breathe . . . breathe in the air

Hey, want to have some fun?

Take a look at your nose. See how normally-sized it is? Pretty small and stuff, right? Maybe a few centimeters across?

This afternoon, my doctor pulled two plastic splints out of mine, each the about one-and-a-half times the size of a silver dollar and shape of a smashed penny (I just looked at them again, because he sterilized them so I could keep them as a souvenir) When he was done, I had this overwhelming compulsion to get my ass to Mars.

I instantly felt 100% better, and when he told me that I can resume all
my normal activities (albeit slowly, over several weeks) – including the glorious consumption of Guinness – I
thought I was going to cry with joy and relief.

I know that my doctor has lots of patients, and I know that taking care of all of us is his job, but throughout this entire process, from my first consultation to the removal of my splints this afternoon, he and his entire surgical team and office staff made me feel like I was his only one. I’m an extremely lucky, happy, and grateful guy. Who can finally breathe normally. Though his nose.

Huzzah!

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70 thoughts on “breathe . . . breathe in the air”

  5. Yeah, my voice sounds different to me. It seems more “nasally” and thin to me, but my doctor says that it will actually sound richer and fuller in a matter of days. It just sounds weird to me because the whole acoustic nature of my skull is different than it’s been.
    He’s worked with rock stars, opera singers, voice actors, and other professionals who rely on their voices to put food on their children, so I trust that he knows what he’s talking about.

  9. You’ll sound different to yourself for awhile. How we sound to ourselves and how we sound to others is really different.
    Overall, how bad was it *really*? My 7 year old is facing surgery for a deviated septum, but we’re hoping to hold off until she’s a teen. She’s got mild apnea and her nose is really tiny (she’s a tiny kid though). Any time she gets even a little stuffy it spells trouble. Watching them scope her reminded me of the one scene in Total Recall.
    I’m glad you’re feeling better. Now go read another good book!

  10. Glad to hear you are feeling better, and breathing through your nose again. And I hope you adapt quickly to the change in resonance within your skull.
    It must be like listening to yourself on a recording all the time. How weird!

  11. Hi Wil,
    For most of my childhood I had both of my septums fully deviated. Around age 17 I went through the surgery to make my life breathable again, and I am RIGHT THERE WITH YA! I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to breath again. I still remember the sensation vividly of that first really deep breath through my nose after removing the packing! It was so work the surgery! -Isabelle

  16. Very glad to hear you are on the mend! Enjoy that breathing – I’m sure it was worth the wait. Speaking as someone who used to sleep with The Snoring Man, I’m sure both you and Anne will be much much happier now. 🙂

  17. Ok, the Total Recall reference made me laugh out loud.
    But good stuff! I’m glad you have your pert little button nose back.

  18. It’s amazing you had all that plastic up your nose huh? I didn’t keep mine as a souvenir, but I should have!
    Just remember what I said, your breathing through your nose is gonna sound different, you might wake up at night and wonder who the stranger in your bed is that’s breathing down your neck!

  19. Don’t be afraid to care…
    Outstanding news all the way around, Wil! It sounds like after the last couple of weeks, you were due for some good news, and I’m glad you got some.
    So the all important question: Do you perceive the tone or quality of your voice has changed at all? Do you hear yourself talking as though into Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound?

  27. Glad you’re back on your feet.
    I’m not sure if you’d be willing to make a referral to someone you don’t know, but I’m in need of the same surgery and it sounds like your doctor is a champ.

  33. Wil I’m so glad you’re back! I “checked in on you” at least once a day to see if there was any progress – to the point where I even caught myself saying to myself (because yeah..whats talking to yourself if you can’t realize what you’re doing) “Let’s see how Wil is doing…”
    Three cheers for healthy breathing!

  34. Welcome back Uncle willy………..It is so good to have you back on the blog waves again. I have missed your writing, your humor, and your spirit! If I could buy you a Guinness I would!

  37. i get that “oh yeah, breathing” feeling from breathe right strips. of course, now you’ll notice the difference between fresh air and polluted air, and that’s not so nice. but then there’s things like ocean air, and mountain air, and forest air, and the smell of fresh dirt after a long winter. And pulling something out of the fridge and saying, “hey honey, this smells terrible. come smell it!” that always cracks me up, cause everyone obliges.

  39. You know they used to give Guinness to women after childbirth and to people recovering from illness because it’s full of iron and nutrients. It’s the best excuse in the world. Guinness is good for you! The advert says so, and if the advert says so, it must be right. Right?

  40. Huzzah indeed! Looking forward to more frequent blogging when you’re back to 100%. Glad you took the time out that you needed to recover properly though (with the exception of the bath incident, but we’ll not mention that again). Enjoy the Guinness!

  41. I am so happy for you! I hate being laid up to recover. I always over do it and end up doing damage (kinda like your hot bath). Glad everything is getting back to normal 🙂

  43. Congrats! I know what you mean about feeling like the only patient. My GP has a similar bedside manner, and I’ve always described it as feeling like I’m his favorite patient. Statistics make this unlikely, so I can only guess that he treats all of his patients like they are his favorite.

  46. If you’re not you, then…who da hell are you?
    Glad you’re feeling better. Being unable to drink/do anything blows chunks.
    The world hasn’t changed too much.

  47. Oh dude… I will never forget how amazing it felt to have those things pulled out. I was 16 or so, and didn’t even know they were in there, and didn’t think to ask. So awesome.
    Congrats, and good luck on the rest of your recovery.

  49. From reading your tweets, I guess you had the same op I had a coupla years ago (a septoplasty?).
    I so totally know what you mean. I didn’think my breathing had been that bad beforehand but *dude*! what a difference!
    Evidently you American types get a better class of healthcare, though; the packing / splint stuff I had was the index and middle fingers of a latex glove, full of something like cotton wool. The British NHS is so cheap! :o)
    PS: If you like The Atrocity Archives, I can *strongly* recommend The Jennifer Morgue, which is even more fun. I just finished his Accelerando, as well, which I really enjoyed. British sci-fi authors rule. (I may be a little biased ;o)
    Glad to read your feeling better after the op, anyways.

  50. Yaaaaaaay!!!!!!
    Welcome back will; wean yourself back into it all carefully – we can’t afford to be without you much longer! =8o
    Here’s to a future of you and Anne sleeping peacefully in the same bed. 😀

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