I am a bloodhound

Seriously. My sense of smell is *that* acute today. These past few days I have been petrified with the fear that my plugged nose was never going to get better. After all, I had surgery 6 days ago, and I have not been able to breathe through my nose since. I'm talking plugging so bad that swallowing anything created a suction inside my head that caused my ears to pop painfully. With every single swallow. Again and again. I did force myself to eat/drink enough to sustain myself, but I think I may have lost a little more weight.

So back to today. I went to the doctor's follow-up. I barely remembered being told after surgery that they would "debride" (pronounced dee-breed) me in one week. That usually means cleaning up stray tissue, like the little bit of ruffly skin that is left after you scrape your arm. He went in there today and pulled out a LOT of tissue, which was mostly clots, I guess. And now I can breathe. Even on the left side of my nose, which has not been able to take in much air for perhaps the last 20 years.

I drove through the Arby's drive-through right after the procedure to pick up sandwiches for the boys, and got the HUGEST smile on my face as I smelled overpowering mixed scents of Cinnabons and Curly Fries. Smelling with such acuity as I have never experienced before in my memory. Like a patch being removed from one eye after several decades, and seeing in stereo again.

Did you know that folks who lose their sense of smell entirely can suffer a loss of libido? Much more of our sex drive is tied in with our sense of smell/pheromones, then we may realize. Vive le Nez!!!!!!