Part 3: The Road to Recovery

I had an "ok" day today. Some parts of the day were rough, others were easy. I'm completely off of the Roxicet now, and I am only taking Tylenol when I need it. Eating is the worst part of the day, because swallowing still hurts a lot. I managed to get myself dressed today so that I could go food shopping. When I look in the mirror, I still feel like I look sick and tired, but I really don't feel that way anymore. I got through the grocery store fine, and driving wasn't a problem either. The rest of the day, I spent lying on the couch and watching TV. My energy levels are quite at 100% yet. I made Stouffer's lasagna for dinner, and it was definitely good and easy to eat too. I even cut out the middle of the garlic toast and ate the soft part. The crust is still too hard for my throat. I was not tired at all until the Penguin game, go figure. I fell asleep for about ½ hour during the game, then I woke up and was awake until after midnight. My biggest problem was yawning. It was so painful every time I yawned, I tried so hard to hold my mouth shut so that my throat wouldn't stretch, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't wait to fall asleep so I wouldn't yawn anymore!

April 17, 2008 - Day 9 after surgery

Finally some relief! I still have some pain, but it's starting to go away now for good. I am still taking Tylenol, especially in the morning when I first wake up, then usually at lunch time. I got enough energy to clean up around the house today, and it was good to get up and move around instead of lie down on the couch. I had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch today, I couldn't find anything else soft that I wanted to eat. Sick of soup, sick of Jello and pudding, sick of Kraft macaroni and cheese. Now I don't feel so worthless because my house is clean again! Jon has been doing a good job keeping up, but there are just some things that drive me nuts when it's not done right. He's starting to slack off now that I'm getting better. I was thinking about going back to work tomorrow, but its Friday, so I'm thinking of just taking the day off and going back on Monday, starting the week off right. I know it's going to be hard, but I'm ready to go back. I need to. My paycheck is only going to be one day of pay, because I only worked last Monday, the day before I left for my surgery. Oh well. I needed the time off, and I didn't want to rush myself. So hopefully when I go back on Monday, I won't be hurting at all and I won't get tired or anything, or else it's going to be a really long day!

April 18^th, 2008 - Day 10 after surgery

So it's Friday, 10 days after my surgery. I'm feeling good, still some pain but definitely manageable. The scabs are starting to be a problem, as I can feel them start to peel off and fall off. It's the most disgusting thing to feel a scab fall off. I look down my throat, and I can see the scabs hanging there ready to come off, and they usually fall off when I eat something or swallow a lot. It's so gross; it makes me want to throw up. I can't wait until all of the scabs are gone and I won't have to go through it anymore. Yuck!

This morning I ran some errands, made a deposit at the bank, bought some things for our cruise coming up, and bought a few shirts at Macy's. It was beautiful outside today, over 80 degrees! I cleaned out my Jeep too.

I had some trouble eating dinner tonight. I made an Herb Chicken bake from Campbell's, with scalloped potatoes and sliced carrots. I had no problem with the rice that came with the bake, or the potatoes, but I couldn't eat the chicken without having a lot of pain. I guess I'm just not ready for solids yet, like meat. I had to take Tylenol at dinner time, and before bed. I can't wait to get a pizza or a big cheeseburger!! YUM! After dinner, Jon and I watched a movie called "Awake" On Demand. It's about a guy that is getting a heart transplant, and he is awake for the surgery but he couldn't move or open his eyes or anything, but he could feel the pain! How awful is that? I'm just glad I had my surgery already, because if I were to see this movie before my surgery, I would be freaking out!

Well that's it for today; I don't have much to write about anymore, because my throat is progressively getting better everyday. =)

April 19, 2008 - Day 11 after surgery

I'll be glad to get back to work, because my sleeping pattern is all messed up. I go to bed late, but I can't sleep in anymore. My bed is so comfy, I wish I could just lay it in for a while in the morning, but my body forces me to get out of it. It's annoying. I used to be able to sleep in with no problem. I think once I get back to work, my sleep will be back to normal.

