Short Sweet Potato

Patrick and I were listening to our audiobook (Abhorsen, last in the trilogy by Garth Nix - yummy. DARK AND CREEPY and probably not for sensitive children - but yummy) in his room tonight when I realized that we had forgotten to saline his sinuses before bed. When he was discharged on Wednesday the nurse explained that he was not allowed to blow his nose for at least five days, so the combination of post-surgical blood and gunk would turn to cement inside his head without judicious and frequent sluicing.

I paused our book and said, oh, hey, you need to use the neti pot again.

Patrick gave an experimental sniff, then another.

I asked, how does your nose feel?

Snuff, whurgle, blooh. Snuff, whurgle, blooh.

Patrick considered and then said, "Amazing."

I said, "Really?"

He said, "Really. I've never been able to get this much air in and out in my life. I feel great."

I said, "Well that's terrific."

He said, "So will you go downstairs and make me some chocolate chip cookies to celebrate?"

And I said no. No, I wouldn't. So he drank some water instead and we went back to listening to our book.

Thanks for all of your good wishes. They pleased Patrick enormously and when he was up at four in the morning vomiting more blood (GOOD. LORD) he gagged, spit, rinsed, slumped and said, "No wonder the entire world feels so sorry for me."

Or at least our little corner of it. More later and our best wishes to everyone on the East coast who spent the weekend wetter and more wind-blown than they would've liked to have been.

Comments

[Nicky at Not My Mother]

SO glad the surgery worked and Patrick's feeling better. Although what's he going to do with his time now he won't be able to feel so sorry for himself? I suppose he could world on his cookie-inducing skills :-)

[Genevieve]

Patrick, the entire world thinks you are truly awesome and fabulously creative, and funny, and therefore is sorry that you've been feeling rotten post-surgery.

And SO SO excited to hear that you're getting more air than you have in your entire life!! That is amazing and exactly the desired result. You can bet those squirrels don't feel like that.

[Jessica]

Yay! It must be such a great feeling to be able to breathe better than you ever have!

[Kelly]

Yay! Glad he is feeling better and the surgery went well.

[Christina]

What Genevieve said ;)

[Yatima]

Merciful Zeus. More oxygen into that brain of Patrick's? It's only a matter of time until we are all working for him...

[Sharon]

Dear Patrick,
Use the Neti pot. It sucks, but even a week or two after the surgery, I would get what basically looked like other life forms (and not particularly small ones) coming out of my nose. I found it sort of interesting.

Glad you're already feeling better. It gets even better from here!

An admirer near San Francisco, CA
Sharon

[Veronica]

Of course the entire world feels sorry for Patrick! I've only been reading (and loving) your Patrick stories for years now.

And I'm all the way at the bottom of the world in Tasmania.

[Martha]

I was indeed feeling sorry for you, Patrick, but now I'm also feeling very pleased for you. What a wonderful corner of the world we live in where medical procedures like this are safe and readily available. You and we have a lot to be thankful for. You are an awesome kid and I wish you all the best.

[lisa]

Here is another corner of the world that loves to hear stories about you Patrick. Shanghai, China.

[Anna]

And one slightly north of Tasmania - this patch of Melbourne also happy to hear Patrick's feeling better. (Genevieve - squirrels!)

[Emilie]

Dear Patrick,
I am so glad to hear that your surgery went well and that you can breathe better now than you ever have. Especially considering that you breathe, well... pretty often in a day.

A fellow user of the neti pot,

Emilie (originally from Québec) all the way from Adelaide, Australia (obviously, only people in the GMT +8/9/10 time zones are commenting at this hour!)

[Jenny]

It IS the whole world! Even in London, England we are so pleased that Patrick is breathing easier.

[quine]

And in Edinburgh, Scotland! Delighted to hear the good news. And also fond of a chocolate cookie. xxx

[Naomi]

Another Aussie here who distinctly remembers suddenly being able to breathe post sinus surgery. Enjoy all that oxygen.

[Chelsea]

Well Patrick, I'm so thrilled you are getting more air, that will make for a lot more energy.
(From the not quite-as-glamourous Ontario, Canada.)
P.S. Please send the chocolate cookie recipe upon convincing your mom to make them!

[NZ Sarah]

Here in Queenstown, New Zealand, we are also very pleased to hear Patrick is on the mend!

[Kez]

Another Melburnian here. So glad to hear Patrick is healing well and, like Yatima, slightly scared of what a less-oxygen-starved brain of Patrick's will get up to.

[Karen]

Wow, you need a map on here! Patrick (and you) have worldwide fans. Who are funny. I love your comments almost as much as your posts.

Foods might taste different now, my husband could not believe the taste of York Peppermint Patties after that surgery. Smell is so much a part of taste, he might find some foods taste very different. That could keep him entertained.

[Karen]

Also, I meant to say, so glad to hear he's doing well, and that you are too!

[Dara]

Yay! So glad to hear Patrick is feeling amazing!

[Rosemary]

Patrick,

Another Aussie who lives just behind (like 500 metres) behind Parliament of Australia in Canberra (which is in the Australian Capital Territory).

I am very glad you are feeling better. Life is so much better when you can breathe freely.

P.S. I think it would be totally awesome if we had a reader location map on the blog too!

