Sinus Surgery

On March 2nd, 2010, I was admitted to Same Day Surgery at the new Intermountain Healthcare Hospital in Murray to have surgery done on a deviated septum. As some of you may already know, I have suffered many years with sinus infections. In October 2009, I finally went to an Ear Nose and Throat doctor to find out what the deal is. He checked my sinus's and tonsils and told me my tonsils were "quite large". I had explained to him that the sinus infection I had just gotten over left me emotionally and physically exhausted. So, he recommended a sleep study for sleep apnea. This was not a fun experience. I had to get this little box that has a little clip to place on your finger to help monitor my oxygen while I slept. I don't think I got a very good night's rest because I was too worried about turning it off in my sleep and it has this little red, blinking light on it. The end result was not sleep apnea.

I went back in November for a follow up visit and my doctor did an MRI. The result from the MRI was a deviated septum. Below ae pictures of what that looks like.

MRI of deviated septum

So, basically, one side of the inside of my nose was blocked and made it hard to breathe and would get infected. I was advised by my doctor that I could either take medicine for the rest of my life to help prevent further sinus infections. Or I could do surgery. I opted for the surgery. However, it was unfortunate that I had to wait so long to do so, but that's how things go, I suppose.

So, come March, I was scheduled and ready to go. On Tuesday, the 2nd, Jon and I headed to the hospital around 8:45 AM so I could be there by 9:30. After I checked in, I waited to be called back to a prep room. I think we waited about 20 minutes to be called back. They got me in to a surgery prep room, had me change, and give a urine sample. Now, these prep rooms are are really nice to wait in. They have flat screen hi-def tv's so you can sit there and watch tv while you wait. I found this very effective since I was very nervous about this surgery. A med student came in and took my vitals. After her left, more waiting. Another nurse came in and took my urine sample and made sure I was comfortable. More waiting. Then my nurse finally came in, put a nice warm blanket on me and proceeded to give me my IV. This was the part I dreaded. I don't know why I dread this part, but I think part of it is I hate needle's and don't really enjoy having things stuck in my hand. But the nurse was very nice and helped keep me calm. However, I am not ashamed to admit that after she left, I start to hyperventilate, starting crying, and wished that my mom was there. No matter how old you are, you always want your mom. After I calmed down, I was o.kay. Finally the time came to be wheeled up to surgery. As soon as Jon and I said our good-bye's, I was wheeled down a hall to the OR's.

I started to feel the effects of the IV which was very nice. The anaesthesiologist came to speak to me and explained to me how he was going to put me under. I remember him saying he was going to put a tube down my throat so I could breathe during surgery. Normally this would have freaked me out, but I was pretty close to La-La-Land that I really didn't care. Then the nurse wheeled me in to the OR and helped me get on the operating table. Then, the anaesthesiologist put some "knock out" stuff in my IV and the last thing I remember was the mask being put on my face and remembering that it really stunk.

Waking up was weird because your still pretty out of it. I do remember them asking me my pain level and taking something of the end of my nose and replacing it again. It was a gauze pad and little did I know, I would be replacing this pretty often for the next 7 days. Jon came to meet while was I coming out of that nice sleep and we went down to a recovery room. My throat was sore and it felt like I had a full blown sinus infection. Everything hurt.

When I was finally ready to be discharged, I got dressed and was wheeled out to the car. I was pretty much in a daze.

I was given a little nose sling, that goes from ear to ear, to help keep the dressing in place on the front of my nose. The reason for this was to help catch the blood draining from my nose. At first, we had to replace this about every half to an hour. As the days went by, we could wait longer and longer to replace it.

After getting home, Jon got me comfortable in the recliner that would become my bed for the next several days. He got my medication filled and bought me lots of ginger ale and water. I pretty much lived on liquids and still do until I can taste again. All I did was sleep, watch movies, read, and played on my laptop while Jon took charge of the household chores and taking care of me.

When Jon went back to work, I relied on my friends in my ward to help me when I needed. We are so blessed to live in such a wonderful ward. Meals were brought to us and one of my friends, Dawnita, would call me on the days that Jon was at work to check on me. Our friends, Jamie and RJ, brought us Gelato and visited with us for a little bit. Another couple, The Barton's, had brought us Jamba Juice's, which was a nice switch from soup. I had flowers sent to me and my cute niece's and nephew came to visit and really brightened my day. I had a lot of well-wisher's. Jon and I are so blessed to be in a ward where the people love to serve.

Yesterday, March 8th, I went back to the doctor for my post-op visit. He took the splints out of my nose, which was an uncomfortable experience, and cleaned all the junk out. However, I have to go back in two weeks so he can finish cleaning it out. Yuck!!! It felt so good to be out of the house that I had Jon take me to Target to I could shop a little. It was so nice after being cooped up for a week. I was actually feeling pretty good and started to wonder why I took a 2nd week off of work.

After waking up this morning, I'm glad I took it off. My head and nose was pounding. So the extra rest will be good. But, it feels so good to breathe again. As painful as this experience was, I am so glad I did it. My nose is still swollen and tender, but it will be worth it in the end.