This morning, I went to Kohl's for their Early Bird Specials. I bought a new bathing suit, a pair of shorts, a polo shirt, and a sweater that was on sale for 5 bucks. New clothes for the cruise, so exciting!

I was really thirsty and my throat had a nasty taste in it, so I stopped at McDonalds and got a Coke. I know I wasn't supposed to drink carbonated beverages, but I had such a craving for pop. I had no problem drinking it, no burning or stinging at all. That's a good sign!

I've been so bored, I'm definitely ready to get out of the house and get back to work, or just be outside. I went to the car wash to clean out Jon's truck. Yes, that's how bored I am! Then I came home, took a bath, watched the Montreal/Boston playoff game, and went to bed.

April 20, 2008 - Day 12 after surgery

It's almost been 2 weeks since the surgery, and I'm glad it's almost over. Tomorrow is my first day back to work, and I'm sort of excited for it. I definitely need to get out of the house and back into my normal routine again. Today I did some spring cleaning around the house, since I finally energy to do things again.

April 21^st, 2008 - Day 13 after surgery

Well, today was my first day back to work in almost 2 weeks. It was strange getting back into the routine of things, but it was definitely nice to get back and start making money again. I missed my friends there, and I did miss my kids too. It was a little rough, because working in daycare, you tend to use your voice a lot during the day, so by the end of the day my throat was hurting again. When I walked in my classroom in the morning, there were signs that said "Welcome Back" and "Get Well Soon" and that made me happy. One of my kids gave me a get well card too. Everybody was very caring and was asking how I was doing. I guess I was missed!

On my break, I went to my dentist for an Invisalign checkup. I finished my treatment, although I am not completely happy, so they are going to do a re-adjustment to make my teeth look perfectly straight. I'm glad there's no cost for that! My dentist had to take impressions of my teeth, which involves a big tray and some silly putty-like substance that forms to my teeth to make an impression of them. It was hard, especially with my throat still healing. I felt like gagging while she was doing the impressions. I was embarrassed of the way my throat looks, because it's still pretty gross looking. I told her about my surgery, and she understood completely. So I made it through and I'm on my way to perfect teeth.

The rest of the day of work went fine. I worked some overtime, and I was so ready to go home at the end of the day. After work, Jon and I went to his sister and brother-in-law's house for dinner, and I'm lucky that we had pasta, since I'm still hesitant to eat anything hard or crunchy yet. It was delicious, and we topped dinner off with Dairy Queen. I don't like ice cream, but I do like their Star Kisses they have, and a cherry one felt great on my sore throat. Bedtime was around 10:00, and I pretty much fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I guess it's going to take a day or two for my body and brain to get back into the swing of things!

April 22^nd, 2008 - Day 14 after surgery

It's been 2 weeks since my tonsillectomy, and I've definitely come a long way. I'm just about 100% healed, although there is some soreness still, and some of the scabs are still there. Tomorrow is my follow up appointment, so I will have to share what the doctor says.

April 23^rd, 2008 - Day 15 after surgery

This afternoon, I went to my surgeon for my follow up appointment. He said that he is surprised how well my throat has healed, since my tonsils were so scarred and hard to remove. He also said that the scabs that are left back there will fall off in about a week. I don't have to worry about any bleeding, because the wounds are closed up now. He said I have no eating restrictions, so I'm back to eating whatever I want as long as I can tolerate it. Well, I feel like I can tolerate anything right now, so I just ordered a pizza from Vocelli, and I can't wait to eat it! I missed eating pizza, and I missed all my favorite solid foods that I couldn't eat during my recovery. I'm so happy to be back to normal. It's been a long 2 weeks, but I made it, finally! Now I have my cruise to look forward to, and I don't have to worry about being in pain on vacation. Thanks to everybody who has followed my recovery and read my articles on it. I also want to thank those of you who wished me a happy recovery; it helped make me feel better! I hope that my experience has helped somebody out there who is going through the same thing. Good luck and thanks for reading! -April