the time I reached the store, just three block away from where I started my ankle had swelled to twice it’s normal size.

Now, gentle reader, you need to know this is not the same ankle I hurt last year, when I tripped in a pothole and almost got hit by a cab, no, this the is other ankle!

I did nothing to cause this injury except go to sleep.

I went to bed healthy, and woke up an invalid!

Of course, in my mind, I’m thinking; Ok Vinnie, things are moving again, you just came off a great show that garnered you great reviews so I guess God or the Devil wants me to remember, I am after all only human…

I can’t believe it, the pain is as great as the other ankle was in last year, which leads me to believe that mayhaps whatever is happening to me now was actually the same thing that happened to me last year and that it may actually be more serious than I’d imagined – I know I’m not strong enough to deal with this for the next three months – which is as long as I was down last year – I lost a shit-load of money and gained 15 pounds!

And as it was then, I still don’t have health insurance, the only go-to-the-doctor-like thing I’m able to do is make an appointment at the Al Hershfield Clinic, but they don’t have x-ray machines and really, what can they do for me if they can’t find out what’s wrong with me on the  inside?

I’ve still got the air-cast, Brandy lent me, and I’ve used it for the past few days to give it the support it needs and to make the work day – or night – bearable, barely.

Sleep is almost impossible; last night I was lucky to get about four hours – which is certainly not enough – my alarm was buzz-buzz-buzzing for a good 15 minutes this morning before I could garner the where-with-all to throw my arm over and shut it off – but I made it to work  on-time, not so bright-eyed or bushy-tailed, but I’m here and that has to count for something.

I have a busy week ahead, a hosting audition, getting my taxes done, WW, work…and now I have to add more time to my commute, as with last time, hobbling around NYC is a horriable existence, the city moves too fast and dosen’t make way for the weak and injured.

I’m hoping, that by putting the grapefruit I call my right ankle into the aircast immeditaly, and keeping it on as much as possible, even around the house, I won’t need to deal with a doctor, but I have a feeling I may not have a choice – last year I thought I’d never tap dance again, this time, I’m thinking of just cutting it off now with a hack-saw and a blow torch to cordirize the wound, anyone wanna help?

Ok, I feel much better, I wasn’t an idiot well, technically I was, but it’s besides the point.

The Joey kisses were not the cause, apparently, I’m prone…

I’m on the Bactrim again, not happy about it, I just experienced my first – of many, I’m sure, two-hour-long, body-shivering, teeth-shattering; chill-from-hell! Which the doctor assured me, was NOT a side-effect, it might’ve been a side-effect of the Mono, but I don’t have Mono now! So now what’s the excuse?

I’m expecting a two-hour, insides-frying, hot-flash and time now.

What the fuck?

I woke-up this morning at 6am, as I do every Saturday morning, to shit, shower and shave, for my day selling tickets at the Marriott Marquis and celebrating my Brother-in-Law’s birthday in Westchester, when I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, I yelped – actually yelped – in pain.

Readers of my blog may remember this health issues from last June.

Well, guess what?

I have another chalazion, this time in my right eye!

At least I can track the cause – Joey, my retarded cat.

I remember distinctly, Joey licking the palm of my hand – I had just eaten a sandwich, so I have to assume he was getting the residual flavors ’cause he was going to town – a few moments later, I rubbed my face.

Idiot!

Two days later I wake-up looking like a monster.

My doctor is unavailable – even to call and make an appointment – until Monday AM. I have to work on Monday, 2-8 and I have a big audition – my first of ‘09, for something I could actually book – on Tuesday AM – luckily it’s not nearly as big yet as last time, so the frame of my glasses will camouflage it – who said my camo glasses wouldn’t come in handy?

I suffered horrible side-effects from the medication I took the last time, not looking forward to that, but the intensity of the side-effects could’ve had something to do with me having mono at the same time, so maybe this time it won’t be so bad.

ugh!

…it’s never ending isn’t it?

I’m walking to the Port Authority, minding my own business, still high from a good audition, when out of the blue the City itself decided to cause me physical pain.

I lost my footing at the edge of a pothole on 40th Street between Broadway & 8th, nearly falling face-first into oncoming traffic. I shook it off, gave the finger to the cab driver who almost took off my arm – for the record I had the light – and continued on my way.

I had a bus to catch and the black hole that is the Port Authority – which is air conditioned -  had a much more powerful gravitational pull than a little twisted ankle…

I get home, peel off my sweat-soaked clothes – the audition called for long pants and a long-sleeved button-down, not exactly the best outfit for 190º – and sat down for a moment to cool off – environmentalists be damned, my air conditioner runs 24/7.

After checking my email and a few rounds of Scrabulous, I headed to the bathroom for the second shower of the day and the pain emanating from my ankle literally knocked me over – now when I say literally, I mean literally, I was down for the count.

Crawling to the kitchen, I managed to get to the freezer and grab an ice pack before the pain overtook me and I found myself passed-out in the cat’s water bowl some time later – ok, that didn’t happen but you get the drift, can I sue the City?

Today it’s wrapped up and I’m walking slowly with a limp, the only cane I have is the black and white "Hey That’s My Cake!" show cane, and I thought people would  make fun of me, so instead I suffer through and NYers are now spitting on me as they pass, disgusted that I’m taking so long to get from point A to point B.

I think this’s happening because I made fun of my friend Rich at the Jankee game ’cause with his foot surgery he needed to use a wheel chair and the one they gave him was made for a 500 lb person and the two of us could’ve fit…

That or, because I’m finally feeling good, God had to make sure I know who’s in charge and he just wanted to stick it to me…

Anyway, a little dull ache and limping around NYC for a few days ain’t gonna stop me, nothing can!

Well, I’m feeling about 90%.

I’ve made it through three days without having to take a nap and two full nights sleep without be woken-up by night sweats.

Food doesn’t make me nauseous anymore – not necessarily a good thing for my 30 by 40 plan…but good for keep my strength up.

I’m not going to over-do it and suffer some sort of relapse but I feel confident I can venture out to the grocery store and the laundry-mat.

I think I might even be able to start monitoring again, now that I stay awake for more then three hours at a time.

Perhaps the second half of the year won’t suck as bad as the first…

With a burst of energy, I figured I should take advantage of it.

Mistake.

I cleaned the apartment – something I’d hadn’t done in weeks – and now I feel like I’m going to pass out!

I worked last night and I have to work tonight, but right now I’m having trouble seeing straight.

Time to lay down.

So after the waves of nausea pass after I forced myself to eat something – the first solid food in three days – I feel better.

I slept through the night for the first time in two weeks – I feel better.

The doctor has no idea how long I may’ve had the Mono, but after two weeks of total bed rest I am starting to feel better.

I’m not gonna over do anything, but I’m going to try to start living again.