Toothache

Pernah sakit?

Have you ever been sick? 

Kagak enak ya?

It sucks, right?

Ya iyalah, mana ada sakit yang enak? Ga ada kan. Jadi karena itu juga tidak akan ada seorang pun yang mau sakit.

Of course, or else, do you know any enjoyable illness? Nobody, right?. So that is why no one wants to get sick.

Tapi mana ada seorang pun di dunia ini yang tidak pernah sakit? Segagah, sekuat dan seteliti apa pun dia menjaga badannya tetap tidak akan menjamin dia tidak akan pernah sakit seumur hidupnya.

But who in this world has never got sick? No matter how strong, tough and thorough a person takes care his/her body it still not a guarantee that person won't ever get sick in his/her entire life.

Oya, definisi saya tentang sakit tidak selalu harus sakit karena serangan virus ya..

Oh by the way, my definition of being sick is not always the ones caused by virus attack..

Jadi mari saya ceritakan tentang sakit-sakit ini.

So let me tell you about these sicknesses.

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Pernah sakit gigi?

Have you ever had toothache?

Yang sudah pernah pasti tahu gimana rasanya.

Those who have had it knew it felt.

Yang belum pernah pasti tidak akan bisa membayangkan bagaimana rasanya dan karenanya mungkin menganggap sakit gigi itu cuma kayak orang kejedot meja.. ga serius, ga sakit, diusap-usap dikit langsung hilang sakitnya dan satu-dua jam kemudian sudah baik lagi.

Those who never experienced it can't imagine how it feels and so probably think toothache is like bumping into a desk.. nothing serious, no pain, a little caressed would get rid the pain and one-two hours later it would be well again.

Buat yang belon pernah sakit gigi dan punya pemikiran kayak gitu.. saya berharap semoga suatu hari nanti bisa mengalami sendiri supaya kalau dia ketemu sama orang yang lagi sakit gigi dia bisa berempati dengan sepenuh hati.

For those who never had toothache and have that kind of thinking.. I wish one day they would experience it themselves so when they meet anyone is having toothache they could sincerely have empathy.

Bukannya nyumpahin tapi sifat dasar manusia adalah kalau dia sendiri belum mengalami sesuatu, dia tidak akan bisa memahami apa yang dirasakan oleh orang lain.

I am not put a curse on anyone but it is human basic nature which makes him/her unable to understand what others feel if he/she has not personally gone through it.

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Perkenalan saya dengan sakit gigi terjadi di usia saya yang sudah lewat 40 tahun.

I was introduced to toothache when I was over 40.

Maklum, saya ini late boomer. 

Well, what can I say, I am a late boomer. 

Tunggu! Apa sih late boomer itu?

Wait! What is late boomer?

Oh, gini.. late boomer itu adalah orang yang bawaannya serba ketinggalan aja dari orang lain. 

Oh, let's see.. late boomer is a person who is so far behind compare to other people. 

Ya seperti saya ini; yang lain sudah nikah dan punya anak bererot, saya masih asyik pacaran dan belon punya anak. Orang-orang lain sudah punya jabatan setinggi langit, saya masih dipandang sebagai keset. Yang lain sudah pada ompong, saya baru ngerasain sakit gigi untuk pertama kalinya.. hehe..

Just like myself; others have married and have many kids, I remain happy in my out of wedlock relationship and childless. Other people have had rising star career, I am still seen as doormat. Others have already toothless, I just had my toothache for the first time.. haha..

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Setelah dengan pedenya mengklaim diri tidak pernah sakit gigi.. yak, akhirnya dua tahun lalu saya merasakan juga yang namanya sakit gigi.

After over confidently claimed myself as never had toothache.. there, two years ago I finally got the chance to feel it.

Jadi, selama 44 tahun ga pernah sakit gigi itu bukan karena nasib baik atau karena rajin kontrol ke dokter gigi.

So, never had toothache for 44 years wasn't because of good luck or regularly controlled to the dentist.

Selama 44 tahun saya duduk di atas bom waktu.

I have been sitting on time bomb for 44 years.

