A Story About Two Naughty Little Tonsils

WARNING: THIS POST WILL BE FILLED WITH SELF-PITY, MISERY AND WOE. If you're still interested, then read on...but you have been warned.

In January of this year, my tonsils decided to pull a Benedict Arnold (sorry for the dorky history reference) and betray me. The little traitors thought it would be funny to get all swollen...and stay that way forever. It didn't matter what I did, they stayed big, ugly, and uncomfortable. I would wake up every morning with a nasty sore, scratchy throat. After months of issues with my insurance (that's another long story), and a primary care doctor who had NO idea what was going on, I finally was able to go see an ENT doctor who informed me that the tonsils simply HAD to come out...they would not get better on their own. He also informed me that a tonsillectomy was probably one of the most painful surgeries (as an adult, because it's a simple recovery for kids) out there. He said I would probably be flat on my back for two weeks.
Great. Just great.
So on Friday, August 10th, my dear sister drove me to the surgery center to have the little beasts removed.

Waiting to go in...Can you see the terror on my face? 

Rockin' the get up!

I had two nurses, an anesthesiologist, and my doctor...all helping with the surgery. It was a little more intense than I expected, especially when I walked into a surgery room that looked straight out of TV show/movie. I think I said something along the lines of..."Wow, this is legit," upon walking into the surgery room. At least I made them all laugh. The nurses hooked me up to a bunch of scary looking machines while the anesthesiologist put a mask on my face, and a needle in my arm. The last thing I remember was saying, "should I already be feeling sleepy??..." and then I was out.

11 days later, and I'm still recovering.

Here's a little glimpse into my normal day post-surgery.
10:30 am: Wake up, and take drugs.
10:35 am: Take a shower, and try not to pass out...luckily husband stands by to catch me in case of a fall.
10:45 am: Standing for more than ten minutes leads to severe dizziness, so sprawl on the couch in a towel until the world stops spinning.
10:55 am: Get up, brush hair/teeth and get dressed.
11:00 am: Return to couch with pillow, blanket, a large glass of iced water, and an icepack for the throat...commence with watching HGTV.
11:30 am: Drink a nutrition shake...try not to cry with all of the swallowing.
12:00 pm: Take a nap.
2:00 pm: Wake up and watch some more HGTV (that House Hunters International is just addicting!).
2:30 pm: Take more drugs.
3:00 pm: Eat a popsicle (SO soothing).
3:30 pm: Sleep some more (you would too if you were as doped up on drugs!).
5:30 pm: TRY to eat some soup/oatmeal without crying.
6:30 pm: Take more drugs.
7:00 pm SLEEP.
9:00 pm: ICE CREAM...vanilla with caramel swirls (best part of my day!).
9:15 pm: Yep...more TV.
10:30 pm: More drugs...and bed time!

A lot of people have asked me if it was as bad as I expected. The pain has been manageable...but that's because I have been so drugged up on Percocet, that I can barely function. That's been the hardest part....not doing anything. I didn't even step outside the house until a week after my surgery, and that was only to go to the Redbox down the hill with the husband. That little jaunt ended in severe dizziness, and a near pass out. Oops! The car and Percocet don't mix!

The faces of recovery. The happy-faced Whitney was excited for her first trip out of the house...which didn't end so well!

In the last few days, I have drastically cut back on my pill intake, so I've actually been able to go out and do some things here and there. I went to church on Sunday, and even went and got a pedicure yesterday. The trade off for not being a zombie, is I'm in more pain...but it's worth it to actually be able to feel like myself again! So, I'm slowly on the mend...hopefully I'll be fully recovered soon, because I'll be honest...tonsillectomies suck!