September 30, 2021
I always dread going to the dentist, never knowing if they will find more cavities. Also, I knew today would be the time for annual x-rays. Thankfully, the dental insurance pays 100% of the cost of x-rays. The x-ray technician was polite and professional.
The dental hygienist (or assistant) who did the cleaning was young and sweet, but I thought she did a half-ass job on the cleaning. She was wearing a surgical mask, a plastic face shield, and magnifying binoculars, so I really couldn’t see her face. She also had a head covering and gloves so the only skin I saw was her neck, which was brown skin. No one measured the numbers that indicated the health of the gums.
The last one to come in was the dentist herself. She spent 30 seconds looking into my mouth, poking around with a sharp instrument and then looking at my x-rays on the light screen.
“No new cavities!” she announced.
Then the hygienist took me and my paperwork out to the reception desk where the one Latina woman was working. She took my credit card and gave me an appointment card for April 2022. I had to ask her for a detailed printout but she seemed willing to provide it.
At Home
Emily still had not touched her breakfast (which was meat, cheese, and cottage cheese). I asked her if she was fasting today. I know she had had a hard night. I woke up to pee several times in the night, and every time I woke up, Emily was coughing and choking. I just don’t know what to do!
When I got home she was lying still on her pillow but with her head up, watching me move around the rooms as I gathered trash and recycling to take outside. I promised her we would go for a walk later.
Looking Ahead to October
While I was waiting in the dental office, I read a few pages (Kindle app on my phone) of the book, “Why the F**k Can’t I Change?” So that is inspiring me to spend October tracking my food intake again in MyFitnessPal.
Last night, when I tried to look up something in CalorieKing online, I discovered that they are no longer providing the food database. They are providing a “program,” much like MyFitnessPal, where you have to enter your name and email, then height, weight, and activity level, and they will give you a suggested menu, I guess. I really didn’t get that far into it. Next, I tried looking up food in the USDA.gov food database and found it to be even less helpful. It appears that MyFitnessPal is actually the best place to look up foods in a database!
I’m very depressed about Emily’s failure to eat. She even refused cheese from Linda at bedtime.
After I came home from the dentist, I decided I was not going to eat supper tonight. Then I decided I should make it a full weekend fast (60-72 hours). So that’s how we are beginning October.