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"Apa sih obat buat gigi cenut-cenut?" seorang teman bertanya.

"What should I take for toothache?" a friend asked.

"Giginya bolong ya? Cuma satu obatnya; ke dokter gigi dan minta ditambal"

"Cavity? Only one cure; go to the dentist and ask for tooth filling"

Banyak orang malas pergi ke dokter gigi untuk cek berkala dan untuk berobat karena seringnya sih harus datang berkali-kali. 

A lot of people don't feel like going to the dentist to have annual check up and to get treatment because it requires them to come many times.

Ongkosnya ikut jadi mahal dong.

Making it cost quite a bit. 

Ya, resiko kalau mau sembuh.

Well, that's the risk one must take to get healed.

Dua tahun lalu saya mau tidak mau harus menempuh proses ini karena sebagian besar gigi saya yang bagian bawah berlubang. Pagi hari di hari libur saya, yang jatuhnya pada hari Selasa, saya pergi ke dokter gigi.

Two years ago I had no choice than to take this process because most of my lower teeth had cavities. So on Tuesday morning, my day off, I went to the dentist.

Soal biaya? Kalau punya asuransi sih enak karena biaya pasti ditanggung sama asuransi.

How about the cost? Would be nice to have insurance because it will be covered by insurance.

Kalau tidak punya asuransi? Ya, siapkan dana ekstra karena urusan berobat itu tidak ada yang murah.

Don't have insurance? Well, better prepare extra budget because nothing is cheap when it comes to medication.

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Selama dua tahun terakhir ini saya merasa aman karena semua lubang di gigi sudah ditambal dan setahun dua kali saya cek.  

I have felt relaxed in the past two years because all the cavities have been filled and twice a year I have my annual check up.

Tapi yang namanya musibah bisa terjadi kapan saja.

However, a strike of unluck may happen at anytime.

Lagi enak-enak makan.. krek! Waduh, apa tuh? Gigi gue patah ya?

I was enjoying dinner when.. I heard a cracking sound in my mouth. Heck, what was that? Did I break my tooth?

Bener, tambalan gigi kanan yang bawah copot. Halah, kok bisa sih?

Oh yeah, the filling on the right lower tooth was dislodged. How could it happen?

Mungkin tambalan itu kurang bagus. Jadi waktu saya mengunyah makanan yang keras, copotlah tambalan itu.

Maybe it was not a good filling. So when I chewed solid food, it was dislodged. 

Akibatnya semalaman ada kawah menganga di sana dan biar pun sudah gosok gigi tapi tetap saja rasanya ngilu sampai saya susah tidur.

It made an open crater in there and though I had brushed my teeth but it still gave me quite a pain that I hardly slept that night.

Tidak ada pilihan lain. Besok paginya harus ke dokter gigi. Tidak boleh ditunda.

There was no other choice. Had to go to the dentist in the morning. Couldn't postpone it.

Tapi besok bukan hari libur saya.

But the next day wasn't my day off.

Ah, minta ijinlah sebentar ke dokter gigi dulu. Kan ga bakal seharian. Paling lama juga dua jam.

Ah, just asked permission to go to the dentist. It wouldn't take a whole day. It would take two hours at max.

Kelihatannya sederhana ya?

It looked simple, right?

Salah.

Wrong.

Itu adalah awal dari sakit hati yang panjang untuk orang-orang tertentu.

It was the beginning of a long heartache for certain people.

Kenapa? Apa yang terjadi? Kenapa jadi sakit hati?

Why? What happened? Why it caused me a heartache?

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Gigi yang sama ternyata kemudian bikin perkara lagi.

The same tooth later made another story.

Beberapa bulan kemudian gusi di bawah si gigi itu bengkak.

Few months later the gums below that tooth was swollen.

Saya tidak mengira itu ada hubungannya dengan gigi.

I didn't expect it to have connection with that tooth.

Saya kira cuma lecet atau karena sariawan.

I thought it was sort of a blister or thrush.

