Nasal Surgery - No More Nose Splints

Good evening everyone (and, if I didn't see you, good morning and good afternoon).

I had my first post-operative appointment from my Nasal Septal Reconstruction. I arrived at 3:40 for my 3:45 appointment, and was sent back to the room at 4:45. The doctor came in shortly thereafter and said that it would be a quick procedure.

He gave me some tissues to use to blow my nose when he finished. He said that the splints were being held in place my a stitch. He said he had to cut the stitch (not me) and then pull out each of the splints. Cutting out the stitch was not all that enjoyable, but I did like him removing the splint. It made my sneeze and my eyes watered, but I was able to breathe much easier. Then, he quickly removed the splint on the right-hand side. There was a lot of coughing, then I got to blow my nose.

Blowing your nose may not seem like a big deal, but you have to think about what I've been doing all week. I'm allergic to just about anything in the air, so my nose has been running (a lot) since last Monday. And, I wasn't allowed to blow it (shucks). So, getting to get some of that built up mucus (and dried blood) out of my nose was very nice.

It feels cold inside my nose when I breathe, at the moment. Also, if I blow too hard or inhale to sharply, then my septum feels as if it is flapping all over the place. Imagine holding a sheet of paper between your thumb and finger, one hand at the top of the page and one at the bottom. Then, turn the paper so that you are facing the edge that you are not holding. Blow sharply across it, and that's the the way my septum feels (or, that's the way I would describe it).

I don't have any worries. The doctor said that I am healing very well and he will see me in two weeks. He also said the slight numbness behind my two front teeth will get start to get better now. All I have to do is use some saline solution a couple of times a day for a while as my septum heals. They don't want my nose to get dried out.

Thank you all for your prayers for a quick recovery.

For those of you wondering: my next appointment with the nephrologist is September 11. So, you can expect an update on the kidney front after that time.

Surgery Complete

Surgery went well. Nathan is at home resting and surprisingly not in TONS of pain. The surgeon said there were lots of polyps in his nose and once he's completely recovered he should breathe a lot easier. Today was a very long day because everything goes slowly at the hospital. Yesterday, the anesthesiologist called and said that surgery would be at 11:00 instead of 8:30 like pre-admitting told us. So, we got to the hospital at 9:00 and Nathan was finally rolled back to the operating room at 12:15. He spent 2 1/2 hours in stage one recovery before they moved him to the 2nd recovery room where I could be with him. All this to say it was a long and tiring day, but things went well and we're glad to be home.

Quick Surgery Update

Just wanted to let everyone know - my surgery time was moved to 11:00 am for Monday. They called last night (Sunday) to let me know that my surgery time was moved a little bit later. For those of you that will be praying, 11:00 am is the time! Thanks!