Apparently it wasn't finished with me yet

Well, I went to my post-op appointment on Monday. The doctor used a scope and a vacuum to take out most of the packing tissue in my nose. Now I can breathe but I can only smell the scent of dust. I KNOW there are other things to smell. The doctor has me flushing out my sinuses with a mixture of vinegar, baking soda, sea salt, and water. I did the first one a few hours ago and I'm hoping I did it incorrectly...otherwise I'm in for ridiculous pain twice a day for two weeks. Loverly.

I could describe in gory detail how fascinating this packing tissue is and what it looks like (I'm supposed to sneeze the rest of it out during the rest of these two weeks) but I don't think anyone would read my blog after that. Using the phrase "sneeze it out" probably verges on too far for some of my readers. I apologize.

I would like to share with you, my dear readers, an image that was my normality for the better part of a week.

Yes, that's me, gauze tucked under my nose and held there with a rubber band and gauze tied around my head (at first it was taped to my cheeks but that caused too many problems), a gel-filled sinus ice pack, and a headband to keep my hair out of the way. I'm not wearing the gauze anymore but I thought it was too hilarious not to post.

Note about the background: please excuse the pastel early nineties wallpaper and the paintings on the wall. I chose the wallpaper (or rather my mom chose it) when I was probably six years old, and the painting was a joke two of my friends made for me when I turned sixteen. You can also see Sylvia, my new camera!

I made it back alive!

Hey everyone, I'm back from surgery.
The actual surgery was scheduled for 8:40, which made the 5:30 check-in time rather ridiculous, but we got to check into a private day surgery room and I watched some of Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood and then like two and a half episodes of Monk.
I barely remember entering the operating room and I don't even remember them having me count down backwards from 100 as they always do. I woke up in the recovery room in a ton of pain, partially because of the ventilator tube (I'd never had one of those and thought they took it out before i woke up the memory of it on the muscles hurt), but a good portion because of the surgery itself. They asked me to rate my pain on a 1-10 scale and I said an 8, and they gave me some morphine. Then it got worse and I just kept saying "ten, ten, ten!" and spelling out "mom" in finger spelling, which of course they didn't understand. I finally said "mom" and said it repeatedly but they told me each time that my mother was not allowed back there. I was in the recovery room for more than an hour, and then they brought me back to my room. Note to self: Morphine does nothing for my pain, so a morphine addiction is pointless. Huzzah!
They made me eat something and drink some water to make sure i could hold it down before giving me my pain meds (vicodin...now THAT works). Apparently the surgery itself took longer than expected because he had trouble reaching one of my sinus cavities. That's how small the openings were!
So now I'm at home, waiting for Dad to come back with my meds and a milkshake. I have a post-op appointment next week to see how it went. The doctor said it would be up to a month before all the swelling completely goes down.
I'm just so grateful that I don't have a job or live on my own right now. This way I get to take as much time as I need to rest, which I intend to do.

Hey if you know me and want to call me that's fine, I might sound a bit out of it and I might not talk for long. I would love to hear from you though!
Kate

This week so far

** Edit**
My appointment is scheduled for 5:30 AM (central time) Tuesday. I can't remember how long the procedure should last but I'm fairly certain I'll be awake by 8. I don't know if I'll feel well enough to post an update tomorrow, but if you don't hear from me tomorrow you should hear from me Wednesday!
**Edit**
I had my pre-op appointment for my sinus surgery today. A doctor stuck a camera up my nose, and I felt it regardless of the anesthetic spray. It was without a doubt the strangest experience I ever had. On the upside, I got to see my vocal chords and my epiglottis along with a lot of other interesting things in my head, including the skin that lines the skull on the other side of the inside of my nose, at which point the ENT said "and on the other side of that is your brain", and I got a little freaked out. Something got knocked around in the process and I am VERY sore in the nasal area, and I can't seem to stop sneezing!
My actual surgery is on Tuesday, though I don't know what time yet (I will by the time most of you read this post I guess). The doctor said it will get a lot worse before it gets better, so I'll be on pain pills and antibiotics, and I have to pack ice on my cheeks after the surgery. I will definitely be out of commission this week (I take a while to heal), so it is a very good thing that I don't have a job right now. One of those would be very nice soon though, I would very much like to generate income and have insurance.

Prayers will be appreciated.

On a side note, I have a funny work story. I'm working at the church nursery this week while they do pre school teacher inservice. I have eight three year olds, and I think I'm in love with them. One little boy in particular is just hilarious. He has somehow developed a New York accent though we live in Texas. We were playing with a toy with a pull-string voice box, and the voice box didn't work. I told him that maybe the doll was "tired of talking" and he liked the phrase so much that he repeated it over and over throughout the day. "Toired of toawking" chorused from his no-nonsense mouth repeatedly throughout the day and set me to giggles. He also told me after we crashed the toy cars we were playing with that that was why "We don't hit or pinch the cars." He said something else about that was why we wear helmets when we ride our bikes, but I can't remember. Tomorrow (Friday) is my last day with these kids and I'm going to miss them! I wasn't too happy that I got threes at the beginning of the week, but this summer has really taught me that all ages of children have very delightful qualities if you get to know them. I'm slowly eking my way out of ageism. Next I may tackle pre-adolescence. Shudder. I don't know if I'm ready for that.