Dia bengkak, bernanah dan tidak mau kempes biar pun kelihatannya sudah kempes setelah saya pencet dan keluarkan isinya.

It swelled, suppurated and wouldn't get better though it looked it had deflatted after I cleaned it.

Lama-lama takut juga saya. Kalau jadi infeksi gimana yo? Bisa jadi panjang ceritanya.

It frightened me eventually. How if it would get infected? It would make a long story.

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Papa dan Andre sama-sama bersikukuh minta supaya saya ganti dokter gigi.

Papa and Andre both insisted me to go to a different dentist.

Karena papa belum lama sukses menjalani operasi katarak di RS Melania maka kami beranggapan dokter gigi di sana pasti juga jauh lebih baik dari dokter gigi yang dua tahun ini menangani gigi saya.

Since papa just had a successful cataract surgery in Melania hospital we then assumed they must have better dentist than the one who had been handling my teeth in the past two years.

Dan mulailah proses perjuangan mengejar kesembuhan.

And it was the beginning of a struggle to get healed.

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Perjuangan pertama; Puskesmas

First struggle; Puskesmas (community health clinic)

Ngantreeeeeee....

Long lineee..

Stok orang sakit itu kagak pernah sepi dari mulai bayi sampe orang tua.

Never running out of ill people from babies to old people.

Urusan ngantri sudah bisa bikin pegel hati.. nah, apalagi kalau lagi sakit dan sakit gigi pula. Elu tahu dong gimana rasanya sakit gigi? Oh? Belon pernah sakit gigi? Sukur. Berdoalah mudah-mudahan kagak bakal pernah sakit gigi seumur hidup lo tapi kalau pengen tahu gimana rasanya? Aih, kayak pengen ngegaplokin orang.. hehe.. sumpah, bener, suer tekewer-kewer deh rasanya..

The long line could drive one's crazy.. let alone if you were ill and it happened to be toothache. You knew how it is like to have toothache, right? Oh? Never had it before? Good for you. Pray you never have it for the rest of your life but if you wonder how it feels. Man, it feels like kicking ones in the ball.. haha.. I swear it feels like that.. 

Sudah begitu masih ditambahin sama kesel ngelihat dokternya ada tapi kok pasiennya kagak dipanggil-panggil. Waktu ditanya jawabnya berkasnya belum ada. Palelo belum ada. Buset.. bener-bener ngajak berantem!

It was added by the fury for seeing the dentist was in but none of the patients were called. The patients files weren't in when I asked. Wtf. Man.. they really asked for a scene indeed!

Dokter gigi, asistennya dan entah siapa lagi sedang asyik ngerumpi di dalam situ sementara di luar pasiennya lagi menahan derita karena penyakitnya.

The dentist, her assistant and God knows who else in there were chatting in there while out there the patients were waiting in pain.

Kok ya mereka kagak ada hati nuraninya apa? Atau apa kagak pernah kepikiran sama mereka kemungkinan yang nongkrong di ruang tunggu itu bukan pasien beneran tapi wartawan atau petugas pengawas dari departemen kesehatan yang diam-diam mau mengevaluasi kinerja mereka. 

Don't they have any consciousness? Or has it never crossed their minds that one of the people sitting in the waiting room would be a journalist or a supervisor from health department who acted like a patient but was there to evaluate their work performance.

Kalau pun bukan wartawan atau petugas pengawas, bisa aja orang awam tapi ternyata seorang blogger kayak saya yang bisa menulis artikel tentang pelayanan menyebalkan di puskesmas itu. Hare gene cuy, satu postingan kecil di medsos seperti Facebook pun bisa jadi berita besar dan bisa nyebar kemana-mana.

Although it were not journalist or supervisor, it could be just an ordinary person who happens to be a blogger like me who can write article about the awful service in that public health clinic. In this present time man, one tiny post in social media such as Facebook can be made into big news and can spread anywhere.

Dan kalau mau tahu cara kerja si dokter and asistennya; lamban, tidak profesional dan jorok. Masa iya peralatannya habis dipakai di mulut saya kagak diganti. Untung saya pasien pertama. Apes aja yang jadi pasien terakhir.

