I have a dentist phobia. The fear I dealt with in the days leading up to my appointment had everything to do with a dentist phobia, but not so much the pain. I was once told by a surgeon, just after he worked miracles in helping me recover from a bad accident I suffered when I was 16, that I had probably endured as much pain to my face as possible without passing out. Yes, there's a story. A basketball game.
Ball jumps off the rim, high rebound, missed it.
Ball goes rolling toward the side of the mountain, where the tree, light pole and makeshift clothesline happen to be. Sprinting for the ball before it disappears into a thorn bush over the hill and forces the game to an untimely end. Like a shot of lightning, my mouth, nose and 75 percent of my ocular region is introduced to the cable wiring. My nose was literally ripped off my face and hanging, just barely, by one nostril and some seriously distorted cartilage. The surgeon put me back together through whatever magic he can perform and I came out looking like the Elephant Man.