My Experience

I had chronic tonsillitis, swollen glands, strep throat and was often on antibiotics. I made the decision to have my tonsils removed.

I was told to not have aspirin for two weeks before surgery. One week before the operation I took a mandatory pregnancy test.

The first thing I did once at the hospital was the dreaded paperwork — some questionnaires and registration. Then I went to triage, got undressed and put on a hospital gown and slippers. I was brought to a room and I lay down on a hospital bed. A nurse came in and set me up with an IV.

I ended up waiting and waiting in the triage room for three hours. It was not supposed to be that long; my surgery was scheduled for 2 pm and, following instructions to be there an hour before, I arrived promptly at 1 pm. But there was a delay and I ended up waiting. I was bored. During that time, many people came to ask me the same questions over and over again. General questions and quizzes about the procedure, I guess for security reasons. Better to be safe than sorry. A few nurses came in and asked if I wanted any “happy juice”, which I declined; I did not want to be incoherent at that point.

Eventually the anesthesiologist came in. She asked me the same questions as everyone else. I remember one question in particular that I kept wondering about: they asked about my teeth. Did I have any loose teeth, caps, etc.? I always replied “no,” but I never knew why they were asking. So I finally asked the anesthesiologist. “Why do you need to know about my teeth?”

She replied: “Well, because when we place the breathing tube, we want to make sure we are aware of any teeth that may be loose, so that if any damage occurs, we will not be responsible or liable if in fact you do have some loose caps or teeth.”

Immediately after that I needed and demanded the “happy juice”. I had no idea about the intubation. I guess I never asked. I freaked out, so then I needed to relax.

Within minutes, they wheeled me into the OR. I only remember bright lights, and being wheeled…all these people standing over me while walking me into the OR. The anesthesiologist had needles in her hand and I had tubes in my arm. She asked how I felt and I said I still was scared. Then she put something into one of my tubes, then she asked how I was. I guess I was fine; I passed out.

I woke up, and I felt terrible. All I could feel was pain. Nurses came over: one had a Popsicle, one had water, one had pills and one had Jell-o. All at once they were shoving things in my mouth, saying I should drink water, asking me who I was, what I felt, if I had to go to the bathroom, if I was OK. I replied: “Please can you put me back to sleep!” Then they laughed and said: “She is OK! “

Then they really wanted me to eat that Popsicle. And I tried, but told them it was too much work. It really was — I couldn’t even swallow. The next day I went home and went straight to bed.

The recovery was not easy. My doctor told me that for someone my age you can walk away easier from open-heart surgery than a tonsillectomy. There are many reasons why the recovery was so hard, including the pain and extreme difficulty eating and drinking. This lead to problems taking pain medication on an empty stomach and dehydration. I was not able to do any physical activity during this period. Also, I developed a blood clot that required emergency surgery.