Recovery has been mostly what I expected. Pain the first day or two, but now down to a minimum. Lots of sleeping and exhaustion, slowly improving. There is only one aspect of recovery that I didn't have the foresight to anticipate, and frankly it's bothering me more that I would have expected. I have no sense of taste.
Medically, it makes sense. There are things in place to keep my nose stable, free from infection, and whatnot. They severely limit my breathing. Therefore I can barely smell. No sense of smell=no sense of taste. I learned this is elementary school science once, I'm sure. It just wasn't my focus.
I came home after surgery, and my friend had brought me dinner. I ate the soup and tiredly talked to my friends. The next morning I also ate some crackers, and then a little later some Chef Boyardee. I even ate a brownie when my friend brought some for me. It wasn't until early afternoon, when I opened up a pint of Ben & Jerrys, that it hit me. I couldn't taste it. Not a bit. No chocolate, brownie, or fudge. It could have been vanilla for all I knew. I thought back... and I really didn't know if I had tasted my other food or not. I had been tired and in pain and just going through the motions, and I can't remember the flavors of the food I ate over that time.
So, I'm now on day 4 of having no sense of taste, and I've learned how important this sense is to humankind. Eating has lost all of its pleasure and is done purely out of necessity. When I am home, choosing food is purely about what will fill me up easiest and takes little effort. I'm definitely eating healthier, because why eat junk food when I can't get its one main benefit, its sugary and/or fatty yumminess? When I went out to lunch with friends yesterday, to a sub sandwich place, I eliminated mayonnaise and added more veggies. I was tempted to add things I never eat, like peppers and pickles, or make a strange combination, like fluffernutter with olives. I decided I wasn't quite ready, just in case I was overestimating my non-tasting powers.
While I am eating healthier, I miss the joys of eating. I have had some brief fun discovering food texture, but I never realized how much I love tasting my food. I keep thinking about pizza, cinnamon rolls, and that pint of ice cream. I want to sit with my food and savor every subtle flavor.
To wrap this up, an ode to my taste buds.
When the doctor repaired my poor face
I lost all of my sense of taste
My food is all bland
I just cannot stand
To let all this food go to waste!
My ice cream could be any kind
My cereals are undefined
My soda's like water
I think that I otter
Get healed before I lose my mind!
3 comments:
<3 Lovely limerick!
Lisa had not time to waste.
It seems she lost her sense of taste. Though, so irritatin',
she kept irrigatin',
And her sense came back with due haste.
Lisa's nostrils were stuffed by a surgeon
which ruined last night's reservation.
She was left without taste,
her food just like paste.
Still, the gauze up in there does preserve them.
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