I have so much to be thankful for.
I'm sure some of the blessings from the past week will show up on my annual thankfulness list, but I'll just jump the gun now and say that...you guys! I am so loved and cared for, and I am reminded of that whenever my family or I go thru something that is hard.
Everyone has been just so kind to me since my surgery (nasal surgery to help me breath properly, in case you missed it.)
Friends have driven my girls to their classes, invited Sonia and Zoe over for playdates, and brought me meals and chocolates and cookies.
(Chocolates and cookies are, as we know, very healing.)
My kids have pitched in around the house (especially Lisey!), and have gotten me lots of drinks and ice packs.
(Sonia made me a little bunny. 😉 )
I am sleeping and feeling better day by day, and my facial swelling has finally started to go down, which is lovely. I spent a few days looking like a large chipmunk. 😉
I've been laying low this whole week, and probably won't venture out much until Monday, when I am promised that the nasal cast and splints will be removed. Yay! I am very, very excited to try proper breathing for the first time in decades.
I'm sure some of you are curious what a nasal cast looks like (I would be!), so here are two links to what I currently look like, puffy face and all. That way, those of you who want to see can see, and those who don't can refrain from looking at the links. 😉
Oh, and one more happy thing to share: I am now off of the prescription painkillers! I was grateful to have them, but I am even more grateful to not need them. They work really well, but they also put me in kind of a mental fog, and I'm glad to be able to think more clearly now.
Thank you so much for all of your kind words and well wishes and prayers. You have all been so sweet to me!
Holy cats, you look great! I was expecting something much more dramatic. 🙂
I think you look fabulous! I've had nose surgery twice--thirty years ago--broke my nose twice in one month playing basketball in high school and had to have reconstructive surgery both times! (yep! The first game back I got hit again and broke it in the same spot.) The cotton up the nose was bad but, for me, the tape holding down the splint was the worst! The first time, when I went to have the cotton and splint removed, the surgeon, assuming it would be better to just rip the tape off, did so and took lots of skin with it. I had HUGE raspberry burns on my cheeks to add to the swollen nose and black eyes.
Hope you have a calm and relaxing weekend that includes lots of chocolate and some "Call the Midwives" too! 😉
Oh my, that sounds awful. I hope my doctor is gentler!
I'm supposed to shower before my appointment and purposely get all the stuff on my nose wet, to aid in the removal.
I'm most nervous about having the splints pulled out. That seems like it'll be painful, but I guess we'll see.
Mostly it feels weird, though it may smart some, as there may be some clotting that gets broken open as the splint comes out.
Once the splint comes out, they can spray the numbing stuff up there so they can shove the scope up to take a gander at the new landscape.
I saw that there are YouTube videos of nasal splint removal, but I couldn't bring myself to watch them. Ha.
I'll be very careful to get the inside and outside of my nose niiiiice and wet before my appointment.
Probably better not to watch. It's not as if you'll be seeing the surgeon remove your dressings either. As for getting things nice and wet, I think a long, hot shower might do the trick.
Glad to see you're progressing nicely.
Yup! My post-op directions call for getting my nose sopping wet before my appointment. And you'd better believe I'm taking that direction seriously. 😉
Awwww, Mr. FG is right. You do look cute! So glad to hear of your improvements. 🙂
You look great! I can't wait to see the final result. And of course everyone is so sweet to you, because you a such a sweet person. I don't know you, but I can tell. 🙂 I'm glad you are feeling better.
I've got news for you Kristen......you look like our very own Kristen......with a patch on her nose. Lovely, as always!
I think the older I get, the more I realize how exceedingly important kindness is. I often tell my children that people won't remember their scholastic or athletic achievements, but they will remember how they (my kids) made them feel.
And I once heard that an act of kindness relieves suffering in this world, however small, and that has always stuck with me.
I'm so happy that you're feeling cared for and loved!
I feel the same...the older I get, the more important I think kindness is.
Aww! How sweet. This week had World Prematurity Day, and as I published some posts I wrote during Josiah's NICU stay, I remembered how much my older kids did to keep things running when I was traveling back and forth to the hospital. I couldn't have done it without them! It was torture being away from my preemie, but because of the help of the older kids with the younger, I was able to spend time with the baby.
Your story reminded me of having bunion surgery a few years ago. My nephew drove me home afterwards, and I was apparently so high on painkillers that I offered money to panhandler. I didn't remember the incident AT ALL, and giving money to panhandlers is something I would NEVER do in ordinary circumstances!
