In late Sept. my adventure with a local dentist went into full swing.....My first visit was to have a tooth extracted and to set appoinments for future dental work.....(this is a way of saying, "I need every tooth in my mouth pulled, yanked, removed on a permanent basis.....)

After many x-rays the dentist told me that I had floating bones in both sides of my lower jaw that had to be removed before my dentures would fit properly......

They referred me to an oral surgeon.....

ADVENTURES WITH MEDI-CAL AND MEDICARE.....

As most of you know, there are glitches in any system.....with both medi-cal and medicare it seemed I was in a "Catch 22"  situation

Debbie called the referal oral sugeon only to be told, "that if I have both medi-cal and medicare that their policy is to first bill medicare we which refused service and therefore you have entered the "Catch 22" situation.....

After calls to the few oral sugeons locally and we  got the same situation.....we only had two other alrenatives and that was UCLA Medical center or an oral surgeon in Fresno.....both costly trips.....

We gave this a lot of thought over the next three weeks and decided on Fresno.....

The following week my dentist called and wanted to know what the hold up was and I explained the situation and he said he never heard of such a policy and referred me to another local oral surgeon.....This was on a wednesday.....

Debbie called and was informed that "yes" they do take medi-cal - even with medicare....."yes".....they also never heard of such a policy.....they set an appointment for the next day for complete oral surgery.....

At 1:00 pm the next day, they put me in a chair, strapped me in and inserted a needle in my arm.....I asked the dentist if that was the drug used to put me to sleep.....he said "yep".....I turned my head and the next thing I knew, I woke up at 4:30 in the afternoon, on my couch at home.....I don't remember a thing after the dentist said "yep".....

REST AND RECOVERY

I reclined on the couch for three days recovering.....I took 750 mg vycodin like they were ju-ju b's.....There were enough stitches in my mouth to knit a small sweater.....

The following week they removed the stitches and sent me home to heal.....

A new time in your life is about to begin.....you no longer have no, none, any teeth to chew with.....all those delicious foods.....steak, lobster and your favorite super duper, triple pattyed double bacon cheese burger are no longer within your grasp.....

You start eating soft foods.....beans, pancakes, fench toast, lots of different hot cereals, scrambled eggs.....It takes about 8 weeks to heal.....hey folks, it's a great way to diet.....after the first 3 weeks you start to notice a change in your belt size.....but don't dwell on the weight loss.....you could probably use it.....

Another four weeks of appointments of imressions, fittings, more impressions you walk out of the dentist office with a brand new set of teeth.....

It felt great leaving the dentist office with a brand new smile.....this was at 9:00 am - at 5:30 that afternoon I was on the couch with a temp of 101.....with all the symptoms that go with a good case of the stomach flu.....

"MURPHYS LAW DOES EXIST....."

WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ WILL RUN CHILLS UP AND DOWN YOUR SPINE.....

CHINA'S CAT LOVERS PROTEST BUTCHERING.....Animals rounded up and shipped for food.....

GUANGZHOU, China.....While animal lovers in Beijing protested the killing of cats for food, a butcher in Guangdong province - where felines are the main ingredient in a favorite soup - just shrugged her shoulders and wielded her cleaver.....

It was just this attitude that outraged cat lovers who unfurled banners in protest outside the Guangdong government office in Beijing.....it was stated that strays were being rounded up by dealers.....

A Guangdong newspaper, famous for its exposes and aggressive reporting, ran a story that said about 1,000 cats were transported by train each day to Guangdong.....

Animal protection groups have occasionally ambushed truck convoys loaded with bamboo cages filled with cats bound for Guangdong.....In one recent case, hundreds of cats escaped after their cages were opened, though hundreds more remained penned in the vehicle.....

China has no animal protection laws, and throughout the country scores of cats and dogs are bred or rounded up, crammed onto trucks and driven for days under hellish conditions to animal markets, where they are beaten to death, strangled or boiled alive.....

Guangdong is home to the Cantonese people, famous for being the most adventurous eaters in China.....

LETS MOVE ON TO HAPPIER NEWS.....

How about some pet resolutions.....

I vow to be on my best behavior on all trips I take with my human. I will be obedient whether it is a trip to the market, to gramdmas house, the pet store, or even a weekend getaway!!!!!

CAT NEW YEARS RESOLUTION.....

1. I will not mark my territory in my humans house by urinating in every possible place.....

2. I will not use my humans couch as a scratching post no matter how bored I get.....

3. When my human is typing at the computer, her forearms are not a hammock.....

4. I will not scratch or run when my human is doing their duty of clipping my claws.....

DOG NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS.....

1. I will no longer linger at the dining table in an act to receive table scraps from my humans plate....Nor will I lick my owner plate clean

2. I will no longer have a fit every time it is time to have my teeth brushed.....My human is only looking out for my hygiene and the well being of my future.....

3. I will no longer hunt the kitchen cabinets in a desperate attempt to sneak some snacks.....I will obdiently and patiently wait for my human to supply me with a tasteful healthy treat.....

4. I vow to be more active and engage in all pet exercises, activities, and walks to my best ability.....

 I've been long winded enough tonight.....I have a lot more pet news for the next blog entry.....so, ya' all come back now, ya' hear.....

YA' ALL HAVE A GREAT REST OF THE DAY.....AND A BETTER TOMORROW.....TTFN.....REID AND DEBBIE