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Another Round of Wisdom Teeth

When Ben had all four wisdom teeth out in November, he couldn't understand why we had to take his wisdom teeth out. They weren't bothering him, and he saw no point in going through surgery and all the hassle of recovery and soft foods and no straws. So, I did some research and found out that it's better to have them removed when you are young even if they aren't causing problems, because the roots of the wisdom teeth keep growing and can wrap around your jaw. Removing them later in life can result in breaking the jaw, or even facial paralysis. It is a much riskier and more invasive process.

Kerry had two wisdom teeth removed on Friday. He had the two on the right removed when he was nineteen and for no particular reason, the two on the left have always remained where they are. Because I had done all my research about having wisdom teeth removed when you are, ahem, over twenty-nine, I was very nervous about this procedure. Not only is it scary, Kerry would be awake for the entire thing, where Ben was completely unconscious and had no memory of it. We even got some funny video of Ben while he was still loopy. Kerry wouldn't let me come take any video of him, so I'll just put a video of a random person after having her wisdom teeth out here because it's pretty funny:


Anyway, Kerry not only didn't have the luxury of being unconscious, he was nice and alert while they used a hammer and chisel to get the teeth out. Yes, yes, it was probably some sort of medical hammer and medical chisel, but come on. Imagine someone using a hammer and chisel on your teeth. Kerry said he felt like he had a concussion when it was done. The roots of his teeth had indeed wrapped around his jaw. They looked quite a bit like tusks, they were so long and curved.

I took Kerry to the pharmacy afterward to pick up a bag of drugs and he told me, "The doctor said I have to take seven to ten days of convalescent leave. I laughed and told him I can't do that! I'm going out to the field for a week on Monday!"

However, after a day of massive pain killers which made him nearly comatose, he began to see why he probably wouldn't be able to function in the field while he was taking them.

So he stopped taking the pain medication, and switched to just Motrin. And he went out in the field for a week.

So, sleep safe tonight folks. The US Army will not collapse and fall into anarchy. Kerry is on the job.
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