Surgery, Day One

My Septoplasty went well this morning. My entire head hurts more than I had expected, but at least I have some good pain meds to keep my pain under control. The downside of the pain meds is that they make my nose itch. And I most certainly can’t scratch! Oh, and my nose is bleeding like a stripped out faucet. My nose is quite the overachiever in the blood flow department. Maybe it will get a big bonus at the end of the year for its hard work. ;) I am currently surrounded by dogs, bloody tissues and a bevy of medicines and bandages. It’s like an anti-vacation over here.  The climax of which will come next week when my nasal splints get pulled out. I hope there will be fireworks for the occasion.  ;]

My nose knows

At the beginning of the year I had a chronic sinus infection that lasted for over 3 months.  I had six different antibiotics and narrowly avoided “drastic measures” to make it go away.

Since then I’ve had surgery, my husband had his gallbladder remove and my son just had his tonsils out.  As far as surgery is concerned, we have been there, done that and have an entire closet of T-Shirts to prove it.  (Actually, it’s less of a closet of T-Shirts and more of a draw full of non-skid, one-size-fits-none non-skid socks.)

Thus I was less than pleased this week to be told by my doctor that I once again had a chronic sinus infection.  It’s been with me since July and though we’ve had some good times in the doctor’s office together, I’m ready for the relationship to end.  What can I say, it’s just not working out.  It’s not you, it’s me.

To solidify my doctor’s diagnosis, I was sent for a CT Scan of my sinuses.  I was disappointed to find out that I wouldn’t get a copy of the scan.  How awesome would that be hanging over the fireplace?  Maybe framed by some art by the kids?  Classy.  It turned out that my chronic sinus infection was beginning to wane but I did, in fact, have a very messed up nose.  “Where you in some horrible accident as a child?”  “Have you ever wrestled a bear?”  “What exactly did you do to your nose?”  Me?  I have no clue.  As far as I know, this is the same nose I was born with.  What can I say, my nose is a free spirit.

Apparently my nose sports a severely deviated septum which itself sports several nasal bone spurs.  Sa-weet!  When it comes to my nose, if it’s going to go, it’s going to go ALL the way.  My funked-up nose has won me a one-way, no expenses paid ticket to a Septoplasty on October 17th.

Have you ever Googled a Septoplasty?  Oh, it’s horrible.  Not only will the surgeon “fix” my septum, he’s going to do some lipo on my turbinates as well.  Dude…a nose job and lip!  All I need now are some new boobs!  (Seriously, who knew you could liposuction your turbinates?  Who knew what turbinates where without having to do a Google search?)

Oh the places I’ll go!  Actually, it should be “oh , all the places I won’t go!” because my nose will be seriously messed up and I’ll have splints in for 9 days.  That’s right.  A swollen, bloody nose with two straws stuck inside.  Nice.  Sexy.  How will I keep my husband off of me?

Stay tuned for more nose-tastic news!

Tonsillectomy

We all woke up early this morning to get to the Hospital on time for Fisher’s Tonsillectomy.  (As in, we left the house at 5:30AM)  Waking up a child at 7AM for school is hard enough, just imagine how things went this morning!
Over the past two years Fisher has suffered from a constant string of throat infections including several bouts of Strep.  Eventually his tonsils had been infected so many times that they would no longer shrink back down once he was well.  Thus he’s been walking around with golf ball-sized tonsils in his throat for almost a year now.  A week before school began he had yet another major infection and the doctor decided that it was time for his tonsils to come out.

Needless to say, Fisher has not been thrilled with the idea of surgery despite the promise of copious amounts of ice cream.  Fisher loves ice cream.  He will, in fact, marry ice cream when he comes of legal age and is already browsing through “Save the Date” cards.

Once he was wheeled back to surgery, the procedure only took about fifteen minutes.  I was surprised by how quick it was, but then again, they are just tonsils.  Even if they’re ginormous, how hard can it be to cut them out?

It wasn’t long before Jordan and I were allowed back to Recovery to sit with Fisher while he woke up.  He was pitiful and adorable all at the same time.  Look at that face.  He makes me melt.

Once he was deemed to be “awake,” he was taken to another, more exciting recovery room.  This one was stocked with apple juice and more horrible reruns of Sesame Street than one could ever ask for.  Fisher wore a constant frown and drank enough apple juice to float himself home.

Despite the look on his face, he was actually very excited about riding in the wheel chair.  His look of disapproval here is a result of realizing that someone had given him an IV once he was put to sleep.  You should have seen the look on his face when he looked down to find a needle in his hand.  The nerve of some people!  He didn’t cry or get upset.  He was mostly just offended.  ;]

I have to take a moment to brag here.  This kid is amazing.  Not a single tear.  Not a single complaint.  He was amazingly brave and I couldn’t be more proud!

We’ll see how his recovery goes at home.  He’s always been a good patient in the past and with three different flavors of ice cream waiting for him in the freezer, I’m sure he’ll be fine.