Recovery

Hi,


A brief post this week, mainly because I haven't been up to too much. This has been my week off for Easter, and I have spent most of it lying on the settee, watching day time TV and films. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself when I wrote the last blog, and up to about a week after the operation date. Now I am feeling better and better, great news! I can eat proper food and talk. I went to a friends birthday party yesterday, thinking I would be sitting in the corner unable to talk with people very much (not really like me at all) but hadn't really any problem. I did talk a bit too much, though, and have to go home a bit after twelve... Today I made a roast dinner with flat mates and ate properly! 


It is only after you have had things taken away that you realise how important they are. Hopefully, (and now this sounds like I am writing a reflective piece of writing for my medical school) I can use this to appreciate how being ill can make some people pretty grumpy and relate to this. I was pretty grumpy last week, apart from when I was taking too much codine and was just a little loopy...


Anyway, summary - I am now well enough to do the essays and work that I have been putting off and excusing 'because I am too ill' which would make me sad, if I wasn't so glad about this new found health!


To wrap up, please find below a picture of my throat 5 days after the operation. The uvula was more swollen before this picture, but I couldn't really open my mouth enough to take a picture of it. The white bits are probably because of the cautery used to seal off the cut burning and killing the flesh at the back of the throat, which is then coming off. The uvula is still pretty big in this picture (compared to my or anyone else's normal size) which I suppose is because of inflammation from the surgery. It was very awkward, as it felt like there was something there that I wanted to swallow all the time, and it diverted any food or drink around it when I tried to swallow all over the painful parts!

The back of my throat, 5 days post op. Most notable is the inflamed uvula. Sorry about the pictures if you think they are nasty, but I always find this sort of thing interesting!