The post- nasal surgery report

Got home about 4 hours ago. I'm very glad to have this experience behind me; I'd really been dreading it. It might not have been that big a deal in isolation but in the context of everything else that happened during and after the accident, I was pretty unhappy.

That being said, it wasn't as terrible as I'd been expecting. Don't get me wrong...it wasn't wonderful either. But not as terrible as I'd been anticipating.

So...what happened? We (Jake and I) went to Boston overnight, since we didn't want to navigate I-93 at 4 AM. The hotel was literally across the street from the outpatient surgical center, and had to be a dorm conversion at best. The staff, however, was very nice and we got cookies on our arrival, so our most important bases were covered.

Met some friends for dinner in Chinatown whom I don't get to see nearly often enough. That was a nice distraction for what was to come.

We got up at 5:30 AM and stumbled over to the surgical center. I didn't expect that there would be 30 or so other surgical patients and their families also at the facility. It was a beehive of activity and people.

I got in line to check in and filled out with some paperwork. Then waited. Then had my blood pressure and pulse taken. Then waited. Then I got my gown, which was clearly designed to fit roughly 3 of me at about a foot taller. Then waited.

Finally we were escorted to the surgery center, where Jake said goodbye. I was greeted by a host of nice nurses and physicians, and recited my name and birthday and allergy list another 400 times. Then I was given an IV of something to make me sleepy and the next thing I knew, I was in recovery. Given that I was bleeding, nauseous, in a lot of pain, and had a face full of bandages, I assume something resembling surgery had transpired in the middle of my cognitive awareness events.

Since I got home, I've mostly been sleeping. Fortunately, the pain, which was pretty severe, and anti-nausea medications have kicked in and I'm starting to feel a little better. I'm still bleeding pretty heavily and feel very woozy. And my throat is sore from the breathing tube they inserted during surgery.

My nose has an internal splint and a lot of packing. There are some bandages externally, but they will come off in a day or so, once the bleeding stops. And, much to my amazement, there is little to no bruising. I have a follow-up appointment with the surgeon in about a week to, among other things, remove the packing, and I hope I feel a lot better after that.

Anyway, for now, I need another nap...

--K--