Posts by Daniel Lewis45

Donna Wells90 said:Well, why do they give it to some people and not others?🤷...The elderly lady who was in the room with me received it, but everyone else I chatted with—mostly younger folks—didn't get it at all....

I think it really comes down to those blood coagulation tests—whether your blood clots quickly or takes its sweet time... In my case, it’s clearly on the slower side, so they gave it to me... basically, so that after surgery, the blood actually flows through the nose instead of just clotting up inside everything.

Anyway, I'm finally back home... On Wednesday, they just came by to change my tampons... then yesterday, Gudelj finally took them out. He told me, "I'll perform the procedure and then I'll write up your discharge papers," and that's exactly how it went. By 12:30, I was sitting in my car, heading home to relax. Yesterday was spent entirely in bed, and honestly, today will be much the same since it's far too hot to do anything else... Plus, a little scab formed, so it hurts whenever I try to smile, sneeze, or even make any kind of facial expression. I popped into the pharmacy this morning and picked up some Aqua Maris and a baby spray from Nivea... that actually helped clear out the congestion in my nose, so now I'm just gently spitting it out or dealing with a bit of a drip. I know, I probably look like a total mess, but I don't care—I even headed out to the local coffee shop looking like this. Whatever, as long as I'm feeling better. Of course, once they discharged me from the hospital, I didn't receive any real instructions on what to do next—nothing about what to buy or how to behave, absolutely nothing... I just took matters into my own hands and bought these sprays, the gentlest ones they had, just so I can lightly mist my nose. Otherwise, everything is still quite crusty, which is just awful... I'm going in for a check-up on Tuesday, so hopefully, they'll actually tell me something useful then.

As they say back in the day—let’s just keep moving forward... I wasn't in that Room 6 for very long, maybe just one night... honestly, when they first brought me in and hooked me up to everything, I was just relieved they moved me over to Room 5. There are four of us here now. But hey, what can you do? Though, I have to say, they've already shortchanged me on my nasal tampons twice. Today, things got so weird I could practically feel the sensation through my nose. The guy who had surgery right after me is heading home today, while I'm still stuck here in the dark. I really don't have a clue what's going on because every time Gudelj goes to swap out my tampons, the nurse starts cleaning me up, and suddenly he's vanished—gone before I can even ask a single question. And during rounds? Forget about it, there's zero chance of getting any answers. It’s frankly ridiculous; I mean, I am the patient here, and shouldn't the patient be the one receiving the focus? I've been here for four days now and I still know nothing... except that my nose looks straight. That's all I know because I had to sneak off to the restroom by myself just to peel back the bandages and see what the damage actually looks like. My nose is still incredibly swollen, and they've stopped giving me the meds—now I'm just passing the time in every way possible to stay sane. Getting any sleep in this place is an absolute nightmare; everyone snores, and after surgery, it sounds ten times worse because everything just drains into your mouth, making everyone sound like they're drowning. To make matters worse, it is stiflingly hot in here. If you open the window, you get a draft, but if you turn on the AC, someone else complains that it's too cold. I am counting down the minutes until I can finally get home and get some decent, uninterrupted sleep.

Daniel Lewis45 said:So, here I am in the hospital... checked in last night around 7:30 PM... they fed me dinner early—damn... I was trying to stretch out my time until 10 PM, maybe sneaking out for a smoke... then I got hit with that blood thinner injection in the stomach... and some sleeping pill that honestly didn't do squat... everyone else is snoring away, noses totally stuffed up... and yeah, 5:30 AM wakeup call!!! Thermometer check, making the bed, then rounds... that’s what I’m waiting on now... I’m first on the list for surgery.

I’ll check back in tonight or tomorrow... sending good vibes from room 4, second floor, ENT department at Rebro Hospital 😁

Oh, and right before I shut my laptop, the nurse came to get me... "Take off your chain, earrings, watch, everything you've got," she said, and moved me down to the pre-op area. Just sat there for a few minutes before being moved to the table... I actually laid down on that table at 8:30 yesterday... just lying there for half an hour waiting for the doctor to show up... the last thing I remember is the anesthesiologist telling me, "You're going to feel a little dizzy now..." and the next scene is them telling me to move back to my own bed in the ward... that was around 11:30 AM. By 1:00 PM, I had to be up walking already—I was getting bored—the anesthesia had fully worn off. I would have typed more yesterday if I hadn't fried my laptop charger; my girlfriend brought over a soldering iron today so I managed to fix it... They left me with one of those IV drips where they push the pain meds... I asked for them twice, but by evening, they weren't giving them anymore. The only thing was, I couldn't sleep for the life of me... around 2 AM I was tossing and turning, it was either too hot or everyone was just snoring too loud... so I decided to wander the halls and stumbled upon room 6—it was completely empty, had a TV, and the window was wide open... I went back to my room, scribbled a note for the nurse saying I’d moved to room 6 and she could find me there... In the morning, she brought me my thermometer, gave me a smile, and told me it wasn't even that bad for me... So, I ended up staying in this room. The TV is on, I'm the king of the castle here, and now they're bringing in some guy who's been in surgery all day for vocal cord cancer or something... he'll be on a ventilator, so at least he won't be snoring, though I wonder how much noise all that equipment makes...

