We saw stars!

On December 29, I (Becky)  was serenely eating cereal with raisins. Suddenly, I saw stars explode as my  upper right molar began to throb. A quick trip was made to Dr. Praneel, our Lautoka dentist,  who confirmed a cracked molar. His x-ray machine was not operational, so I was sent to the Lautoka Hospital Dental Clinic for x-rays. I had to giggle that the dentist I was to see was upstairs at the pediatric ward. There I was, 54 years old, surrounded by Indian and Fijian children fearfully waiting their turn to see the dentist. My mouth hurt, so I couldn't even comfort the kids! This dentist graciously examined me and returned with the x-rays to announce that not only did I have a cracked upper molar, but an infection under the gum on the corresponding bottom molar. I went back to Dr. Praneel who referred me to another dentist for a root canal. On December 31, she inspected the x-rays and gravely informed me that no root canal was possible as there was also decay in the upper tooth. She prescribed double antibiotics for the for the lower gum infection. Before I lost my courage, Kent took me back to our dentist who proceeded to extract the molar. I saw stars all of New Year's Eve night...and not from the fireworks, either!

While the extraction was taking place, Kent was seeing stars for another reason. A pin sheared off in the Toyota Prado's engine, damaging the rods. The Prado has been at the mechanics for a week, awaiting parts and repair.

And the Winner Is...

Jeremy loves to play squash. For those of you who aren't familiar with the game, it is similar to handball or racquetball in that the game is played in an enclosed court. However, the equipment (racket and ball) are different.  He began playing in August 2008 in "D Grade" when he realized that all the other sports in Fiji are outdoors in the tropical sun. Uncle Doug's courageous battle with melanoma made an impression on our blue-eyed blond son who decided it was not worth the risk to continually expose his fair skin to the merciless Fiji sun.

Jeremy was quickly bumped up to the "C Grade" and won his first competition in May 2009. He was then promoted to "B Grade". He trained hard, sought advice, and kept challenging himself to play more experienced players, although he lost most of the matches.

December 2009, Jeremy played in the "B Grade" competition.

He won the semi-final and moved on to  play a nail-biting final,


And  Jeremy won!  Jeremy was promoted to the "A Grade" in his squash club. Well done, Jeremy!