Five For Friday 6/30/17
1. Medical Stuff:
- 1 OMT Appointment.
- 1 Day of Home Rehab.
- 1 Day of PT. So much sweat!
- I finally had the septoplasty (my deviated septum was corrected) on Wednesday. After a year of various tests and discussing it, I pulled the trigger and went for it.
- Lots of fun recovery time for my nose. The first few days were no picnic, but life is getting much better day by day.
2. Monday, I went out to MSU to watch Brad coach basketball at Tom Izzo Camp…his most favorite thing in the whole wide world! It’s a summer tradition to take one day and watch all the action, and Brad in his element. It blew my mind that this year made twelve years. Craziness.
3. My parents left for an Alaskan cruise on Saturday. I’m so happy for them…they talked about it every anniversary when we were growing up, but we always had gymnastics, or dance, or family obligations and functions that got in the way. So they are finally doing it! I love a good bucket list check off!
4. Here’s the scoop on my nose:
Wednesday, I had my deviated septum fixed and a large bone spur removed on the left side of my nose, which was obstructing my breathing. Despite the obvious reasons for the surgery, this was also the deal on the EDS front in simple terms:
When breathing is blocked, patients will posture their head forward in an effort to breathe better. Thus, having a profound nasal obstruction has been contributing to me having all sorts of neck, jaw, and facial pain because of my chronic forward head posture, and an increase in the firing of my muscles that close my jaw. In EDS, we know healthy muscles must be the glue for management, so hopefully this will not only get me breathing correctly, but also help decrease my pain.
I am blessed to have doctors who think out of the box to help me achieve my best quality of life despite chronic illness. I am blessed to have doctors who listen (i.e. the anesthesiologist was able to do his job without dislocating my jaw). I am blessed to have Brad and my parents; especially because I’m not always the easiest of patients. And I am blessed to have all of you! 
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Thank you for all of your texts, messages, prayers, and love. Means the world to me. xo
5. Nose surgery observations one week later!
- It hurt way more the first few days than I thought it would.
- There are no splints like nose splints. Holy ginormous. Still blows my mind.
- Once those splints are out, life increasingly gets better. But while they are coming out, you’re gonna wanna slap your doc.
- I didn’t expect my upper teeth and mouth to hurt so much. They still do.
- Saline is life.
- The first sneeze is not cool.
- I wanna blow my nose! Snot bubbles and blood drainage everywhere, but I can’t for TWO weeks. SEXY.
- I am a pro at a good nose hammock now to catch that cute snot and blood.
- I’m not a fan of Norco. For many reasons. I just went to Tylenol on day two and called it good.
- Ice is my bestie.
- When friends come over to braid your hair, you feel better.
- All in all, it has been uncomfortable and not the most fun thing in the world, but if it helps me breathe, decreases sinus infections, and decreases EDS pain, it will be totally worth it.
Tags: Basketball, Brad, Breathing, Bucket List, Dad, Deviated Septum, Ehlers-Danlos, Gratitude, Invisible Illness, Michigan State, Mom, Observations, Septoplasty, Surgery, Vacation