Tonsillectomy! Warning: disgusting photos ahead.

Lookout! There are some pretty graphic photos in this post, so if you're feeling queasy, stop reading now. But hey, what's the internet for anyway? Graphic photos! I'm pleased to do my part in making the World Wide Web an even more offensive place.

On Monday, three days ago, I got my tonsils removed. Here's a shot of those ping pong ball sized intruders, festering away in the back of my mouth for the past two decades, grossing out every doctor and dentist I've ever seen since high school. In addition to looking horrific, they blocked my windpipe, caused subtle non-stop coughing and runny nose, gave me strep throat FOUR TIMES in the past 12 months, smelled foul, and made my mouth taste like roadkill for the past three years. I'd like to take this moment to publicly apologize to my wife Dawn who has had to kiss me these past few years. And I'd like to send my condolences to the Ice Breakers Breathmint company, who are sure to go out of business now that my demon tonsils are GONE.

That's right, those babies have been extracted and incinerated, and I've been having one of the best weeks of my life. Yes, it's occasionally painful to recover from this surgery, BUT every 4-6 hours I take a hit of some serious narcotics, a medication called Roxicet ("you don't have to put on the red light") and I'm whisked off into a pain-free land of pure relaxation, heavenly deep sleep, and mellow happiness. On top of my drug-induced delight, my Mom & Dad are in town to care for Paavo and Svea, allowing me to rest, sleep, catch up on email, read, and chill out. So my parenting worries are alleviated, and I'm being ultra-productive. Here's a photo of me this morning...you can see the gaping black caverns where my tonsils used to reside. Gross, eh? Get this: my mouth tastes fresh and non-toxic for the first time in years! AND, food tastes twice as good as it used to! I had basic pancakes, and their blinding deliciousness almost knocked me over! Is this what normal people experience when eating? Holy cow, I have an entire universe of food and sensory input to rediscover!

So, there's the update. Thanks to Dr. Posey for doing such a great job, thanks to Nurse Dawn for being my at-home care coordinator, and thanks to my parents for taking care of the kiddos so I can recover. No singing for a month, no driving a car when I'm on these drugs, no sharp or crunchy food, no heavy lifting. It might take me another 10 days to get back to some sense of normal, but all this hassle is a small price to pay to free my mouth from being a toxic waste dump.

Okay, time to drink another huge glass of water, and prepare for my late-morning snooze.