[(another) karen]

Goodness, I feel like a "local" over here in wet ol' Beantown, but so glad to hear things are going well. My doctor was ready to do the same surgery on me earlier this year when we gave one last shot with a steroid saline rinse. That seems to have done the trick for now, though I can't shake the feeling that it's just postponing the inevitable. After hearing Patrick and your readers' glowing "recommendations," at least it feels a little more hopeful should it come to that. So, not only am I happy to hear your feeling/breathing better, I really, really appreciate your "sharing" this experience with us Patrick! Thank you!!!

Stay well,
Karen

[Giovinota]

Unlurking to send greetings and well wishes from Koblenz, Germany!

[Alexicographer]

Gosh. I'm mundanely from NC, and in agreement that it would be great to have a map locating Julia's readers/Patrick's well-wishers. And I'm with @Yatima but am sure Patrick will be a benevolent overlord and that we'll all have great pants and cool socks, so I'm good with that.

Patrick -- so glad you are feeling better.

[Woody's Girl]

Hooray for Patrick being able to finally, really breathe! (and smell) I, too, will be curious to see if things taste different to him. Doesn't he still have packing in his nose? If so, I would imagine he will be even MORE amazed at air movement once all the packing is removed.

Thanks for the update!
Jennifer (in Alabama)

P.S. I second (third? fourth?) the idea of a reader/commenter/fan map!

[sharon]

More international good wishes. Mine are from the southwest corner of Western Australia, although I'm originally from England. Can't wait to hear what Patrick gets up to once he is firing on all cylinders ;-) Look out world, here comes the new improved and fully oxygenated Patrick!

[Rayne of Terror]

Glad Patrick is feeling better from LeRoy, Illinois!

[Ruth]

Great news! Onward and upward!

[Sarah R]

Hello, Patrick from boring old Baltimore, Maryland where we are picking up the pieces after Irene's visit. Actually, in my neighborhood she was rather well-behaved...though we were without power for about 18 hours.

But I'm so glad you're feeling better!!

And yeah...Garth Nix is great. Now, have you guys tried China Mieville's Un Lun Dun?

[Robyn]

Yay, Patrick! :)

[Penny]

So glad that Patrick is feeling better and wanting chocolate cookies and still has his wonderful sense of humor!

Just a little south east of you--Michigan!

[katherine]

Yea! Air!

[Elizabeth]

Glad to hear Patrick is doing better. From "you-can't-find-our-license-plates-out west" South Carolina

[Shawna]

And here's someone in Ottawa, Canada who's also very glad that Patrick feels better!

[Jill]

Hooray! Glad to hear Patrick is feeling better. We here in Atlanta hope the vomiting blood part is finished now, please.

[Diane]

Philadelphia is thrilled you are healing so quickly, Patrick. Keep up the good work so you can continue to entertain us for years to come.

[Coco]

Checking in from Southern California :) So glad Patrick is feeling better. Can't wait to hear how food tastes to him now!

[Jenna]

So glad your Patrick is doing well. We moved in the Hurricane, which was...interesting, after the Earthquake last week. Standing in the wind and rain, with the new house windows leaking all over, my Patrick looked at me and said, "All things considered, I would rather have sinus surgery." He sends his best!

xoxo

[BlesstheFunk]

Bay Area, California is also very pleased!

I'll throw in that we (Germans) moved here last year from Germany, to up my international status.

[Katherine]

Arid Phoenix AZ is tickled pink that the surgery worked, Patrick. Hope you return to visit our area again since you didn't feel well enough to fully enjoy it last time. But bring your neti pot . . . it's DRY out here.

[quirkfarms]

Ann Arbor MI sends a big HOORAY to Patrick and mom! glad everything is going well. Love Quirkfarms

[corinne]

We do, Patrick, we really really do feel sorry for you. I'm speaking for the part of Wisconsin between Milwaukee and Madison. Hope it's over soon.

[Teri]

Damp and cool Corning, NY is delighted that your sense of humor (and relish for chocolate chip cookies) is returning, Patrick. And I'm pretty sure that you will be happier long term with your... procedure...than those squirrels were!

[Betsy]

Plain ol' boring Dallas is also quite pleased for you, Patrick! Glad you're feeling better and you can breathe!

[DJH]

Yea Patrick! I imagine that being able to breath better than you have your whole life made all the pain and discomfort worth it.

My husband's voice changed. He went from all nasally (think the Bronx) to clear and accent-less (think newscaster) after his first sinus surgery.

Sending well wishes from the Dallas, Texas area where the Hot 100 heat-wave may finally be ending.

[Another Anna]

I'm in Providence, Rhode Island, and if I could, I'd send Patrick a get-well-soon bouquet of lovely blue and white license plates. But I only have the one, and I'm still using it.

Love and oxygen to you all.

[Amy]

I am so glad to hear Patrick is doing well and feeling so much better.

[Kate (Bee In The Bonnet)]

Patrick can really breathe for the first time ever and you won't tempt those nostrils with some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies?

Patrick, I'm on your side with this one. You need some cookies to celebrate!

(Of course, I'm not the one who would have to measure/mix/bake it all, so it's hardly fair of me to take sides, but since cookies sound good to me and I *didn't* have sinus surgery, I thought they must sound extra good to Patrick!)

(And yes, a reader map would be interesting. You could just mark me with Boring Old North Carolina...)

[Kathy]

Colorado(formerly from WI and MN)is glad to hear about your improved airflow, too, Patrick!! Hope you're feeling 100% soon :-)