A friend who is an ER nurse came by to visit and spend time with me on his day off, since Sheila was at work.
He's got 20 years nursing in the ER under his belt and is an amazing individual.
As soon as he saw me, he mentioned wanting to look inside my mouth to see the excellent work UVA's daVinci robot had done with my tonsilectomy.
The moment I opened my mouth, he gasped, and informed me that I was right at the early stages of having Thrush.
I had no idea what he was talking about so, he broke it all down for me.
"Thrush is a fungal infection of the mouth caused by an overgrowth of the yeast organism Candida albicans. Thrush usually begins on the tongue and inside of the cheeks and may spread to the palate, gums, tonsils, and throat. In severe cases, the infection may spread to the larynx (voicebox), digestive tract, respiratory system, or skin." (from http://uvahealth.com/services/dentistry/conditions-treatments/11508)
(its like having a Yeast infection in your mouth)
Basically, if you've had surgery and are given a strong dose of Antibiotics afterwards, you either develop this condition, or you don't. Its a 50/50 dice roll.
I had noticed yesterday, that my tongue was white, fluffy and patchy with this "stuff". I thought it was par for the course after the surgery and didn't think anything of it.
Today, it had gotten a little worse.
He took a closer look and said luckily, it wasn't on the surgical site, in the back of my throat, nor on my uvula. It was only on my tongue and on each side of my cheeks.
I had him call UVA for me and ask for the nurse, of course I had to "gargle-out" my Medical # (ever so slowly) and just "eek" out the word"Yes" when asked if he could speak on my behalf, since Sheila was at work and they know I can't talk that well.
He told her what he saw, and his experience with seeing it in the ER for years. They had to call me back once the on call MD was alerted, but the nurse on the phone said he was probably correct, and they'd call something in for me.
Once the MD called, he told me to save my voice once he could hear me strain, and explained the med, how to take it, and that it was great that we caught this early. I should be all clear, or close to it in 72 hours.
At 445pm, I got my text message from CVS that my prescription for an Oral med, to help combat this was ready for pick up. My friend drove me up the street to get it and I started my first dose at 6pm, after my Ensure and pain meds were down.
All I have to do is swish it around my mouth for 30 seconds and swallow it. (to get to the back of my throat, down the esophagus, etc..) Thankfully, my cell has a stop watch on it, so I can time myself.
I am very, very, fortunate to know this man who came to care for me today. If it weren't for him becoming a nurse 20+ years ago, us meeting some time ago, and becoming friends...I'd have been in REAL TROUBLE 72 hours from now and back in the ER.
UVA will be made fully aware on the 27th, that I'll need an anti-fungal med after I come to from the neck dissection.
He told me, if they're going back in for another surgery, I need to be aware that this will happen again. (since it's already happened once.)
God bless you brother, I love you, and thank you for becoming a Nurse!
You just saved me from a mountain of trouble and I can never thank you enough.
:)
To be continued....
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