The longest weekend.....

Its been almost a year, but I've just got time to write down what happened about a year ago..Wondering what kept me so busy? Well, the word tenth standard is enough to explain everything.So here goes


It all started on 9th, December, 2003 , I clearly remember, I had my computer science exam on that day. All had been going well, when all of a sudden, everything went blur and I couldn't focus on my paper.This eventually developed into an unbearable headache. Sadly, I had to write another exam the same afternoon, with this horrible headache.. thanks to my teacher who gave me regular massage while writing the exam.Well this was the start. Slowly but steadily I started getting these headaches more frequently. So that's when we decided to meet the ENT as we expected it to be related with my frequent nose blocks ..

That evening my parents came hurriedly from our general physician's clinic and asked me to get dressed quickly..we were to go to the ENT 's place.As we reached there, the doc, who happened to be a very stern but a kind gentleman inserted into my nostrils cotton dipped in some kind of solution. He said it would make the inner portions of my nose numb..as he inserted them inside, the bitterness of the medicine traveled through my throat ; I twitched.He performed video endoscopy to look into the internal parts of my nose.He tried to explain to me all the parts within my nose,but I wasn't able to follow anything as everything looked pink and fleshy and some kind of liquid kept oozing out of it..it looked sick! The only thing I remembered was the word "Eustachian tube" (the tube connecting the ear and the nose)..to my disbelief, the doc asked me to concentrate on all that he said and told me that he would ask me all this the next time I visited his hospital.I gave a silly smile, mumbling to myself.Coming to the main part, the doc said that I had a septal deviation and chronic sinusitis! For the uninitiated,septum is the wall which divides the left and right hand sides of the nose and in my case, it was a bit crooked leaving less space for inhaling oxygen..as a result of less oxygen reaching the brain, headaches develop, which was happening with me.Wondering how I know all this information? This was a result of a mini research using the encyclopedia at my home and the internet on the anatomy of the human nose just to make sure I was able to answer all the questions asked by the doc (Oh! one more headache!)

Moreover, the number of sinus bags in each side of the nose where more in number than the required ones.all this was the cause of my nose blocks and headaches.This thing existed ever since I was a little child because I remember my mom telling me about the nebulizer that the doctors used to free me from my nose block when I was just 21 days old.

Thus, my trip to the doctor's clinic increased steadily and so did the number of endoscopies.. So, the doctors(the doc and his daughter) decided that it was better for me to undergo a surgery. Now that didn't come as a pleasant surprise for my mom as she gets a little to touchy when it comes to surgeries.

So, the day was fixed , 29th May,2004.I went through a set of scans- MRI ,ECG, Chest X-Ray and a number of blood tests the previous day.When I came home, I was dead tired and spent the rest of the time watching the world premiere of Harry Potter. Unfortunately, I had to wake up early the next morning and have a good breakfast and enough water because I was asked not to have a sip of water nor a bite of food after that that left a gap of nearly 7 hours before my surgery.We(my parents and I) reached the hospital 2 hours in advance.. the sight , smell and sound of the whole area was sickening,frankly, when your go to place like this you feel as if you are suffering from a very horrible disease but I kept my cool and went to my room it wasn't too big but it was clean.. a bed opposite to the door, an AC on the other side, a window, sofa and of course a toilet,after a long wait, the nurse appeared ,checked my BP regularly and then finally injected something which she said would relax me and put me to sleep,and so it did.In a while I felt dizzy and lay back on the bed.At a state when I was almost asleep,the doc appeared in his operating costume and a couple of people transferred me to another bed and took me to the operating theatre.I was almost asleep but I could still feel the chillness of the AC in the OT. The anesthetist who happened to be a very kind person, asked me about my school and its address just to distract me ...and very slowly stuck into my wrist a needle with a funnel like projection through which the other injections would be passed through. He injected a medicine and placed the oxygen mask on my nose and asked me to take deep breaths and in a while I was in a deep, deep sleep..I had no feeling, no idea of what was happening. Truly speaking, those three hours of my life were almost like facing death…because you don't have the slightest sense of what it happening..

After what felt like ages, I opened my eyelids, as if coming out of coma, I saw the similar faces and the other equipment. The doctor told me ,"the operation is over". I showed no reaction..that was because I could speak anything as my nose was completely sealed with bandage and was breathing through my mouth. As I was taken out of the OT, I could feel the sudden increase in temperature..I heard my mother's voice calling out my name and could see figures of my dad and other relatives.. my throat kept going dry.The anesthetist asked me several questions to make sure that I was in my senses..

The worst part was yet to come..I guess I suffered more after the surgery than during the surgery itself..my nose was completely covered, internally as well as externally. The absence of a mirror in the ward made me look at my reflection on the curved surface of a steel flask. I kept vomiting out blood the entire day,no matter what I ate or drank.A letter from my dearest friend in the evening , brought back the smiles on my face.. I was more than happy when I found that the bandage would be removed the next day but that happiness didn't last long because even after the removal of the bandage my nose remained completely blocked.That lasted for over a week. That meant, doing three things with my mouth talking ,eating and of course breathing! The worst part was that my nose kept bleeding always and I had to hold a tissue with me always and at night the blood would coagulate and dry u around my nose making me feel sick. I would have to wake up the next morning and scrap off the dried blood..All this lasted for nearly 2 weeks and of course the regular check ups didn't provide much of an entertainment.

With all this done, I am here writing without even one side of my nose blocked and not having a headache..Thanks to Dr.Babu and Dr. Deepa!!!


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