Update on my Recovery

Just a quick note to let you know I made it through the most grueling procedures ever (tonsillectomy, bi-lateral turbinate's, and septoplasty). I would deliver a set of twins naturally before having this done as an adult.

We made it home Friday just after lunch and I was feeling great (yep, the anesthesia gave me an extra kick in my step); looking awesome in my teal blue dress (with a fresh pedicure) and compression hose. I was thinking this was going to be easy breezy then Friday evening came and something from another planet had taken over my body. Despite the discomfort, I wanted to follow the discharge orders 110% so I was eating my popsicles, applesauce, and drinking lots of water... but it all kept coming back up. thinking this was normal, I persevered. I was also doing my nasal flushing 10+ times a day (they said 4 times a day but then I spoke to Frances’ husband and he scared the crap out of me so I wanted to have clean nostrils for my post-op) . I applied my ice packs throughout the day and took my meds according to the instructions.

I do not remember Saturday, except that I was in pain but felt that I needed to get up, shower, and continue my routine. I would only request assistance to get my icepacks or bring me a frozen treat every now and then. Sunday morning, As instructed, I took the pain meds at 2:45am on the dot, then again at 6:45am. Sometime after that I realized that I was taking narcotic shots and that my head would severely ache (more like someone hitting me upside my head with a bag of books) in the 3rd hour. I made the [un]consciousness decision to stop the pain meds right then and there, not even weaning off by dropping the dosage or cutting back the time. I would later regret this.

Sunday evening came and everyone was getting ready for bed, and I realize that I have barely had any sleep and that when I do fall asleep I am waking up with a violent cough that causes me to ... let’s just say gag (but it was worse than that).

I was OK with not sleeping Monday night as HSN was revealing the 5th Anniversary Cricut Expression 2 at 12:01am ET... so like the #1 Cricut fan I am, I stayed up, watched the broadcasts, and then ordered this wonderful $345 machine (I must tell you that I already own 3 other versions of this machine already – but this was the SPECIAL anniversary edition and HSN let’s you pay in interest free installments!!!!. Ooopppss.... I seem to recall something in my discharge paperwork about not making any big decisions or purchases while recovering. Oh well, I am pretty sure I would have ordered it if I did not have the surgery. Now to come up with a plan on how to hide it and then act like it has been here all along.... I will deal with that later.

...Where was I????

OK, Tuesday, was just like Monday except I was coughing and gagging worse and now my chest felt as if someone was standing on it. I had a bad history of pneumonia and bronchitis in Virginia and that got much better after moving to Georgia. I felt as if I had pneumonia without all of the other symptoms. My fever held steady at 99.9, so I went to the internet for answers. Note to Frances: DO NOT GO TO THE INTERNET FOR ANSWERS. Here I was plugging in my symptoms and became 100% convinced (and I convinced the doctors and nurses along with my family) that I was suffering from a pulmonary embolism.

After spending most of the night at the ER (watching Coleman watch the playoffs on a 19” tube TV), I was reassured that I had healthy lungs but somewhere out of the blue I have developed acid reflux and have scarred (BURNT) my esophageal lining.... WTF????? I was put at ease to know that a heart attack has the same symptoms, but my EKG and chest x-ray were picture perfect. So after the nurse jacked up my IV, had me gagging at the site of blood (think goodness I could not smell), I was administered some great meds and went to sleep. They woke me to discharge me, I rested a few hours at home, the pain came back at 5:30am and then I got up to get ready to go to the doctor.

Three barf bags later (one was a grocery bag that held the intake nurse's lunch and iPod), my doctor came in and was surprised by the change of events. After convincing him that I have only had heartburn during pregnancy and that I have never had any issues like this, he agreed that we should blame the anesthesiologist and just deal with this issue head on and get it under control. Then he decided to gag me by looking down my throat and then announcing that he had to remove the stiches, splints, and then flush my nose...... I was not a happy camper but then by the grace of God (and a lot of pain), I felt air in my nose. I was actually breathing through my nose.... so it was all worth it and based on the condition of my tonsils after extraction he was 100% sure they were infected which caused the jaw pain.. neck pain.. loss of hearing.... are we having fun yet?

I go back to work in 2 weeks. In the meantime, I am on the road to recovery and now learning how to live without spicy foods and carbonated beverages.

Just wanted to give you a QUICK update. I am back home, starving, still miserable, but on Prilosec (waiting for it to kick in) and looking pretty good after dropping at least 10 – 15 pounds.

~K

PS – Since most of you have weak stomachs, I have left out a LOT of the details (I know Rhonda and Frances want them) and did not want to send the gross pic from this morning (please let me know if you like to see it).