Member-only story
My 23 Year Old Said Penis at Least 500 Times Yesterday
How my autistic son manages stress
Zach and I are at the dentist for his oral surgery. Usually I go back into the room with him, but that’s only for procedures when he’s awake. This time, he has to be put under since it’s an extraction and he doesn’t want to be awake for that. I don’t blame him. The last time I was awake for an extraction, I literally thought I was dying. Not because of the pain, but because of the anxiety. I’d had extractions before with just local anesthesia, but I guess as I’ve gotten older, things like that just don’t sit well with me.
I had been given a shot of lidocaine to numb my gums and then the dentist started wiggling the tooth. The cracking noise was so loud in my head and the pressure stressed me out. I remember having my heart race and it felt like it was going to come out of my chest. The sensation physically hurt and I started to see black and white and felt like I was fading out. I wondered if that’s what it felt like to have a heart attack and die. I was cognizant enough to tap my hand on my chest to tell the dentist to stop and felt like I needed to force myself to wake up and regain consciousness.
The dentist decided that I was in no condition to have a tooth extracted while I was still awake. I left there with a tooth half extracted and I…