May 22, 2010

My All-Time Top 10 Birthday Gifts

With the birthday just a week away I wanted to run down the Top Ten gifts I have either purchased for myself or received as a gift. I am thankful for being so blessed. Only one of the photos shown is actually my stuff, the rest I did the best I could find an accurate representation of them.

10. Lazer Tag StarBase

9. GI Joe X-30

8. Beatles Magical Mystery Tour tie (from Coach Hughes' personal collection)

7. MacBook Pro

6. Castle Grayskull

5. iPhone 3G

4. Mizuno infielders glove

3. Huffy BMX bicycle

2. 1997 Chevy Blazer (sorry about the sold stamp, this was the best photo I could find of what my truck looked like.)

1. Spending time and making memories with countless friends and family over the years.

April 12, 2010

It's been a while since I updated, but I'm doing great!

Sorry for being so inactive since my last post nearly a month ago. To bring everyone up to speed, I'm nearly a month removed from having my sinus surgery and I've never felt better.

I think I've made nearly a complete recovery as far as the actual healing from the procedures go. The sutures have dissolved and come out naturally, the stratus tubes that were in my sinuses were removed two weeks ago and I'm also minus a whole lot of crud (scientific term) that was in my head.

There is no pain or discomfort anymore. My throat/tongue is back to "normal" and I'm feeling better than ever. I'm getting really good sleep, rarely waking up and overall I can tell a huge difference in breathing. It's been a life-changing transformation and I really want to thank my doctor a lot for helping me out.

Today was my one month checkup and I was given great news. I won't have to go back for three months and I can cut down on my nasal sprays and rinses to once a day. The only thing that I can tell I'm not back to 100 percent is my energy. I begin to wind down a little earlier than before and becoming fatigued quicker, but I can tell I am building it all back up - slowly but surely.

You all don't understand how I'll miss these rinses.

(sarcasm)

After my second follow-up with the doctor, three weeks ago, I asked him if I would be good to go ahead with LASIK eye surgery and he said he wanted me to wait at least a week to make sure I didn't have any infection set in. Well I didn't, and he gave me the green light. So last week I got LASIK on both my eyes and now I have 20/20 vision in my right and better than 20/20 in my left.

I know, I probably should've just gotten a total head transplant (that's what I've been told and am running with it anyway) but I really feel like a new person. Hopefully for the better. Just having the sinus procedures completed, I felt better than I've ever. Now I have a new set of eyes that see things sharp and crisp.

Thanks for all the well wishes and support.
Ben

March 17, 2010

1st Day of Recovery Going Swimmingly

With a cocktail of meds I am literally swimming. To be honest I have very little pain today, and most of it is in my throat because of getting my tonsils vaporized..

It will be tomorrow at the earliest before I can breathe through my nose, and that will make me happy. It's tough constantly breathing through my mouth. Mouth breathing dries up my mouth and throat, and I need to keep those two things as moist as I can to help heal. Kind of a catch 22, on top of that it is very uncomfortable to swallow. The only think I'm currently liking to eat is Jell-O. It cools and soothes my throat and is very easy to swallow. Right now that's a big win since everything else is a bit of a pain.

Yesterday I was very nauseous and my entire head hurt. Thankfully the nausea is gone and to my surprise my nose only feels slightly irritated from being reshaped and prodded. No real pain to speak of, anywhere there. I have to "rinse" and "agitate" my nostrils and sinuses at least four times with a saline solution. While it doesn't open me up to breathe through my nose, it dose relieve the pressure that is there and is quite comforting.

Finally just wanted to share a couple photos from yesterday before going under. I got some sweet pink booties to wear, at least I was style'n in some fresh kicks.

March 15, 2010

Tuesday is Surgery Day. Were you expecting something more catchy as a headline?

In the interest of not having to answer a ton of the same questions about all the things I'm going to go through I figured I'd just spell them out for you here and I'll sprinkle in some nice visual references as well.

