"Allison" is the first thing I heard when I woke up. Everything was blurry since I didn't have my glasses, and there was lovely lubeystuff smeared all around my eyes. I felt great--which I think was a combination of the drugs and being happy to be awake. It's a weird feeling to wake up somewhere you didn't go to sleep. I'm sure many of you know this feeling from your wild and crazy social lives. I do not. So I woke up in a recovery room very happy and very sleepy, and I took a breath in through my nose. Yes, there was splinting and gauze in the way, but through my right nostril, I could feel this glorious preview of what was to come. For the first time in years, I could feel cool air rushing smoothly in and out of my nose. That moment knocked out any questions of regrets, and that moment would help me hold on through whatever ups and downs recovery would bring. That tiny preview told me that things were going to get so much better.
The nurse told me I had to wait there for a half hour before my family could come in. That time flew by, and before long, I was sitting up in a chair smiling(ish) at them. The nurse brought juice and crackers, but mostly I stuck to the juice to combat the incredible dryness in my throat. My mom told me Dr. Dimples had come out to tell them how everything went. I did great. Everything went smoothly. I woke up laughing, and I told him I could breathe better already. Dr. Dimples told my family this was just because I was loopy. He'd tell me this again at my first post-op appointment. But I swear I could feel the air.
Getting home was pretty uneventful. I was indeed loopy and dizzy, and I still couldn't see.
Stop the presses! There is a certain relation of mine that has asked not to be mentioned in this blog in order to maintain his privacy. In my relating to him that these stories are awfully difficult to tell without being able to reference him, he has suddenly given me permission to do so, under the code name Han Solo.
So... "Han" drove me home, and he and my mom got me all settled in on the couch. They changed my gauze, made me food, brought me ice, etc. They were both champs. They even moved the couch about 3 feet from the TV so that we could try to watch together. I don't remember the exact order of the next events, but there were a few more wacky Wednesday happenings.
1) Dr. Dimples is so awesome that before he left my mom and Han, he gave them his direct pager number to call if I experienced any one of a few 'bad' symptoms. Things were going pretty normally for the first hour I was home. But about 1pm, my nose started bleeding more than it was supposed to--enough to warrant a page. So Han paged Dr. Dimples. And some message told him the pager was off. Han called the office. They said we'd get a call "later." A while later, my mom called the office and was told that as the Dr. was still in surgery, a nurse would call. At 5:30, the office was closed, and we still hadn't heard anything. My nose was bleeding so much that it was completely full, and my ears popped each time I swallowed. So I tried the pager number once more. It worked. I left my number, and within 5 minutes, Dr. Dimples was calling my phone. This was the first he'd heard of me trying to reach him in the 4 hours since the first page. He gave me some simple instructions that helped get things back on track, and that was that.
2) Once I went to Norco-ville, there was a lot of nodding off on my part. Later in the afternoon, my mom and Han went out to get some things I'd need from the store (there were several of these runs) and to pick up the pup from daycare. A while later, my mom walked in--without Han or the dog. She told me not to worry, but that there'd been an incident. My car had been booted... As I am the registered owner of the car, and the owner is supposed to report to a pay location within 24 hours of the booting, this began a slew of phone calls which thankfully resulted in my dad being able to go for me. We can talk about the circumstances of my booting another time. For now, let's just say that I was not notified I was eligible for a boot, none of the tickets were deserved, and I would have continued my perfect record of winning hearings--had I not missed one, forgot to request another, and not followed up with the restaurant whose valet ran a red in my car. Lesson learned on my end. Hatred for the appropriately named Chicago Department of Revenue confirmed.
That night, my wonderful mother stayed over on the air mattress next to me sleeping sitting up on the couch. She woke me every two hours to ice and take whatever pill I needed. I was pretty much up every hour anyway... Have you ever tried to sleep without the use of your nose? I'm not talking about a cold where you're stuffy. I mean, literally, no nasal involvement in breathing... My body woke me at least once an hour because my throat and mouth were so dry. My tongue felt like a steak left out on the counter overnight, and I had to hydrate it back to life as best I could.
Anyway, I credit my mom's super strong icing beliefs for my lack of swelling and bruising. I continued not only the hospital ordered regular icing, but the mom ordered ice at night over the next few days, and I think it made a big difference...
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