Joshua can't remember the drive home from his wisdom teeth removal, even though he was walking and talking like normal! It's so weird how you can look completely conscious but really not be all there.
I had general anesthesia once. I remember when I "came to." It was literally in the middle of a sentence to the family member who was there to care for me. Who, unfortunately, couldn't remember what I'd said while I only seemed alert. Damn strange experience.
So you must be breathing through your mouth since your nose is packed? How is that going? Doesn't your mouth get dry, especially at night while asleep? I think that part of it would be the most difficult for me. I can't stand it when my nose is stuffed up and I have to breathe out of my mouth—I feel like I'm suffocating.
Luckily, the silicone splints in my nose are hollow, so I can still get air through my nose.
Unfortunately, the breathing isn't quite as good as when a nose is empty, so I still end up breathing thru my mouth at night. But, I've spent decades breathing thru my mouth at night, so this isn't new territory for me at all!
Hopefully my mouth breathing nights will come to an end very soon.
Wow, you look amazing! It is wonderful that your family and friends have shown you so much EXTRA love during your recovery period. I hope you receive wonderful news from your doctor at your upcoming appointment and that your results are everything you hoped for and more! Enjoy the weekend!
Sounds funny. but I never noticed ever in the several years I have been enjoying your blog that you have a pierced nose with a ring in it! I'm interested in what that is like, etc., if you don't mind sharing about that. Anyway your "old" and "new" noses look fine- hope you feel better quickly!
Well, I had just a stud for the last 4 years or so, and this spring, I decided to try hoop jewelry instead. So, that's a rather new installment. 😉 And it's so small, you wouldn't notice it in photos except for close-ups.
The hoop was, if anything, easier than the stud, because it was less likely to get caught on washcloths/towels, etc. I don't think most piercers will do an initial piercing with a hoop though...I think it has to be a stud until it's all healed up, and then you can try a hoop.
I hadn't either! So funny. Kristen, so glad the healing is going well. Surgery of any kind is never fun. And of course people are being nice to you: you're nice to them!
Isn't that the truth? It is just hard to have any part of your body operated on. I'm surprised at how much overall exhaustion has come from having my nose operated on.
Thanks for posting. I've been supposed to get surgery on my nose for a number of years due to a deviated septum. I've been avoiding it because I don't like the idea of undergoing anesthetic. I stopped getting terrible sinus infection years ago (luckily), but not being able to breathe through my nose has caused snoring, dry mouth, and dental problems. Time to suck it up and get it done before things get worse...thanks for being inspirational.
You can do it, Eliza! It's not been the most pleasant week in the world, but it hasn't been exactly a week of torture either. As surgeries goes, it's been pretty manageable.
And hopefully the payoff will be completely worth it in the end!
Surprisingly little bruising, hooray!
I'm thankful that you are feeling better and are surrounded by kind, generous and thoughtful people. Thank you for the update, and I think you're well on your way to a speedy recovery.
So glad to hear you are feeling better. I can't believe people go through all that for looks!
I'm so glad you're on the mend! Oh my goodness, that little bunny is SO cute! How did she make that??
Today I'm grateful to get a little alone time! It's given me time to catch up on some batch cooking and general resting. Ahhh. 🙂
It's made with wool roving that she needle felted. The girls have some kits they started out with, but I think Sonia made this one on her own without a kit. 🙂
I've been thinking of you and praying for you and so glad to hear that the surgery went well and you're healing well!
By reading your post, one would think you are completely laid out with 2 broken legs, 2 broken arms and completely immobile. I would presume you have never had any type of major surgery/injury, based on your "needs" for help and compassion after a nose job?
Kelly (Kelly Lynn?), you may not realize it but the tone of your post was unpleasant. Was that intentional?
If unpleasant is what you want to call it, that's fine. I was just saying that she is being a tad on the dramatic side with not being able to do anything, have people waiting on her hand and foot, people dropping off dinners, etc.
It was a nose surgery.......and yes, I've had a very similar surgery. I didn't need any extra help around the house, my husband continued to go to work, I continued to take care of 5 small children and things went on as normal in my home.
Kelly Lynn, pain is pain. I'm sure just walking was painful even though it wasn't a leg injury. Roll your eyes and move on.
Ha! Walking was painful from having a nose surgery? Not quite how it works. She really has all of you people brainwashed, doesn't she?? It's like a freaking cult - if she says it, it must be true!!
