I’m early, of course.
I’m always early. I’d be early to the gallows of my own volition. No, no, no, don’t bother with a meal. Let’s get right out there! We don’t want to keep the crowd waiting!
It’s 7:20 and I’m in the chair.
Ashley is bright and cheery as she asks a few questions for her clipboard, puts the chair into recliner position, and swabs my nose. Music plays gently. Without any waiting, in comes the tall and amiable Dr. Campbell, and as I shake his hand, I notice my hand is cold to his warm.
I am very nervous.
After a brief chat during which I explain my plan to leave Georgia next week to explore the West, pulling a little travel trailer, he looks at my nose and tells me he doesn’t think it will take much at all. His male assistant says some soothing words, squeezes my nose with a gauze pad, tells me I’ll feel a little sting, and sticks the needle in my nose. I can’t believe it! I don’t feel a thing. Honestly. Then he pricks my nose in several places to test the numbness and I only feel it once and just slightly, so he gives me another shot which I don’t feel. Wow. This guy is good. Dr. Campbell does his work which, again, I don’t feel.
They both leave, promising to be back in 30 minutes.
The door swings open and Dr. Campbell strides in, “It’s superficial. We got it all.”
Relief pours over me like warm milk.
“You got it ALL?” I soak in the words. “Thank God Almighty!”
I smile for the first time this morning. If it weren’t for the gauze and the tape, it would have been the biggest smile I’ve made in years. In fact, I profess my love to Dr. Campbell and he smiles, too.
“Does this mean you’ll take me away in your camper?”
Next I have to be sanded down with the electric sander. Not a sander, exactly, a buffer of sorts, to smooth the edges of the wound so it will heal well with as little scarring as possible. I ask what the wound looks like. “Is it the size of a dime or a quarter?”
You should see the other guy.
Dr. Campbell replies, “A dime. When you take the bandage off it will look like you skinned your nose on concrete.”
He tells Ashley to set up an appointment for next Thursday, and tells me I can cancel if I don’t see any need to come back. He says I should not hesitate to call him at home or the office if I have any concerns.
At exactly 8:19 I’m back in the PTV! It’s over!
Superficial. That word has always been a negative, as in . . . She’s so superficial . . . or . . . I hate Facebook because the conversations are superficial. Now I want to tell the world, “Hey! Look at me! Look at my nose! It’s SUPERFICIAL!”
rvsue
rvsue and her canine crew 