During rounds, Gudelj stopped by. He said I did the right thing, and that tomorrow he’ll pull the tampons and put in shorter ones... man, that feeling of having a stuffed nose and not being able to blow it out is just awful. Otherwise, everything's a 5/5. Went out for coffee this morning, obviously, though I can't taste a thing... lit a cigarette, even though it felt like I couldn't really taste it. The food is fine and there's plenty, considering the body isn't burning through any fuel... Dinner last night was spaghetti bolognese, breakfast was bread, butter, and deli meat, lunch was a risotto and roasted chicken... Now I'm just waiting for dinner; it's right around the time everyone loves Raymond 😁... so, back to the laptop, putting on a movie, and maybe taking two more sleeping pills. Nobody here seemed to be able to sleep at all, I don't know why... heaven knows what they're giving us... All in all, it's okay, but this nose is driving me crazy—I feel like pulling the tampons out myself at any second. And then there's the nightly blood thinner shot in the gut, followed by an IV injection in the morning that makes your genitals itch like crazy—no joke, it stings so hard for about 30 seconds you feel like you're losing it... though my whole scalp was itching too, I think I'm the first person to mention that...

If anyone wants to know anything, just ask...

Anthony Kern43 said:I mean, look—if you’re actually heading into surgery today, just trust me on this: you aren't going to be in any kind of mood to sit around typing or posting once you wake up. Between the swelling from the rhinoplasty making your nose feel like a lead weight and that weird, hazy fog where the anesthesia just absolutely batters your brain—not to mention the pain—it's just not going to be happening. You'll mostly just want to sleep it off. 😉 You won't even be able to wrap your head around the decision for another two days—give yourself some breathing room before you start overthinking things. 🙂

So, here I am, stuck in the hospital... I checked in last night, around 7:30 PM—you know, that awkward time when they serve you dinner way too early. Honestly, what a waste of time. I had some free time until 10:00 PM, so I slipped out for a quick smoke break—just needed a moment of peace, really. While I was out, they came by and gave me an injection in the abdomen to prevent blood clots, along with one of those sleeping pills that, frankly, doesn't do a damn thing. It’s hard to sleep anyway when everyone around you is snoring like crazy, their noses completely stuffed up... just constant noise. Then, suddenly, at 6:00 AM sharp! Wake up call. Thermometer check, making the bed, the whole routine... and now I'm just sitting here waiting for the doctors to make their rounds. I'm actually first on the list for surgery today. Wish me luck.

I’ll get back to you either tonight or sometime tomorrow... sending greetings from room number 4—up on the second floor of the ENT department at Rebro Hospital. 😁

After waiting for seven long days, I’m finally checking into the hospital tonight... following all those endless check-ups, I was actually scheduled to be admitted last Friday—meaning I should have shown up that Sunday (exactly seven days ago) to get settled in. But, knowing how things go, I didn't just show up; instead, I spent every single day calling at 2:30 in the morning just to ask if I was actually needed that day... and well, here I am, checking in this evening. Honestly, Lord, please help me with Gudelj... up until now, I’ve only ever read glowing reviews about him, but suddenly these negative comments are starting to pop up everywhere... I really hope he doesn't mess this up for me.

To be honest, those seven days of anticipation were killing me—just wanting to finally get this over with. It’s been over two months since my initial exams... I’ve got my laptop with me and a USB internet stick, so I’ll post the results directly from the hospital once I'm feeling settled.

The crew here on the ward was actually praising Gudelj quite a bit... so I'm trying to find some hope in that, too. I'm actually pretty happy with how my nose looks right now—the shape is fine—so I just hope he clears out the nasal passages and leaves everything else exactly as it is. Anyway, I'll check back in later tonight once I've found my room... hopefully they actually feed me dinner.

Oh, I forgot to mention—when I swung by last Monday morning to check in, they gave me the option to stay overnight. Thank goodness I didn't, otherwise I would've been stuck in the hospital for a whole week. That setup works well for people coming from outside the city, since they don't have to worry about travel costs—because let me tell you, you can be certain they won't admit you exactly when you're scheduled; they'll mostly just take your paperwork and wait for an anesthesiologist to become available, if you haven't seen one already. There's a little cafe and sandwich bar right in the lobby, and a few other spots just across from the hospital... At least you get a few days of paid accommodation here in Washington, D.C., and since you aren't officially on the operating schedule yet, I figure you can just wander around the city while you wait to be added to the list. That seems like a decent deal for anyone traveling from out of town—maybe they have some errands to run while they're here. Just a word of advice: don't bring a car. Parking is non-existent. Thankfully, I have a business connection with the hospital, so I can use the staff lot; otherwise, I wouldn't even bother driving. Searching for a spot around here is a nightmare, and you never know when the parking enforcement might be lurking. Better to just forget about it.

Anyway, I'll touch base this evening.