Let's begin with my most recent sleep study. I was hooked up to some sophisticated gear and of course it was uncomfortable (as you can tell from the previous post's top left photo). I didn't really get any sleep either, but the tests did show some good data. It showed that I am getting a very low level of oxygen in my blood system during sleep. There is a scale that is used to determine this and I was in the 30 range, which is severe. (Severe ranges from 30 on up.)

This one issue alone can potentially cause multiple health conditions from heart disease, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue and of course snoring.

Second, I have a deviated septum. So what's a deviated spetum? Well it's pretty much the separation between each nostril.

Ideally, one would have close to the same size opening to their sinuses. If both openings equaled 100 percent, then one would want close to 50 percent each side (but no one is perfect). Mine is a bit more skewed than that, well actually a lot. I have greater than 80 percent on one side and less than 20 on the other. It was quite startling looking at my CT scan that showed how crooked the inside of my nose actually is.

For more info on the deviated septum part of my surgery go here - http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/repair-of-a-deviated-septum-septoplasty-surgery-overview

Next up will be my soon-to-be-good-friend the endoscope and what a wonderful time we'll have!

The photo speaks enough for me, if you need more go here - http://www.entusa.com/endoscopic_sinus_surgery.htm

While the endoscope is up my schnoz, I'll get a balloon shoved up there to give my sinuses some room to drain and improve my opening. For some more pretty pictures a terrific explanation click this link - http://www.columbusotolaryngology.com/balloon-sinusplasty.htm

Airways are not just sinuses, of course we can breathe through our mouths. And before you go there ok, I know I have a big mouth and flap my tongue a lot. I've already rehearsed these jokes myself so you don't have to. Anyway, areas there need to be fixed too.

Starting with the tongue, I need to have it reduced (like I said I already know the jokes). The way this will be done is quite sophisticated, read more about it here - http://www.arthrocareent.com/wt/tert_page/int_base_tongue_channeling

Then on to my tonsils... Apparently I have a HUGE set. On the scale, most normal people are about a 1, I am easily between a 3 and a 4.

I'm not having them totally removed, but they will be shrunk by a laser. My doctor promised me there was a backstop on the laser so I don't have to worry about it severing my head! Need more on the laser treatment check it out here - http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/tonsillectomyProcedures.cfm

And finally, since my tongue and tonsils are so big they have made my soft palette too weak. Once the reductions to my tongue and tonsils happen, the soft palette needs to be strengthen so not to completely collapse on my airway.

To correct this I'll be getting the Pillar Procedure done, it's essentially three little stints that will be with me forever. Sounds fun right. For the info on what's going to happen there all you need to know is here - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pillar-procedure/MY00516

That's basically it. Tuesday is the day. Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers and well-wishes.

March 12, 2010

I'm Having Surgery In Less Than Four Days...

First off in regards to the headline I'm going to be OK. As many of you may have seen from my tweets, I've had some tests done and I have been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, have terrible sinuses and overall poor airways.

I've thought long and hard about how I'll tell everyone about my upcoming procedures without trying to freak everyone out. To be honest, I haven't really liked talking about it that much. It's kind of been a little shocking to find out all these things that are wrong with me. However, I'm ready and actually a bit excited to get the ball rolling and begin the healing process and improve my overall health.

The procedures I'm going to endure (five in total) are designed to improve my breathing, my sleep and also help my heart - as it has been working overtime as a result of all of the above.

For those interested I'm going to put up another blog post in the next day or two about everything that is going on. It will be quite detailed and hopefully answer most of the questions that some of you may have.

February 14, 2010

I have the sweetest wife. Happy Valentine's Day :)

When I went to get ready for today's game I took out my shoes from my bag. Inside a shoe I found a little note with a drawing. (Above)

It was from my wife and it made my day, on Valentine's Day.

I just wanted to take the time out to recognize her and thank her for being the love of my life as well as putting up with me and my crazy busy schedule.

I love you Rasmi. I'll see you tomorrow.