Image: www.amazon.com

And if you wanna know about their work performance; it was slow, unprofessional and unhygienic. The dental tool kit was not changed after it was used to examine my tooth. Glad I was the first patient. Bad luck for the last patient.

Dokternya tidak mau periksa pasien. Dia tetap duduk di atas kursi singasananya. Yang meriksa entah asisten, entah siapa itu perempuan segede gaban yang tidak ramah yang main memasukkan alat seperti gambar di atas itu ke dalam mulut saya dengan gerakan yang tidak ada lembutnya. Dokter gigi saya yang lama saja sebelumnya pasti bilang permisi dan memasukkan alat itu dengan hati-hati, tidak dengan gerakan menyentak. 

The dentist didn't do the examination by herself. She remained in her throne. The one who did the examination was.. I don't know if it was her assistant or not but that unfriendly giant woman just stuck the tool (see above picture) into my mouth ungently. Even my former dentist would say something before she put it into my mouth and she moved it carefully, not jerking it.

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Perjuangan kedua; RS Melania

Second struggle; Melania Hospital

Ngantri lagi..

Another queque..

Antrian di RS Melania itu ada dua lapis. Yang pertama di lobby. Lalu di klinik dokternya.

There are two layers of queques in Melania hospital. The first one is in the lobby. Another queque is in the doctor's clinic.

Ditambah rasa dag-dig-dug karena tidak tahu dokter gigi yang ini nantinya kayak gimana gayanya.

Added with feeling nerveous for not knowing what this dentist would be like.

Maklum, tidak sampai satu jam sebelumnya saya baru aja mengalami kesebalan dengan dokter gigi di puskesmas dan rekan kerja saya yang juga pernah berobat ke dokter ini memberikan rekomendasi yang kurang ok.

Well, just less than an hour ago I had upsetting experience with the dentist in community health clinic and my colleague gave a not so ok recommendation about this dentist.

Eh ternyata dokternya asyik. Yang saya suka adalah dia teliti, segalanya tidak tergantung dari pilihan dia atau saya tapi melihat bagaimana kondisi si gigi yang sakit.

It turned out the dentist is awesome. What I like about her is she is thorough, things were not depend on her or my choice but upon the ill teeth.

Karena ketelitiannya itu juga saya mengalami untuk pertama kalinya gigi di rontgen.

I sat on that bench and what looks like hairdryer is the xray tool. 

Her thoroughness has made me had for the first time of having teeth xray.

Pengalaman yang unik tapi juga agak menyiksa.

It was a unique experience, torturing as well.

Ketelitiannya membuat gigi saya harus dua kali di rontgen.

It was her thoroughness that made my teeth had to be xrayed twice.

Hal lain yang saya sukai dari dokter gigi ini adalah kejujurannya.

Another thing I like about this dentist is her honesty.

Sewaktu saya menanyakan soal pasang behel, dia dengan gamblang mengatakan kalau pekerjaan saya tidak mengharuskan saya bertemu dengan banyak orang maka saya tidak perlu pasang behel dan dia juga menjelaskan dampak negatif behel pada gigi untuk orang yang usianya seperti saya ini. Gigi bisa goyang. Wah, gawat.

When I asked her about putting on tooth bracelet, she frankly said if my occupation doesn't require me to meet lots of people than I don't need it and she also explained the negative side effect to have it in my age. It can make the tooth loosen. Oh boy, not something I want to endure.

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Perjuangan ketiga; Mondar-mandir ke dokter gigi

Third struggle; Went back and forth to the dentist

Siapa kira kalau gusi bengkak yang kayak jerawat bernanah itu ternyata disebabkan karena tambalan gigi di atas gusi itu ada yang retak.

It turned out the swollen gum which looked like suppurated acne was caused by a crack on the tooth filling above that gum.

Retaknya kecil.

It was a tiny crack.

Jangankan saya yang orang awam, lha, dokter gigi saya yang dulu saja tidak tahu. 

Even my former dentist didn't know it so how a commoner like me would know it.

