Happy New Year {sarcastically speaking}

I am not, nor have I ever been, the type to go out and party the night away celebrating the close of one year and the beginning of a new one. I don’t really write resolutions because anything I would write down should just be the way I live my life anyway!

Well, mid-December I went for a 2nd opinion for severe sleep apnea. It wasn’t a planned appointment for that – I was going to see my ENT due to ringing in my ears and since I had previously talked to him about sleep studies I figured I would get a 2nd opinion while there. For the first time in many, many months the subject of my tonsils came up and the fact that I have a deviated septum in my nose. I had no idea! The previous sleep specialists were full on – get a CPAP machine and love it! I tried it and didn’t even come close to liking it.

My ENT suggested surgery to correct the deviated septum, remove my tonsils, remove excess tissue in my soft palate and remove part/all of the uvula. OMG…that does not sound fun! But, I was thinking, if a few days of pain will seriously help my sleeping – Bring. It. On. Yep, just bring it! And, secretly I was thinking I’d have a few days where I am forced to be inside and can have fun working on some crafty projects. This is when the delusion sets in!

Thanks to Google and WebMD I can give you a glimpse of what we are talking about…

Have you ever really thought about cutting any of that stuff in the back of your throat? No…no you have not. And do you know why you have not?? Because when you burn the back of your throat on a piping hot, albeit delicious, cup of hot chocolate or some yummy, gooey cheese dish you know it hurts worse than being kicked in the shin by a horse. So, can you tell me why I was like “Yes! We should do this! And we should do it ASAP!” I can explain the ASAP part (sort of). My employer, like many others, changed our healthcare plan effective 1/1/14 so I really wanted to have it done while still under my old plan which has a much smaller deductible that I had already met! And, I had a few dollars left in my FSA account that had to be used by 12/31/13 or I would lose it AND not be able to contribute to my HSA until April.

I spent quite a bit of time talking to my insurance company and my doctor’s office to try and get on the schedule for 2013 and due to a death in the family of another patient I was put on the schedule. Please be in prayer for their family as they grieve the loss of a loved one this holiday season. I don’t think I’ve ever been this “excited” to do something (especially surgery) before. All the chips were falling into place, and all I could think about was a relief from horrible sleep apnea and a few days of crafting!

I walked into the hospital at 6:20ish am on Monday, December 30th and rolled out around 2:30 pm Tuesday, December 31st in zero (I mean ZERO) condition to party or even stay up until midnight to say Happy New Year! I wanted to go home, but man I wanted to keep that morphine IV for a few more days. Our office was closed on Wednesday so that gave me a day off to rest. Thursday I woke up after a terrible night’s sleep and got ready for work – luckily I am able to work from home. It was a long day! Friday I couldn’t even consider working and thankfully my boss and co-workers are good people. Friday, a friend I’ve known for over 35 years stopped by with her 2 kids visiting from CT. I had really hoped I would be able to spend some time with them, but that just was not going to happen! We visited for a while, but my throat hurt and talking was difficult.

The days have been miserable! I really can’t even explain it…and I will tell you – not an ounce of crafting has gotten done!!

Even though I’ve been in a lot of pain I should give a shout out to my doctor’s office ENT Institute Smyrna office and Dr. Guffin and his staff. Ashley and Christy were so helpful in getting me scheduled, and to be fair – Dr. Guffin warned me that it would be a long 10-15 days of painful recovery. So I was warned!

Here is a little glimpse into the fun time I’ve had ringing in the New Year…wishing everyone well and hoping everyone has an amazing 2014! And, make a mental note somewhere – this is probably not something you want to do unless you are dying.