Hannah's day is more exciting than expected

Here I am all glammed up on Tuesday morning in a baggy hospital gown and charming hairnet and ready for a septoplasty and mega antrostomy
(aka a thorough poke around in my nasal passages to correct a problem with my maxillary sinus).  The last thing I remember was the anaesthetist giving me the premed and then there was a vague impression that I was thrashing around and shouting "I really really need a wee!" before I came round sufficiently to understand that Dave was telling me I was in intensive care.

This was a little surprising to all concerned.  Apparently, I had an allergic reaction to something I was given during the surgery and went into anaphylactic shock about 15 minutes in.  I've never been allergic to anything so I'm not sure why I decided to start now at the serious end of the spectrum, but anyway, sinus surgery was interrupted for about 45 minutes while a horde of people pumped me full of adrenaline and 4 litres of fluid to get my blood pressure up from 45 over zero to something more normal.  Feels rather weird to be writing that about myself when I have no knowledge of it happening!

Extra weirdness occurred later when the nurse asked me what I did, and while he was poking around in my groin to remove a line in my femoral artery it transpired that I know his sister through the translation course I've been doing.  This is proof that, in New Zealand, everyone really does know everyone else and you can discover you have mutual acquaintances under the strangest circumstances.

This is what you look like after sinus surgery:

which is not too bad, and all the ICU staff kept telling me that they weren't used to seeing patients who looked well and could talk! Then you get to spend a night in the place and in the morning you look like this:

because with the lights, the machines that go beep, the compression things on your legs that squeeze every minute or so and the tangle of cables stuck everywhere it is flipping hard to sleep.  Plus 4 litres of fluid has to go somewhere and gives you a fat face and hands.  In fact, the hands were the strangest thing - I'd look at them, with no knuckles and sausage fingers and think: "These are not my hands!  These are the hands of a fat person!" which was all a bit freaky, especially when the anaesthetic is still wearing off.

Anyway, came home yesterday.  Still feel that my grip on reality is a bit tenuous and am pretty sleepy but I'm sure that will wear off.