Thanks again for everyone's comments and concerns. I've got to say, it made me feel pretty good to finally check my email and find close to a dozen notifications of comments. Sorry again I haven't posted sooner. Those who have had their surgeries already may understand why (though most of you are excellent bloggers despite) and those of you awaiting your surgeries may get a good idea after this post. I've been feeling awful sometimes, okay other times. Never really great, honestly. I am very weak -- going upstairs, heating up some potatoes, or getting dressed is so tiring I have to rest afterwards. I spend the majority of the day in bed or on the couch watching TV, knitting, reading a magazine, or spacing out. I hardly have the energy for a novel. I do see this improving though, and I'm optimistic.
The Hospital StayI arrived at the hospital on Thursday morning. After checking in, I changed into the pajamas they provided and waited with my mom. I answered questions, filled out forms, and met with the nurse, and the surgical and anesthesia residents. Finally, I was brought in to the OR. I handed my glasses to my mom and went in to lay on the little table. They gave me laughing gas and started an IV (it took them a few tries, but I was pretty ambivalent at that point). Then I was out.
I woke up in the recovery room with my parents and my sister. I don't remember very much from the first day, just that they couldn't find a room for me and my mom and I spent the first night in the recovery room. I was given a room the next day. They also had me get x-rays, which was pretty awful. They propped me up in a wheelchair and sent me off with someone from Transport. She kept getting lost, and at one point, left me somewhere while she asked someone where we were supposed to be. I had no idea what was going on, and began to panic. It's scary to be lost and unable to talk! The other thing was that, on the rare occasion that one of my parents wasn't in my room with me and I called a nurse, they would come over the nurse call thing and ask me what I needed. When I told them, "kjklajsflkj!!!" they would hang up.
Most of my stay was uneventful. I was on a catheter into third day and on an IV until discharge. Both were fine, even good, as they meant that I didn't have to
do anything. The nurses were for the most part very helpful and kind, and the doctors slightly less so.
I was supposed to be in the hospital for two nights, but ended up staying three. This is mostly because I still wasn't drinking anything on the second day, and drinking is a condition of being discharged. I was actually glad to stay the third night, because I knew I would receive the best care, etc. All in all, I found the hospital to be very comfortable.
SleepingActually, as I began this post, it was three in the morning. I've been sleeping the wackiest hours and always waking up after no more than 4 hours of sleep. In the hospital, I pretty much dozed nonstop. Since I've been home, I've required less sleep and usually stay up the whole day (generally with a mid-morning or late-evening nap). I actually find sleep pretty... frustrating. It's not that I don't sleep well, it's that I wake up abruptly and uncomfortably, and often in the middle of a crazy dream. When I woke up the other night, I was convinced that I was Buzz Albright, and that I was responsible for creating the tops to jars of split-pea soup. Actually, I was just Buzz's nose, and it took me a few minutes to remember how not to be a nose and how to drink. A different night, I was extremely frustrated because I was responsible for frosting a Christmas tree. Yes, a tree. While in the hospital, I freaked my dad out by demanding in the middle of the night what shape my head was. I was looking for a geometric shape, something with eight sides.
I didn't buy any special pillow for sleeping on my back, and ended up just piling pillows on my bed. While I do long to sleep on my tummy in the fetal position, sleeping on my back has gone surprisingly okay.
MedicationsTylenol with codeine (every six hours): This replaces the morphine and percoset I was on in the hospital. In the beginning, I would start to feel pain an hour before I was ready for another dose. Now, I usually don't need it every six hours.
Sudafed (every six hours): This is supposed to help with my congestion. It also makes my heart beat like crazy. Last night, I took Actifed at night instead, because it makes you drowsy. Apparently, it also doesn't dissolve in water, so I'm going to be trying children's nasal decongestant instead tonight.
Flonase (once a day): This is a nasal spray for congestion
Actin (twice a day): Another nasal spray
Amoxacillin (three times a day): An antibiotic. I've heard people say that they liked this as kids when they had to take it for an ear infection. At first, I couldn't understand it. But, it's actually not so bad.
BreathingThis deserves its own section because it's really been my biggest problem. Often, my nose gets so congested that I feel like I really. can't. breathe. It's pretty scary. So far, remedies have been sitting in the bathroom with the shower running, salt water nose spray, and hydrogen peroxide. We also got a humidifier yesterday, which seems to be doing the trick, because I slept so much better last night. I've been using a bulb syringe in my nose and mouth a lot, which is also very helpful.
EatingI'm still really figuring this out. While in the hospital, no one really offered me anything to eat, which was fine because I had no appetite. I'm not sure if I was being nourished by IV... I guess probably. When I got home, I still had no desire to eat. I had no interest in food, and didn't really think I was hungry (though I did have periodic stomach aches that were probably hunger). I think I had a little juice and Ensure on Monday, but both were very sweet and tasted medicinal to me. Tuesday morning, I had chicken broth, which worked pretty well. Since then, food has been a battle. I don't feel too hungry (considering what I've eaten in the last week probably constitutes a single meal) and eating is frustrating and tiring. I've already lost 15 pounds, and the doctor thinks I'll lose another 10 next week.
While my doctor was supposed to give me a supply of Zip-N-Squeeze, that never happened, so the hospital sent me home with an extensive collection of syringes in 4 different sizes. Though it took me a few tries to figure it out, these have been working pretty well for me. The key is placing the straw all the way in the back of your mouth, holding your lips tightly closed, and
swallowing (seems obvious, huh?). I have had no luck using a baby spoon, however. I can't seem to get enough of the food all the way in back of my mouth. I almost always have a dishtowel with me, which is very useful for cleaning up as I eat.
So far I've had the following foods: Chocolate Ensure, chicken broth, vegetable broth, plain yogurt, strawberry-Ensure smoothie, banana-peanut butter smoothie, Starbucks mocha frappechino, Carnation Instant Breakfast (my favorite), chocolate pudding, and mashed potatoes with broccoli and cheese. Other hopefuls that have not yet been successful are butternut squash, applesauce, guacamole, and hummus.
HygieneI've taken four showers since I've been home. I really like them, because I feel much better afterwards and they really clear out my nose. On the other hand, it's extremely tiring. I have a bench in my shower, so I spend most of the time sitting, but I still need to lie down as soon as I come out.
Cleaning my mouth is also a huge chore, and one my surgeon said I am not doing very well with when I saw him yesterday. I mostly use a toothbrush and then a syringe of water or a waterpik on low for irrigation.
Pictures!I'm pretty happy with my profile, but I think I'll be even more thrilled when the swelling is down and I can really see the difference.
Before
Day 1
Day 2
Day 6
Day 7
