Neil's "burnt out buds"...a tragic tale

Getting tonsils out:  It's not all fun and games!

Those of you who deal with me on Facebook are well aware that my beloved recently underwent a tonsillectomy.  Leading up to this event, I got lots of advice, warnings and war-stories from friends, friends of friends, the doctors and everyone else I can think of about the horror that was about to take place.  You see, adult tonsillectomies are notorious.  Adults take longer to heal, the pain is greater, the incidence of getting sick while recovering is greater, and the list goes on and on.  As the wife of a man who, well, let's just say is a real "joy" to care for when he has a common cold, I was armed for bear. 
 

Well, lo and behold, the Neilio was NOT the mean, nasty, horrible, terrible, whining, complaining, bitching ogre that everyone had prepared me for.  He was pretty darn good for a man who just had two gigantic flesh golf balls cut out of his head.  

Got 'em! (btw: this was not Neil's surgeon.  Judging by the cage behind him, I'd guess he's a vet)

In all seriousness, I was so glad that he actually recovered quickly (about 2 weeks) and without side effects or untoward incident.  In fact, now he breathes so easily and quietly at night that a few times it's woken me up...you know, it's TOO quiet. I've actually put my hand on his chest to make sure he's breathing!

However, one strange anomaly has occurred. Once he could actually start eating again, he shared with me that everything tasted bad.  At first, I just took this to mean that his throat hurt, it was still inflamed, etc.  But, a few days later, he elaborated.  It wasn't that food tastes weird or that he can't taste his food.  He says the first few bites taste like what it should, then it all just tasted BAD.  In fact, he said it wasn't just bad, he described it as tasting like (edit) "poop." I googled it and it seems to happen pretty frequently, but of all the message boards I read, all the patients were surprised to have this happen, meaning that they weren't warned by the doc that this could happen.  Hmmm.  But, the good news is that it is temporary, apparently.


The last couple of weeks have been somewhat frustrating for me because I want, as usual, to cook for him and have him love it.  When he told me he's dropped 19 pounds since the surgery, I became concerned about the actual nutrition he's getting, or not getting.  So, every night, I forge ahead and cook and cross my fingers that he won't find it disgusting.  It seems to be improving gradually each day.  

Nectar of the gods, according to Neil

Tonight, I made fresh hamburgers.  I mixed the meat with Worchestershire sauce and garlic powder.  Then, dressed them with American cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, mayo, mustard.  The good news?  He said it didn't taste horrible and was able to give me the very nice compliment that it was "a very well prepared burger."  My point in sharing all this is for all of you who may need to have your tonsils out or know someone (a grown-up) who does.  We weren't prepared for this side effect at all, so I think it really kind of blindsided Neil.  But, it's getting better little by little.  As soon as I see him dive into a jar of jalapenos, I'll know he's back!