Joyce-walking wasn't actually too painful until they took the splints out. Then my nose was so tender it did hurt a bit to walk!
The bigger problem post-surgery with walking was the dizziness from the pain pills/anesthesia. Happily, that's all over with now and I am back to walking around and taking care of my family.
I think the point of this post was the gratitude at the offers of help shown by a loving group of family and friends. I don't believe that the help was demanded, not at all.
I have had five surgeries. My mother had seven, if I've counted correctly. Our surgeries ranged from hysterectomies to mastectomies to a little skin cancer, the skin cancer being the only one without general anesthesia. But, even the most minor of our surgeries still caused a good bit of pain, made us hurt in places we didn't expect to hurt, and any general anesthesia had us off-kilter for days after getting home. Most pain meds made my late mother, and still do make me, nauseous. When my family rallied around me, or when we took care of our mother, it was because we/they wanted to, and because a little help was needed for a while. I'm pleased to see Kristen's family and friends are so ready and willing to love on her.
JD-yeah, the help and care I received was unasked for, but gratefully received. Not that it's bad to ask for help, of course! But to be on the receiving of so much volunteered care really made me feel loved. And since resting/taking it easy isn't exactly my strong suit, it was so great to have people making it very simple for me to follow doctor's orders and lay low while my body healed. It is just a nose, but I had four procedures done on that one poor nose. So, I gotta give it some grace. 😉
This was still way easier than recovering from a tonsillectomy. Or being pregnant with hyperemesis. So there is definitely that to be grateful for!
Oh, my gosh! I think it is so funny that you posted links to your photos! We care about you any way you look....and you are looking amazing! Keep healing well.
Well, I just know that some people are way more squeamish about stuff like this than I am, and I didn't want to inadvertently offend anyone.
I'm totally not embarrassed about it...just don't want to squick people out. So, links it is!
Thanks for the well-wishes.
It's really not that bad at all! I remember 20 years ago a friend had broken her nose while horse-driving, she had a cast on her nose that covered her cheekbones and her eyebrows! Yours is much more discreet 😉 I understand perfectly why you're glad to be off painkillers, I don't like them either! Take care of yourself!
Oh wow. That would be a lot more difficult than just having a cast on the nose.
I just wanted to say that you are absolutely beautiful !
Oh my, you are too kind.
You look fab Kristen! So glad your surgery is behind you and that you are recovering quickly in time to enjoy the holidays!
Thinking of you, Alison
Still lovely despite a splinted nose!
Wow, I was sure expecting it to look bad, but seriously, you pretty much look the same with a patch on your nose like someone else said : ) Of course, I'm sure to YOU , it looked worse than to us. LOL
I too was expecting more bruising. You're still s cutie pie. Glad you're healing well. Good luck on Monday.
I thought it would be worse too-I was told to expect black eyes. But I guess the blackeyed pea ice packs did the trick and prevented crazy bruising.
I have had this particular surgery and the lovely cast and splints so I understand how you are feeling. It may be gross, but let me say you will be stunned by what they pull out of you nose and then you will understand why you feel overstuffed right now. They called them rhino rockets at my surgeons office. Also, your skin will feel as if you could wash it 20 times; however, all cancelled out by the fact that you can breathe and not attract strange amounts of attention. I wish you well with your continued healing:)
Overstuffed is a good word for it. And it feels like the splints get more and more uncomfortable the more my nose swelling goes down. I imagine as my nose shrinks, it presses harder against the splints.
Tomorrow morning cannot come soon enough!
I love the pink streak in your hair!
Thank you!
Glad to see things are progressing. Of course, it's Monday now, so hopefully you're getting all that stuff off/out! I clicked on the links-couldn't resist-and I have to say, the cast wasn't at all what I was expecting...I was picturing a colored cast that people could sign, lol.
Ha ha Beth, me too...I didn't know how in the world that would work, but I'm relieved it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. You look great, Kristen!
Yes! It's all off/out now. So glad.
There's a picture on my instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefrugalgirl/?hl=en Not of the removal! But of my nose post-removal.
Honestly, you look great! I have seen many that have had similar procedures not fare so well so good for you. Not to discount your pain in any way though. I bet it's been sorta rough at times. I wish continued healing for you.
Yes, I am lucky that I didn't bruise very badly. I met another patient today who had her procedure the same day as me, and she had way more bruising, but almost no pain. So interesting how our bodies all react differently to things!