Warning: Some of this post might squick out the faintest of heart among you. No gory details, but enough that might make you say "Ewwww!" once or twice.
About five months ago, my snoring got so bad that my wife insisted I go see a doctor about it. The doctor sent me for a sleep study, which found that my snoring wasn't apnea, and referred me to an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist. The ENT took one look inside my nose and throat and said: "You've got a Deviated Septum!" As a result, my palette and uvula have enlarged, which flap around in my mouth while I sleep.
So today was the first of three special days. I got my deviated septum corrected! Huzzah! Surgery was easy, but it will have some negative consequences on my short-term life (though it should be very positive in the long run).
So today I got up at 5:15, had nothing to eat or drink, and headed off to St. Mary's Hospital for 6:30 (three hours before my surgery, as instructed). I got into my "preparation bay" (number 23!) around quarter to seven.
Alex and I got to listen to the day surgery ward nurse deal with a guy who hadn't read any of the instructions or filled out half of the forms. He showed up with his rings on (a big no-no), and they had to cut one off. They also had to ask him a bunch of questions that he should have already answered. Oh, and did I mention that he got in at 7:30 for a 9:00 surgery? Geez.
At about 9:45 I got wheeled into the OR and was put under. One of the cool and spooky things about general anaesthetic for me is I lose the time I'm under. I'm not sleeping, I'm just gone.
So I woke up at about 11:45 int he recovery room, where they removed 6cm long nasal packing from each of my nostrils. Kind of amazing there was that much in there!
After having my nose dressed, I was brought back into my "preparation bay", where Alex met me. I had to have my dressing changed twice (one hell of a nosebleed!), but after about an hour I had recovered sufficiently to be sent home! Home by 1! Woo!
So now I sit on my living room floor, reclined 45 degrees, which is how I have to stay for the day. If I lean forward (when sitting or standing) I can feel the blood putting pressure on the clots. That's the wierdest thing. My nose is almost completely full of clotted blood (i.e. scab). It'll fix itself over the next few days, but it's just really odd.
The thing that sucks about this is that after keeping up my exercise for nearly two weeks, I'm going to have to discontinue. No cardio for 2-3 days, and after that weight training (even body weight) is out. I'll try to keep my cardio up, but I'm going to have to restart my exercise habit building once all of this is over... in September.
Oh well, time to find a new habit!
I'd like to thank the staff who helped me out at the hospital: Jeanette and Michelle, the Day Surgery Nurses; Bruce, who wheeled me into the OR; Jackie, the recovery room nurse; Gail, the OR nurse; Dr. Alexander, the anesthetist; Dr. Bharadwaj, who did the surgery; and everyone else who helps St. Mary's run (especially the IT guys, unsung heroes that they are).