what blowing a puss pocket out of my nose taught me

So, I have a headache and the postnasal drip is out of control and then there is the numbness, which is more of a heaviness and is still there in my left cheek by my nose and jaw and cheekbone. Oh and my throat hurts — I mean really hurts, like strep throat only worse but there are no white pockets of puss on my tonsils, just strings of thick drip from my nose and it’s gross and offensive and I’m sure it’s given me terrible breath but anyway, I've developed a theory.

This morning, I went to blow my nose and out of my left nostril came what appeared to be a plug. I’m sorry for the graphic description, but this quarter-sized, cube-like mass of green and red just flew out of my left nostril into the tissue and I was in awe. I had never seen anything like that come out of anywhere let alone my nose and it was like a relief to see that it was no longer in my body. And then I remembered the “numbness” and the heaviness and the subsequent sore throat and I’ve decided that what I really have is a sinus infection — not a stroke, not a heart with a hole in it — but a sinus infection.

I could be wrong. I am a writer after all and not a doctor or a nurse or anyone remotely qualified to diagnose ailments. But answer me this — why didn’t the doctors at the hospital check for something as simple as a sinus infection. Why did they jump to the stroke conclusion without ruling out little, less scary things like huge puss-like, bloody sinus plugs. If I’m right and the facial sensation was a result of a massively infected sinus cavity, I am going to be writing my friendly local hospital a letter along with my bill and a request for a reimbursement. I know that’s stretching it, but a girl can dream can’t she?