One Last Chance to Shine?

"It's too bad she won't live. But then again, who does?" - quote from the film Blade Runner.

In August, two bad things happened. One is that a tree fell at our house, taking out power and phone and everything else, and creating quite a mess in the yard. A second is that I broke a tooth while eating a hoagie. Not just cracked it, but broke it in half right down the middle.

The tree - with the help of a neighbor, we had the one side of the yard cleared within about a week. The following week, we finished the remainder. But a sad thing was that the tree that fell took several other trees with it, and in one case, just half of a tree, the remainder of which still stands. I was especially sad because this tree is one whose beautiful foliage we have long admired from our front window every fall.

I consulted a tree expert at Penn State and provided a photo of the tree damage, and asked what, if anything, we could do to save our tree. That person told me that it was very likely that the remaining half of the tree would die as well. But she said that if there was nothing in its path to harm if the tree should fall, we might as well leave it and see what happens next. So we did just that.

The tooth was not so easy to remedy as the tree. I visited my dentist two days after the break, and he informed me the tooth was completely broken in half, and could not be fixed. We were both very disappointed at this news. My dentist recommended removal of the tooth, and an implant.

Even more disappointing was what I learned as I attempted to schedule an appointment with an oral surgeon who was within the Penn State (Concordia) dental network: the earliest appointment could not be obtained until late November! Can you even imagine!?

So I set an appointment for late November, then found a second provider who promised to do it two weeks earlier. The initial appointment would just be an exam; no actual work would be done until later. But then the tooth got infected, I ended up on antibiotics for a week, and the oral surgeon's office said they could get me in earlier: on this day, October 8th.

The first appointment, as it turns out, would involve an exam and then the removal of the tooth. For a tooth implant, there would be additional steps later: bone density scanning, the actual implant, a crown. Picture the look on my face, as I realized it would be well into the new year before I could eat normally again. No, not a pretty sight.

Anyway, on this day, I finally had my first appointment, and they decided to knock me out for the procedure. I wasn't allowed any food or water after midnight and I had to have a driver with me, just in case.

So we did the procedure - they removed the broken tooth - and then I wobbled around WalMart badly enough that my husband parked my body on a bench up front and ran our errands himself, which included picking up pain pills, MORE antibiotics, and a special prescription mouthwash, all for me.

I wasn't capable of much, but I wasn't (and still am not) really in any pain. So I spent the afternoon sitting in a lawn chair, taking it easy, contemplating the changing foliage in our yard, sipping some water, and reading a book.

I needed a photo for my day, and when I looked up to the sky, I saw the leaves from the broken tree above me. Yes, even in its injured state, it is going to give us a lovely foliage show this fall. If it dies, this may be its last hurrah: its final colorful autumn dance. So I took this picture, just in case.

Will it live? Who knows? None of us will live forever. But look at this tree, or what remains of it: so colorful, in all its autumn glory. I am not the Maker of Trees, so I have no control, only a vested interest. But no matter what happens next, at least it is getting one last chance to shine.

The soundtrack song is Waylon Jennings, with Didn't We Shine.

Didn't we shine
Didn't we shine
Didn't we share and care
And lay our hearts on the line
Maybe it wasn't meant to last
Till the end of time
Oh, but while it did
Didn't we shine