Last Tuesday was my initial appointment with my new ENT doctor. After the CT scan, he informed me that I need sinus surgery, Bilateral Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery, to be precise. I do have a deviated septum, but he said he doesn't think it needs to be fixed. My problems most likely arose from a sinus infection, possibly years ago, that never completely cleared up. The swelling stayed, and made me more prone to the next infection, and the next, until I ended up where I am now. Currently, my left sinus is completely inaccessible, and my right is showing signs of significant infection. The plan is to make some openings to drain what is there, and leave some temporary steroid catheters in place for a month to bring swelling down and make sure everything continues to drain. The recovery time would be 5-7 days of no heavy lifting, and there would be dissolvable packing that would disappear over a few weeks. Needless to say, I can't have packing in my sinuses and be able to sing and perform, so I am not going to be able to move forward with this until July.
Meanwhile, however...
Yesterday, drainage caused me to cough repeatedly and I have lost most of my voice. I have my chest voice back, and most of my upper register today, but my mid range is gone. I had quite a time with my performance last night, cantoring at Mass this morning, and the other performance this afternoon. I am looking forward to a few days off to be able to recuperate and hopefully regain my voice! (Of course, I have an audition on Tuesday, but I'm not allowing myself to worry about that yet.)
Happy Mothers' Day to all the mothers, especially those in the performing arts! We have a unique challenge.
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