exhaustedI headed down for a doctor's appointment downtown at 8:00. I got to experience the joy and wonder of a nasal fiber-optic camera again...twice. My nasal cavity and throat felt awful for the rest of the day, but better today. Basically, the lesion is still on my vocal cords and the area is still inflamed, and since the diet and pills didn't fix the problem, that means surgery...
...tomorrow.
It's really short notice, but I'm stoked they could fit me in. While I'm a little bummed out that it's going to cut into my time with my family, involve my Dad and
mountain_child giving up a big chunk of their days to drive me down, sit through it, and drive back (I'm going under general anesthetic and can't drive myself), and I'm a little worried about homework, I'm really glad that this is going to be taken care of. I'm really tired of having lived with this for so long. I want my voice back. I'll be on a double dose of Prilosec for a few months and I'll need to speak quietly while it heals, and the diet (no acidic foods, no spicy) is still on, but I'm still happily relieved. Plus, this gives me extra recovery time before Semester at Sea (which I'll need if any complications arise and I need to go back to the hospital).
One complication is that the Friday surgery trumps my Friday appointment with my general practitioner, which I needed to have to deal with a medical history form at Semester at Sea. The SAS offices are closed until Monday, so I'll have to call and beg for forgiveness then, and hope they give me an extension.
Then, at 10:00, I went to Travel Medicine in the same hospital. I had a great talk with a doctor and got all the information I needed about my medications and immunizations for my trips. She gave me a polio booster shot (the last I should ever need in my life), a yellow fever shot, then wrote me prescriptions for the oral typhoid vaccine, my malaria medication, and yeast infection pills in case my malaria pills give me trouble (they're antibiotics, and this has happened before).
I took those three prescriptions down to the pharmacy to be filled (plus a prescription for a Prilosec refill), then took
mountain_child up to the cafeteria for lunch. Then we went to the anesthesia clinic, waited around for my 1:00 appointment, sat through a fire drill, and then had a quick chat with a nurse there before picking up my prescriptions and heading home. When I got home, I finished filling out my SAS trip reservations that needed to be pre-ordered (like my African safari), then found my keys (well,
mountain_child from the bus stop, then headed to the post office to mail that order form, plus an order for foreign currency, plus a letter to each of my families in Japan (with translation!), letting them know I'd be coming over in February. Then we drove home, met
shrike30, and the four of us played Munchkin (YAY) before heading over to bluemoonshark's house for dinner. I started feeling crappy, though (probably from the effects of stress, exhaustion, a persistent backache from driving on Friday, and my vaccinations that morning), and shrike30 graciously drove us home early. So, anyway, that's what's up with me. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, and wish me luck in surgery tomorrow morning. :)
