Like most people, going to the dentist is not one of my favorite activities. Today was no exception!

I had no cavities until I was 18 years old, then some neglect on my part brought me a filling in a molar at the right upper side of my mouth. In the last three years this filling has been replaced twice, and during a routine teeth cleaning two weeks ago my dentist here in Mobile told me that the tooth could no longer be saved. I was having trouble with the nerve, too. So today was the day for an extraction. It only took about 40 minutes to get the tooth out. Monica had accompanied me to the dentist so I would not have to drive home. Once the procedure was over, I got instructions on how to care for the wound, and then I sat down in our car for the short trip home. Then I was gone – I passed out. I dreamed I was eating a hamburger (Monica said I was chewing on the gauze in my mouth). I came to and passed out again and that is when she went back into the dentist’s office to get some help. They measured my blood pressure and it was 75 over 40 (normally it is around 115 to 70 or so). They wanted to get an ambulance, but I told them to get me a Coke since "Coke adds life". After a few minutes my blood pressure stabilized and we drove home where I took it easy the rest of the day. I don’t know what caused the problem, but the same thing happened after I completed the Bonn marathon in 2007.