cadet blogs

Bye Bye Wisdom Teeth

(The Cadet Experience, Class of 2012) Permanent link All Posts

Hello Shipmates! I am writing this blog from a rack in the sick ward at the Coast Guard Academy Clinic.

A little background: approximately eight hours ago I had surgery to remove all four of my wisdom teeth. The military is extremely proactive about extracting wisdom teeth, and just about every cadet ends up having them yanked. I was told last month that I would likely not receive a commission if I did not have them removed. The thought of possibly graduating from this institution with nothing more than a bachelor’s degree made me sick to my stomach. I was not about to jeopardize my chance to become an officer in the world’s finest coast guard. So I scheduled the surgery.

The surgery itself went smoothly. I received a general anesthetic so it was just like taking a nap, and I love naps. So that was bueno. I was then transported to the Coast Guard Academy clinic for care. The local anesthesia wore off by the time I got back to school, so the pain started hitting me. They also had a problem stopping the bleeding, so I was going through gauze pads like a fiend. And in order to stop the bleeding I had to bite down on the gauze pad over the wound. This was fairly painful, and I’m not afraid to admit I cried a little…alright I cried a lot. But, then they brought me Percocet, and it made me feel all better :)

While in my room this afternoon, all they had for me to eat was a bowl of cottage cheese (I hate cottage cheese). In addition, the channel buttons on the television in my room are broken, and nobody knows where the remote control is, so I had to watch golf all day (I hate golf). Thankfully I have wonderful shipmates like fellow blogger, 2/c White, who brought me my laptop and some homework to pass the time.

I’m currently eating dinner; for dinner this evening the clinic was serving cottage cheese, apple sauce, and purple yogurt, with a side of red jell-o. It’s delicious, so I’m going to go…have a wonderful night.

Fun Fact: I don’t have any wisdom teeth.

More about Bo.

Posted by Leann Strickland at 2/2/2012 2:20 PM