Taking Care of Me

Painted my nails purple like my ribbon to remember to stay strong

Today I went to my post check up appointment with the nurse who saw me during surgery. I had to drive there off my pain medication because I had no one to drive me. You're not supposed to drive while on it, it's that intense.  As soon as she called my name I stood up and she was happily shocked to see me. I don't remember her at all, but she said it was funny to see patients after seeing them during surgery because they look so different (and are awake). She was like "I thought you were going to be tall, but you're short like me!" I was like, "Yeah....I've always been short haha". Anyways! The whole point of the check up is to let them know how my recovery process has been going and how I feel now. Now that I've told her and got questions answered , I'm going to tell you  how I've been since surgery!

The first night after the surgery I was very drugged up, I ended up almost falling asleep in the bathroom because I was nauseous. Day 1 and 2 after surgery were surprisingly not that bad (on the pain medication). I have to take the pain medication every four (to 6) hours, it needs to be taken with food, and I have to crush it because it hurts to swallow and so it doesn't scrape on the wounds in my throat. Taking the pain meds every 4 hours includes waking up in the middle of the night to do that whole process, I tried not taking it till I woke up 6 hours through the night and it was horrible. Having to eat something before taking the pill at night hurts because the medication has started to wear off by then. Day 3 my throat started to hurt a little more because by then the white scab had formed where my tonsils once were. By Day 4- Day 6 I was in the worst pain of all because I was running low and saving myself on pain medication. Also Day 4-8 are supposed to be the worst pain level wise. I barely spoke because when I did it irritated my throat and burned my throat. The pain had spread everywhere from my neck up. I had headaches, earaches, my wisdom teeth have been hurting, and obviously pain in my throat. I still continue to have them, but only when my pain medication is wearing off and obviously when I eat or swallow. Speaking of, because of my scab forming my mouth has been producing a lot more nasty saliva which is gross and makes me have to swallow a lot which is annoying and painful. I've done my research on questions I had about my surgery and I was surprised at the reviews of tonsillectomies. A man who had surgery on his heart, his "area", wisdom teeth, and tonsils explained that the tonsillectomy was the worst of all of them! Wow...makes me feel a little better about my upcoming wisdom teeth removal next month.

@ doctor's office

The nurse told me that it may even take up to a few weeks to fully heal. I was not happy to hear that. She also said that the scab slowly falls off overtime as I swallow. Nasty! Once it falls off completely the pain is supposed to go down dramatically. I'm not sure if my right tonsil was bigger, but the nurse said my right side had a lot more scarring tissue. That makes sense because I feel the pain there most. I am able to eat at this point, I just have to be particular with what I am able to eat and I have to eat slowly. I can't have any hot or acidic foods. Let me tell ya, I've been craving a big juicy cheeseburger, I will be going to In-N-Out as soon as I can! For now I stay resting at home and I go to school like I need to. At school I can't crush my pain pills and I have to swallow them whole which is the worst because it feels like it gets stuck in my throat. But I'd rather not be in pain. Who doesn't?!

This sure has been an experience this semester. Continually going to Urgent Care, getting surgery, getting sick, and being in pain all while being on my own. It has tested my independence and has proven how much I really want to be here even after all this. I'm not going anywhere California, and I can't wait to start enjoying you even more like I should when I get better! It's been a lot of work being independent and going through all these things at the same time. It has taught me that I can only rely on myself and that's okay, because I think I'm doing a pretty good job and I know I will never give up on myself :)