Jadi tambalan itu harus dibongkar dan dipasang yang baru.

So the previous filling had to be replaced with a new one.

Seandainya saja prosesnya segampang mengayunkan tongkat ajaib dan semua langsung jadi dalam sekejap..

Wished the proccess would go as easy as swinging the magic wand and everything were done in a blink of an eye.

Gigi di atas gusi yang lagi bengkak kagak boleh dikutak-katik. Minum obat dulu buat sembuhin itu gusi.

The tooth above that swollen gum shouldn't be given any treatment. Had to take medicine to cure the gum.

Tambalan yang retak diganti tapi belum bisa dengan tambalan permanen.

The cracked filling was replaced but not with the permanent.

Ada lima kali saya harus datang sebelum akhirnya urusan gusi dan gigi ini beres.

I had to return to the dentist five times before finally these gum and tooth were fixed.

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Perjuangan keempat; Penyingkapan

Fourth struggle; Disclosure

"Tidak usah kasih tahu orang kantor" kata papa tegas waktu tahu saya harus mondar-mandir ke dokter gigi buat pasang tambalan baru dari yang sementara sampai akhirnya yang permanen.

"Keep this off from the people at work" said papa firmly when he found out I had to go back and forth to the dentist to get new filling from temporary ones to the permanent.

Kami berdua masih ingat betul bagaimana reaksi orang-orang tertentu sekian bulan lalu ketika tambalan gigi saya copot ketika saya menggigit sesuatu yang keras saat sedang makan malam.

We both still clearly remember how certain people reacted months ago when my tooth filling dislodged when I bite something hard as I was having dinner.

Pada waktu itu dengan naifnya saya masih main jujur-jujuran kasih tahu saya harus ke dokter gigi karena tambalan copot. Ijin kagak seharian. Cuma dua atau tiga jam ninggalin kantor.

At that time I naively played the game honestly by giving information that I had to go to the dentist because of the dislodged filling. Not to have one day off. It was just to leave the office for about two or three hours.

Responnya bikin saya heran, kesal, marah, kecewa dan akhirnya sakit hati.

The respond puzzled, upset, angered, disappointed and eventually made me had heartache.

Coba bayangkanlah; gigi saya lagi cenat cenot, semalaman saya susah tidur, pagi itu mata saya sepat karena kurang tidur dan yang ada dalam pikiran saya adalah mencari jalan keluar supaya secepatnya gigi ini bisa diperbaiki supaya saya tidak perlu berlama-lama menderita dan tentunya supaya juga jangan kerjaan saya jadi terganggu.

Picture this; my tooth was in pain, I couldn't sleep well the whole night, I was sleepy that morning for having lack of sleep and all I had in mind was to find solution for this tooth to get cured to get me out of misery and of course so not to make me unable to work well.

Eh, yang saya dapatkan adalah kata mutiara tentang bagaimana seorang karyawan yang baik dan pertanyaan kenapa kok saya akhir-akhir ini jadi sering absen karena sakit.

Well, what I've got was words about what a good employee would be and why I've gotten frequently ill lately.

Ebuset, emangnya gue pengen jadi sakit? Emangnya gue sengaja sakit? Emangnya selama ini gue karyawan yang kagak baik ya? Enam tahun, cuy. Ok deh, gak semua orang tahu pengorbanan dan kerja keras saya buat kantor tapi jangan gitu dong ngomong ke orang sudah lama kerja dan kebetulan lagi apes karena badannya jadi sering sakit. Padahal juga kagak setiap bulan tuh saya sakit. Ijin sakit juga paling cuma sehari. Kecuali waktu kena diare.. ya itu apa boleh buat terpaksa ijin lebih dari sehari.. ya, mending gue ngedekem di rumah dong dari pada gue ngerepotin orang sekampung karena gue terberak-berak di kantor atau gue kelenger karena kehabisan cairan dan enerji dalam badan.

