41 and Ready to Follow my Dream. - Columbus, OH

I am finally seeing the swelling come down! Last Doctors appointment tomorrow and then I will make the 19 hour trek back to Alaska on Tuesday. What a whirlwind! Heading home happy!

I feel wonderful and am absolutely ecstatic to be where I am with this process. I have read again and again, and have been assured by my doctor that the swelling of the tip of my nose with go down with time…and at that point I will be completely thrilled with the results. I wanted a subtle change and that is exactly what I got.

My three biggest takeaways from this experience (a. ensure you have the best of the best when it comes to your surgeon and their team, (b. surgery of any kind is a big deal and should not be taken lightly and (c. embrace patience and the process it takes. In our world today everything seems to come simply and immediately. I am an educated (although I used the incorrect use of hear/here in my first post) and practical person...but I wasn't completely honest with myself that this was a big deal. I was physically changing my body with elective surgery. Post-op day 2 was by far the most challenging day and the day I contemplated the process the most. Dr. Mike, the nurses and staff were there for me each and every day. It would have been hard to walk away once the momentum started but I promised myself that if at ANY point I didn’t feel 100% trust in my surgeon I would stop and try again with someone else. Whew…I seem so serious and I hope this doesn’t come across as negative…because it was so very positive! I couldn’t be happier that I did this for myself!

Most helpful tools:
• plush & lovely neck pillow
• plenty of pillows
• Carmex for lips
• bendy straws
• Saltines
• chocolate pudding cups
• Jello cups
• q-tips
• Ocean saline nasal spray
• a tv
• and the best caregiver on the planet…my Mom.
I used all of the supplies from my photo and from so many of the posts on this site but these were my most valuable tools. Allow yourself to have absolutely NO responsibility for at least the first 3 days. I really couldn’t function on my own of course the day of the surgery but also the two days following. I took my meds and just truly gave myself that time to heal…and do nothing else. I felt at one point that the healing and helplessness would never end and then all of a sudden I was back to myself.

I told a few of my most loved friends and family, and I can’t tell you how valuable their support has been! The texts, phone calls, emails and flowers helped more that you can imagine. It would have been so easy to keep my surgery to myself and no one would have ever known…but life is short, and loved ones are accepting and supportive! In the end they were my most priceless tools!

I will happily go into detail about any aspect if someone has questions. There have been so many fantastic posters that have provided valuable information, so I will save the more detailed info for specific questions. I can highly recommend using this site as a key resource. I wish I could send a personal Thank You note to each and every of the RealSelf participants…you have all been my biggest inspiration! I am most thankful for the resource and cant imagine go through this without all of you!