NEW (& MAYBE LAST) OPPORTUNITY

Since my last post I have been to Missouri to see my baby daughter, my husband has been to Russia, I have been to Abilene for a visit with my dearest friend in all the world and I don't have tonsils anymore!

Wow! I had my tonsils removed in a whirlwind two weeks of going to the doctor and bam!, they were out.

Tollie has been trying to talk me into going back to our ENT doctor to have my throat checked again. He has been concerned about my breathing at night for some time now. I had a sleep apnea study done many years back and was told I did not have sleep apnea. Yet, Tollie believed there were problems with my breathing while I slept. He says I will breathe in fine, it is the breathing out that seems to be halted and restricted. He has said I make lots of funny noises and he has believed for a long time that my halted breathing out has been hard on my heart. I have poo-pooped the idea for a long time, thinking I am not tired during the day, I don't seem to have trouble sleeping at night and I have never gasped for breath like they talk about when you have sleep apnea.

I love Tollie and respect his ideas and especially his love for me and because he asked me to go to the doctor, I called and made an appointment with our ENT doctor on Wednesday April 30. I let them know that our company was changing insurance companies the next day so any surgery might have to be postponed until all that was done. I really didn't expect him to talk immediately about surgery, I expected him to tell me it might help and when I was ready to let them know.

I left the doctor's office in a whirlwind of thoughts. They wanted to schedule the tonsillectomy on the next Tuesday, May 6th. They were already doing ten cases that day and would just add another one. It would be outpatient and I should have no problems. When Dr. Heartfield looked into my mouth that first time, he just said, "ooh, 3+." We will need to take the uvula and thin out the soft palette." He then went on to explain that I had airway obstruction and wanted to know if I snored. I told him I did snore, a lot. In fact, sometimes I wake myself up snoring. He said I would not realize how bad the airway obstruction was until it was all over and I felt better, then I would realize how bad I have felt all along.

Okay, so I call Tollie on my cell phone, telling him they want to do it next week. I go to work and find out we probably can't get everything done with the new insurance in time for next week. But, later in the day, the HR person tells me everything is in place and I can go ahead! Tollie and I looked at several dates and really the 6th was probably the best date.

I went on Friday for my pre-op stuff and found that because we have a high deductible, we would be paying everything out of pocket. Still, for around $2000 I get a new opportunity at life? Seems fair enough.

So, on Tuesday morning, May 6th Tollie and I go to the outpatient pavilion and check in. They get me back shortly after arrival and then we wait. It is after 2 pm when they finally come and get me for the surgery. I remember them taking me from my room to the surgery suite and asking me to move over to the surgery table. I moved and the next thing I remember is waking up in recovery. I am still alive. No problem. I can swallow! I seem to be doing fine. However, Dr. Heartfield comes in to say that I did fine but because of the size of my tonsils and possible swelling, he wants to keep me overnight.....just for observation.

When Tollie met with Dr. Heartfield, he jokingly asked him if he had saved my tonsils in a jar. Dr. Heartfield said he didn't have a jar big enough. He would have had to put them in a bowl. He stated that my tonsils were growing down my throat and were probably some of the largest he has ever seen. He knew I would be feeling so much better in time. This was all we need to validate that my tonsils should have come out and probably several years earlier than now!

I have visitors that night, our dear friends the McLeods come by with a begonia, another dear friend from church, then my son-in-law and two grand daughters come by with a pink soft pig and homemade cards. They are so special! Tollie goes home to get some things we had not brought such as sleeping gear for him, toothbrushes, etc. He stops by and gets me a Wendy's hamburger. I tried to eat it and only could not because the anesthesia makes me sick to my stomach. They give me something for that and later in the evening, I am able to eat part of the hamburger.

I stay the night in the outpatient pavilion with only one other patient in the place and I have my own nurse. She is great. She comes and checks on me often and tells me if my oxygen monitor sounds the alert, I just need to take a deep breath and it will return to normal. I find that as I am just going to sleep, the monitor sounds the alert. So, I take a deep breath and start to relax again. Finally, after about 2 in the morning, I ask my nurse if I can have some oxygen so I don't keep waking up. She gets it for me and sure enough I don't get woke up every 5 minutes (and neither does Tollie.

For breakfast, my nurse has ordered double for me and Tollie. We have sausage and pancakes. Yummy, I am able to eat two pancakes and two sausages. I am feeling really good. We get released and because the PA cannot find a monitor in town, I am told to sleep the night sitting up. They are really concerned that with swelling my airway obstruction will be blocked completely.

It is now a week later, and I am doing great. I have had pizza, mexican food, soups, sandwiches, toast, eggs, ice cream, popsicles and pretty much anything I want to eat. I just returned from my doctor's visit and he says I am doing great. There are few scabs and there is already healing tissue starting. My tonsils had a bacterial infection in them, but since they are gone, so is the infection. There is still some swelling and I can try to sleep in my bed tonight, but only if Tollie monitors me. No problem! He has been monitoring me the whole time. At first, I slept in the den in my chair and he on the couch. We finally got smart and moved the chair to the bedroom so he could sleep in the bed. We have both done fine, but I am ready to be in my own bed. I still take Tylenol every 6 to 8 hours and find I wake about 2 am with my ears hurting and my throat throbbing. I have discovered the pain comes at 2 am because I am not moving the tissues and drinking. They get stiff and sore. But I can take my Tylenol and in about 30 minutes I am back asleep. So tonight, I will try sleeping in my own bed.

I am so happy for this opportunity to lose weight. Dr. Heartfield told me today that probably this week, I am going to get a real hunger pang. He said to try and resist it and keep doing what I am doing. I don't think I have lost a lot of weight, although I know I have lost some. I don't have a scale at home so it will be hard to know for sure. But my clothes are fitting better and no more than I am eating, I have to have lost something.

I want to take this opportunity to continue what I am doing now, eating very slowly, small bites, chewing a lot and not eating much. I have not been hungry yet, so when I get hungry, it will be harder. Please pray for me that I can resist the temptation to eat when I am hungry and take this opportunity to continue what I am doing now. I hope to have more energy and be more likely to exercise because I feel better. I have this chance, I don't want to waste it.