Wtf, would I wanted to get sick? Would I deliberately make myself sick? Would I not a good employee all this time? Six years, man. Ok fine, not everybody knew the sacrifices and hard work I have given for this office but don't say such thing to somebody who has worked in quite a long time and happened to have strike of bad luck that made her body easily fell ill. It is not like I fell ill every month. I've taken sick leave for just a day. Except when I had diarrhea.. I had no choice than to take more than one day off.. well, it would be better for me to stay home than to trouble lots of people to have taken care of me when I had diarrhea at work or fainted for running out of fluid and energy.

Saya sakit hati. Amat sangat. Papa marah. Andre geram.

It hurt me. It hurt me so bad. It angered papa. It upset Andre.

Dan butuh waktu laaamaaaaaaa.. lebih dari setengah tahun sebelum akhirnya api dan luka dalam hati ini bisa tidak terasa terlalu menyakitkan.

And it took a loooooong time.. more than six months before finally the fire and hurt in this heart didn't feel too hurtful.

Peristiwa sekian bulan lalu itu memang menyakitkan tapi lewat semua itu Tuhan membuka rahasia yang ada dalam hati orang-orang ini karena siapakah yang bisa mengetahui apa yang ada dalam hati seseorang kecuali orang itu sendiri dan Tuhannya, betul kan?

The incident which occured months ago was definitely hurtful but through it God opened the secrets in these people's heart because who can tell what's in a person's heart and mind except that person him/herself and God, right?

Kita bisa menampilkan diri seindah, sebagus dan sebaik mungkin di hadapan setiap orang yang ada di dunia ini.

We can appear ourselves as beautiful, nicest and kindest as possible infront of people in this world.

Kita bisa menyembunyikan diri kita yang asli, kita bisa menutupi isi hati dan pikiran kita yang tidak terpoles oleh apa pun.

We can hide our real person, we can cover the original things we have in our hearts and minds.

Kita pikir cuma kita yang tahu.

We think we are the only one who knew it.

Salah.

Wrong.

Tuhan tahu semuanya dan pada waktuNya, dengan caraNya.. Dia akan membuka semua yang kita sembunyikan itu.

God knows everything and in His time, in His way.. He will open everything that we hid.

Dan Tuhan menyingkapkan kenyataan bahwa suatu rumah bisa disebut rumah kamu, rumah bapakmu, rumah engkongmu, rumah nenek moyangmu, rumah sakit, rumah toko, rumah miskin, rumah konglomerat, rumah Tuhan, rumah pelacuran, rumah penginapan dll dan di tiap rumah itu ada...

And God also disclosed to me the fact that a house may be called your house, your dad's house, your grandfather's house, your ancester's house, hospital, stores, orphanage, billioner's house, God's house, brothel, an inn etc and in every of that house there are...

Orang-orang baik dan orang-orang jahat.

Nice people and nasty people.

Orang-orang rendah hati dan orang-orang sombong.

Humble people and arrogant people.

Orang-orang penuh belas kasihan dan orang-orang egois.

Merciful people and selfish people.

Orang-orang adil dan orang-orang keji.

Fair people and vicious people.

Orang-orang berhati tulus dan orang-orang munafik.

Sincere people and hypocite people.

Segala macam manusia ada dimana pun jadi janganlah menjadi naif dan tolol dengan beranggapan bahwa suatu tempat bisa membawa perbedaan.

Any type of people exist in any place so don't be naive and stupid to assume that a place may make a difference.

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Luar biasa ya.. Gigi sebiji bisa menceritakan tentang banyak hal.

Amazing, isn't it.. a single tooth can tell lots of things.

Oh, omong-omong.. tambalannya patah lagi tuh tapi untungnya masih ada sisa dibagian bawah jadi bolong itu tetap tertutup.

Oh, by the way.. the filling was broken again but luckily there is a little left on the bottom so it covers the cavity in that tooth.

Harus diganti dong tambalannya.

Gotta replace it with new filling.

Halah, males gue. Harus mondar-mandir lagi ke dokter gigi. Ntar kapan-kapan aja deh.

Man, I'm not excited about it. Will have to go back and forth to the dentist again. Will do that some other time.