Post op

Surgery is behind me... and I have to say it has gone more smoothly than I expected... after waiting around for what felt like forever yesterday we arrived at the surgery center around 2 p.m.  fortunately there was only a short wait before they called me back... of course I had to change into the lovely hospital johnny... and wonderful no skid socks... and then had to answer the same questions a million times, name date of birth, allergies, blah blah blah... Dad and Betty sat with me until they rolled me away... I remember getting into the OR and transferring myself from the bed to the operating table.  At that point they had already injected me with some sleep enhancing drugs and as they talked I knew I was getting groggy... they had me breathe in some oxygen and talked to me and I remember seeing the ceiling getting a little spinny... and that was it... the next thing I remember was opening my eyes and having my vision blocked by something.. which I eventually learned was an ice pack... I was shaking a bit when I woke up, felt cold... I remember I felt that way after my knee surgery too... I woke up to Dad and Betty and them talking about things going well, but I am not sure I know exactly what they were saying... I remember wanting to sleep more... but also wanting to be awake and on my way home... eventually I was more awake and realized that I could smell and taste this funky plasticy smell... a strong plastic smell... like when you open a new plastic shower curtain times five hundred.  It was pretty intense... they gave me some water and ginger ale and a piece of toast... since they hadn't let me eat all day they encouraged me to eat to help me process the medicine better... but the toast tasted like that plasticy smell and was not very appetizing... The doctor came out and chatted with me and had spoken to Dad and Betty after surgery.  Everything went well... apparently he told them that it was a good thing I had the surgery.  He said that as they drilled into the left sinuses the puss squirted out, a small explosion... apparently in most patients it drains out... he said that it was really full and really needed... he said that the openings between my sinuses were very small and that any fluid was having to work really hard to get anywhere, through a very tight maze... as a result, infections settled and did not go away.  So... from what I understand, and may learn more at my post op appointment, he drilled so that all of the sinus cavities on each side are all easily connected... and apparently he really widened my sinus openings, especially the one on the left... and from Dad's description, it seems as if he drilled almost an entire new opening on the left side because the opening was above where fluid collects... We got home and I laid down and kept ice on my face... they also sent me home with a sinus sling... which I have not used... you are supposed to put it over your ears and it has a collection strip, where you put gauze, to catch the oozage.. I didn't seem to be dripping enough to warrant wearing that thing... having the ice pack on my face was enough for me.  Eventually I did get hungry and dad made me some mac n cheese... didn't want anything spicy... was told avoiding the foods that normally clear sinuses was a good idea for a few days... the thing that amazed me is that after surgery, as soon as I woke up, I felt like I could breathe easier... despite the fact that the doctor filled my sinuses with foam to stop the bleeding... I felt like I had air in places there had not been air in a long time... as I type I am thinking about my forehead... and there is not a heaviness there... which I do not remember... I had not realized how heavy my whole head had felt... and I am so optimistic that this is the beginning of feeling so much better... in ways I had not even realized... I was able to fall asleep pretty easily.  I woke up several times in the night to go to the bathroom and to check to see if I had bled all over myself.  To my surprise... that wasn't the case... This morning I woke up fairly early... and had a lot of energy... I waited for Dad and Betty to get up then got up and felt really great.  My energy was high and I even suggested going for a walk together... Betty walked to get bagels and after breakfast, instead of going for a walk, I hit a wall and took a nap.  Apparently my body needed a bit more recovery than I had realized... I encouraged Dad and Betty to go out for a while and was glad they did.  They got back not long after I had woken up and then Debbie came by!  I was so happy to see her!  It was nice to visit with her... nice for Betty to meet more of the people in my life.  They had met, briefly, at my graduation party from my masters, but this was the first time we all got to chat.  After her visit I was anticipating another friend stopping by, someone who is borrowing one of my kayaks for the weekend... but I was supposed to start rinsing my nose with saline this afternoon... and decided I would do so between visitors... it all worked out in the end.. but... that first rinse experience... not fun... I knew that as I used the neti pot, pouring saline into one of my nostrils and having it come out the other side, would include some blood... it was more than I anticipated... I am not really that squeamish, but it did turn my stomach... afterwards I felt clogged up and since I am not supposed to blow my nose I felt a bit uncomfortable... I was told to try not to swallow any of the drainage either because blood does not settle well in your stomach... I did sniff a bit and ended up getting some pretty big clots in my throat and had to spit them out... gross, yes... also made me a little queasy... Afterwards, I was in the living room and Betty noticed my color was off and asked if I was ok... I was worried about more clots and had stopped breathing through my nose somehow thinking that would worsen it... and... I felt like I was going to sneeze... which I am scared to do.  I really wanted to lay down, but my friend was coming to get the kayak... after she left I headed up to bed... and didn't sleep, just relaxed, watched a movie... and felt better... Tonight we ordered pizza for dinner and Jacey stopped by... it was nice to visit.  Through conversation about noses and nosebleeds I shared with Betty a story about one of my college roommates who had a massive massive nosebleed and mentioned getting her from our dorm to the hospital... when I mentioned the dorm, she said she had lived in that dorm too.. we knew we had gone to the same college... what we did not know until tonight... was that we had the EXACT same dorm room!!!  How crazy is that? SAME room in college... many years apart... what are the chances that I would be assigned to the same room as Betty had been assigned... blew my mind!

Tonight I did the second nasal rinse... it was less traumatic... I am so hopeful that this is the fix I have been needing... I do feel better... I just need to remind myself to take it easy for a a few days, let my body heal... and that the gross parts are part of this process...

Through it all, I feel very fortunate... to have people who care so much about me... I have so many good people in my life... and I am very grateful!