Nothing to say

I have been going CRAZY since last Thursday. For the last two Thursdays, I’ve been going to see my ENT for post-operation visits. He rips a bunch of nasty crud out of my nose, talks to me about it, and then sends me on my way feeling a LOT better and breathing a lot easier. Literally.

The first week, it was like, crusty scabs, basically. Gross, but better to get them out than have them stay in there. He told me about a couple of little sponges that he left in my nose just in case my nose tried to close up with scar tissue. Their purpose was to prevent that, and then dissolve. He was letting me know, because when they start to dissolve and come out, he didn’t want me to freak out.

Last week, he extracted the last bit of sponge as well as a lot of … thick, wet snot. It was less bloody than the week before, and didn’t feel quite as good to be rid of as the previous week, but still very, very good. The incredibly remarkable thing is that on my way out, through the waiting room, I smelled it. I smelled the room.

You know when you walk into an unfamiliar home, and you notice its distinctive smell? I haven’t noticed that in years. It’s way too subtle for me to have noticed since the operation - during which time I could only catch really strong scents, and found a lot more to appreciate in my food. After that visit, though, I was smelling entirely new things. Still entranced by this significant change, I walked down the stairs. When I reached the bottom and opened the door, I was overwhelmed by cinnamon, coffee, and freshly baked bread. It had been years. I couldn’t believe how incredible it was. Au Bon Pain has never been such a welcome sight. It has never been a scent, welcome or otherwise, for me. I can’t even describe the feeling. All I can tell you to convey the serious amazement and pleasure I was experiencing is this: I started getting light-headed from all the excessive breathing I was doing to keep the scents passing through my nose.

Since then, I have smelled Kia’s hair and breath (no halitosis! Thank goodness!), cooking white rice (AMAZING!!), cardamom (I raided the spices!), chocolate, soup, grilled chicken, cut grass, a horrendous assault of colognes and perfumes (vile dolphin mall!!), and so many other things too amazing to understand.

My ENT/Surgeon is amazing. The gift of scent is amazing. White Rice is amazing. Kia is amazing. Life is amazing.

I just wanted to share.