TMI - The Nightmare Continues

So today I got the packing removed from my nose. If you thought my last post was gross, you'll love what's coming!

But I'll start on a less disgusting note. It felt wonderful when I got back from visiting the surgeon to take a shower and not worry about getting bandages wet and really washing my face and my hair!

It feels great too to be able to breathe again. Breathing isn't quite as easy as I'd hoped, not yet anyway. The tissues inside my nose are still healing and swollen and want to block off my airways again. There are stitches that need to dissolve and, in the process, swell and collect mucus. And my nose is still very raw to the touch.

All of this should improve over the next month or so, but the surgeon indicated that it would probably get worse before it gets better. I am using saline solution and ointment 7-15 times per day and will visit him again in a month.

Now...removing the packing. Feel free to stop reading here...

I didn't realize this but there have been two very long plastic "sticks" about the length and width of a Popsicle stick (and which I'm sure have a more elaborate label for the purposes of my insurance company) helping to hold my nostrils open. I thought there was just a bunch of gauze stuffed in my nose but not so.

Anyway, the first thing he did is use suction to remove all of the mucus that had collected inside the plastic sticks. Immediately on removing a plug from each nostril, I could bring in some air, so that was wonderful. When I looked at what he'd removed though...man!...that was seriously gross. I debated about holding onto them, thinking my teenage stepsons might have liked the science project, but decided I really didn't want the souvenir.

Then he went to remove the sticks. My surgeon is wonderful and it didn't hurt at all. I'd read other descriptions of this procedure and it sounded like it isn't uncommon for it to be painful but it certainly wasn't in my experience. That being said...I couldn't believe the length of the sticks!! It looked like they must have come from someone else's nose or have been embedded in my brains or something. They were long!

Anyway...not sure where to go from here and I think that's enough for this post...

--K--