I had just received devastating news—I needed my tonsils removed. It was a week till school let out and I was so excited for summer, only for me to lose the entire month of June to this dreaded surgery. 

“Recovery time can span from a few days all the way to a few weeks.” My doctor said, making this surgery sound quick and easy as he said it.

Following the doctor’s discretion, this is no big deal, this will be so easy I thought

Hoping for the best, I was eager to go under, as my tonsils had caused me to get quite sick frequently. Feeling the cool pressure flow through my body as the anesthesia crept through my veins and snap! Like a lightswitch—I woke up. Jaw swollen and eyes puffy, I was completely dumbfounded. Where am I?

Looking down, I still saw that blue IV stuffed into my arm socket—still makes me lightheaded. Soon, a nurse walked in, asking me how I was feeling and assured me that my surgery went well. 

…..

There I was, sitting on the recliner in the corner of the living room, my new bedroom for the next week—or so I thought. My medicine had yet to wear off, so I was so cocky and confident that I would have the new record recovery from the surgery—or so I thought. 

I was not able to eat for a day before the surgery and was starving so I ate lots of sherbet ice cream and Ramen noodles the first day to placate my raging throat. This was my first mistake. By the third day I despised the sugary, cold, and fruity flavor and had a hard time wanting to eat what I needed for the next period of time. Gross.

As days went on, nights blended into mornings and mornings blended into nights, with my ability to talk, eat and even swallow only worsening. As the strong medicines wore off and my body got used to the doses, the pain took sharp stabs at my spirit. Swallowing became dreaded and even talking was nearly impossible. My throat hurt far worse than any strep throat experience. 

Weeks into the recovery, I could finally talk without discomfort and eat somewhat hard foods (sandwiches, mashed potatoes, soggy pizza, etc.). And I still remember the sweet crunch of victory as I ate my first potato chip three weeks after the surgery. The only reason I survived this experience was because of the Suits show on Netflix, keeping me entertained for the majority of my recovery—maybe June wasn’t a total waste after all.