July 26th, Day of Surgery

I arrived at the hospital at 8:15 AM and checked in.

The Short Procedures Unit call me back immediately but my wife had to stay in the waiting room until they called her to join me.

I was given a hospital gown to wear and put all my clothing in a bag, which they locked in a locker for me. Then I was given an IV, which is where they would give me the anesthetic when I was in the operating room.

My wife joined me and we waited for the anesthesiologist to interview me.

The anesthesiologist when through her pages of questions and warned me of the risks and then asked me to sign the consent form.

The whole process went really smooth and I was back in recovery in about 45 minutes. Once they got me on the operating table, I was given the anesthetic and went out like a like. The only thing I remember is how warm the blankets were. They must keep them heated because they warmed me right up.

When I awoke in the recovery room, I had a cold compress on my neck and could feel a little discomfort in my throat, nothing real bad but I figured that was because of the anesthetic. As I became more conscious I started feeling the pain more. It wasn't as bad as my worst case of tonsillitis but I still could feel the roughness of where my tonsiles had been and my Uvula felt like it was swollen up like a cherry.

Anyway, the nurse helped me sit up and then gave me my choice of juice. She asked that I try to sip the juice. She explained that I should try to drink a lot of fluids, water being the best because it would help with the recovery. Stating the tissue in my throat would heal faster if it was hydrated and the water would keep it clean.

After I was fully conscious, they brought me back to the Short Procedures Unit where I got dressed and was released. Of course they took me out in a wheelchair but that seemed like the standard procedure so I went along.

My wife drove me home and went to pick up the liquid tylonol with codeine from the pharmacy, which the doctor prescribed for me to take every four hours.

Once I was home, I sat in my favorite spot and sipped water and watched TV. The pain was tolerable and I even tried to eat chicken soup, which didn't go to well. The hot broth was too hot for my throat and I quickly put it down. I did have a lot of Ice Cream, well Soy Ice Cream, I can't handle dairy, I'm lactose intolerant like you wouldn't believe.

Anyway, the evening passed without too much fuss and I went to bed around 11 PM. I had discovered that I needed to sleep on my side because my Uvula was so swollen that when I lay on my back it blocked my breathing out through my nose.

Other than waking up every three hours I slept pretty well after taking a dose of medicine, which seems to wear off about thee hours after taking it. The medicine also made me drowsy so it was easy to get back to sleep.